NALB - April 2012

Brooklyn finished the month with a half-game lead over division rival St. Rock. If the Knights could have had weekends off, they would be in fine shape. On Saturdays and Sundays, Brooklyn was a woeful 1-7. During the week, they played 15-5 baseball.

After an injury free spring training, the Brooklyn Knights had to use the disabled list several times in April. Elbow tendonitis bothered Francisco Jimenez on opening day. He was placed on the 60 day DL. In mid-April, Flavio Marquez and Alexis Schmidt both sprained their ankles. Starting pitcher José Arisa suffered some shoulder soreness and Rico Haros strained his rotator cuff. A bright spot for the Knights was Lariel Gómez. Called up from AAA Santa Ana, Gómez played ten games at third base for the Knights. He hit .340 with 4 HR.

Probably the biggest injury of the month was on April 5. Young Japanese pitching phenom Toshinobu Ando was injured while pitching for the Dayton Grizzlies. The 18-year old prospect will require elbow reconstruction surgery. His recovery is projected to take twelve months.

April 2012 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Hooks Goetz (Brooklyn Knights)
Pitcher of the Month: Francisco Rodil (Nashville Firecats)
Rookie of the Month: Lucero Dircio (Dunedin Otters)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Paul Lyons (Washington Allies)
Pitcher of the Month: Mario Torralbo (Key West Corals)
Rookie of the Month: Marcel Langlois (Vancouver Wild)