From the Main Page:
April 7, 2016

The Backyard
Attn: Team Managers
League Headquarters
New York, NY 10001

RE: Commissioner’s Opening State of the League Address

My fellow Backyardicans:

The road through the winter has been quite a journey and, here, we finally have arrived. In a way, it is much like Christmas morning, if only Christmas were six months in length. It is undeniably and unquestionably my favorite week of the season…Eight years ago we would have simply called it “Week 1”. By now, the inaugural week of the season has evolved into, “Week One: Backyard Begins”, staring everyone’s favorite cast of characters with multiple villians and no shortage of plot twists, scandal, surprise, and rivalry.

As we start Season Nine of the award-winning psychological thriller that we lovingly call The Backyard, every team and every manager is offered a fresh start; An opportunity to shake off the dust and disappointment from last season and build a true playoff contender over the course of twenty heart pounding, and excruciatingly frustrating at times, weekly matchups. A fair chance to hoist the Championship Cup twenty three weeks from now.

In a league with eight prior seasons in the books, never has there been a better season than that which we had last year and, unlike many offseasons in the recent past, all ten owners are back and thirsty for more. With further improvement to the roster construction and the new web content and mobile features available to us, we can expect a bright future for this league, which we all consider to be so much more advanced, comprehensive, and competitive than any other league on the planet. With the new Backyard website, owners will soon have access to historical stats, transactions of years passed, and unlimited articles from various managers across the league. Maybe even the full catalog of T’d UP! episodes…Who knows?! Every owner has a true media outlet, not only the Commissioner.

As for actual baseball matters, there is no longer a need for all of the preseason prediction arguments. The season is now officially underway and we can settle the score on the field. Mind you, back in the day, we used to declare a single “Matchup of the Week” every week. However, right out of the gate, every manager should consider their game the Matchup of the Week and approach it as such. Given that I am facing off against the defending 2015 champions, I feel as though I have a duty to show right off the bat that the Missiles are not as unstoppable as they might want you to think. A very intriguing coincidence: all six of the 2015 playoff teams are facing off this week, meaning three teams from the bracket will start with a bandage on their “playoff-calibur team” ego. Which ones will it be? The four teams who ended up behind the slammed door of playoff contention will see two teams start 2016 off on the right foot.

Best of luck to everyone as we head into the weekend with a full slate of games. The baseball season ahead of us will never be any longer than it is today. And the predictions we have all exclaimed so enthusiastically will never be more bold.

With dearest regards,

T

Mikey T
Third Term League Commissioner
2009 Backyard Champion

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