By mid-April, the Brooklyn Knights were rolling with an eight game winning streak. Hot turned to cold, however, as the Knights dropped their next five games. On April 21, ace pitcher Bob Wiesner (2-1, 1.52 ERA) looked to halt Brooklyn’s losing streak. Although the Knights got the win, it was a costly one. Bob Wiesner left the game in the first inning with a serious arm injury. A medical examination later confirmed a damaged elbow ligament. Wiesner will require reconstructive surgery and will miss 13-14 months. Despite some setbacks, the Knights finished April tied with the Mudcats at 17-11. The Nashville Firecats and Stade Maples played even better baseball, leading the NALB with 20-8 records.

Brooklyn wasn’t the only team with a significant injury. St. James lost starter Atley Berger to a torn UCL. Tommy John surgery and rehabilitation will keep him off the mound for 13-14 months. Dayton’s Cade McQuisham suffered a horrible shoulder injury diving for a ball in center field. His completely torn labrum was, unfortunately, a career ending injury. Starter Hartman Ivers of the Las Vegas Luck tore an elbow ligament. He’s expected to be out for ten months. A broken bone in his elbow will keep shortstop Daron McKilligan out of the Quebeck lineup for about four months. Stade’s Red Valdez was injured in a collision at a base. The second baseman will miss three to four months. Key West’s veteran ace, Ray Cruz, needs surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow. He is not expected to return before September.

April 2011 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Hsiao-lou Yeh (Brooklyn Knights)
Pitcher of the Month: Hap Bedford (Cornfield Axemen)
Rookie of the Month: Roberto Jerrano (Las Vegas Luck)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Jason Walton (Vancouver Wild)
Pitcher of the Month: Francisco Daza (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)
Rookie of the Month: Leif Green (Vancouver Wild)

In League 1, the Brooklyn Knights and St. Rock Mudcats had the best spring training records in Division 1 at 14-10. In Division 2, the Cornfield Axemen looked impressive with a 16-8 record. In League 2 Division 1, the Stade Maples looked ready for another powerhouse season after going 18-6. The Phoenix Rattlers went 11-13 to lead League 2 Division 2.

Key injuries in spring training:
Brooklyn Knights: CF Jeromy Bezanson sprained his ankle making a catch in the outfield. He’ll probably miss most of April.
Dunedin Otters: On March 13, SS Ray Sanchez sprained a knee while running the bases. He’s expected to miss five to six weeks.
Luisville Beasts: The team was dealt a severe blow when SP Chris Rodriguez tore his rotator cuff. It will take at least 11 months to heal.
Nashville Firecats: On March 17, SS Alfredo Herrán strained his hamstring during a collision at second base. The injury will require four weeks of rest.
Nashville Firecats: SP Francisco Rodil suffered a hamstring strain while pitching. He is expected to miss two months.
Phoenix Rattlers: SP Cipri Henriquez will be out four months due to a torn rotator cuff.
Quebeck Sky Chiefs: CF Manuel Arellano tore an abdominal muscle on March 17. He’s expected to miss five weeks after the injury.
Quebeck Sky Chiefs: SS Steamboat Shultz sprained his ankle running the bases in a game on March 12. He will not play for six weeks.
St. Rock Mudcates: SP Russ Bare suffered a torn flexor tendon in his elbow during his first spring training start. The injury is expected to keep Bare out of action for 11 months.
Vancouver Wild: On March 10, SS Jae-Won So tore a hamstring while running the bases. He’s expected to miss about six weeks.

There were a number of important trades and signings during the 2011 offseason.

The Brooklyn Knights made several offseason moves:

• Brooklyn made the largest free agent signing of the 2011 offseason. The Knights took a chance on superstar starter Ronaldo “Groove Thing” Mijangos. On March 2, 2010, Mijangos tore his UCL and missed the entire 2010 season. After Tommy John surgery, no other team was willing to pay big money for him. The Knights were willing to take a chance, however. They rolled the dice and signed the Groove Thing to a four year deal worth $49,090,000.
• Although Hooks Goetz was under contract for 2011, the Knights decided to reward his years of excellence with an early contract extension. Goetz agreed to a four year, $46,800,000 extension, which will keep him in Brooklyn through 2015.
• The Knights failed to protect left fielder Roberto Jerrano and reliever Javier Herrara. They were taken in the Rule 5 draft by the Luck and Sky Chiefs, respectively.

Other notable offseason signings:

• The Richmond Slam signed free agent shortstop Chick Veras to a $31,700,000 deal over three years. Last season, Veras hit .310 and 18 HR for the Dunedin Otters.
• The Slam signed free agent second baseman Chris Walton. The contract is worth $22.94 million. Walton will earn $7,646,666 per year over three years. He hit an impressive .340 for the Quebeck Sky Chiefs in 2010.
• The Brooklyn Knights were unwilling to offer Dick Moran a long term deal. Instead, the second baseman tested free agency and landed with the Sky Chiefs. The deal, worth $24,080,000 over four years, was very popular with the fans and media in Quebeck.
• Former Richmond third baseman George Montgomery took his talents to free agency. He signed with the Stade Maples for $23,780,000 over four years.
• The Mudcats spent big in free agency to land pitcher Pat Allen. Allen will take his talents to St. Rock after a very good 2010 season with Richmond (3-0, 33 SV, 3.58 ERA). Allen’s new contract is worth $11.7 million over two years.
• Center fielder Oscar Barrientes signed a one year deal for $6,000,000 to keep him with the Mudcats.
• Superstar left fielder Shayne Kimpel accepted the Maples’ offer of $5,760,000 to remain in Stade for another year.
• Stade has a new closer. The Maples signed 36 year old Walt Suarez for two years at $4,520,000 per year.
• The Axemen solidified their bullpen by adding veteran reliever Dave Eiteljorge. A long time member of the Mudcats, Eiteljorge returns to Cornfield where he played back in 2003. The two year $8,520,000 deal bought a 36 year pitcher with many years of success. His career numbers are impressive: 42-32, 132 SV, 3.59 ERA. Last year with St. Rock, he had one of his best years (4-3 with a 3.26 ERA).
• Keith Richardson decided to stay in Luisville. He agreed to the $3,706,666 per year that the Beasts offered him for the next three years.
• Quebeck signed free agent reliever Peanuts Leavering for the 2011 season, at a cost of $3,130,000.
• Reliever Gil Cather ended his time in St. James by signing a new two year deal with the Richmond Slam. The contract is worth $3,940,000 for two years.
• The Luck signed former Dayton starter Larry Herbert to a two year, $3,380,000 contract.
• Hugh Rossiter signed a one year deal with the Crusaders for $2,700,000. Last season, he was in the bullpen for the Crusaders.
• Te Li started his career with the Sky Chiefs in 2008 and then was traded to the Mudcats in 2009. He is back in Quebeck after accepting a $3,720,000 three year deal from the Sky Chiefs.
• The Vancouver Wild signed free agent relief pitcher Chris Nelson to a $1,780,000 one year contract.
• The Crusaders signed relief pitcher Ike Holman to a one year, $1,100,000 deal. Last season, he has 9-2 with a 3.87 ERA for the Sky Chiefs.

Other notable offseason trades:

• Las Vegas traded 26 year old center fields Sylvain Filion and 24 year old minor league shortstop Víctor Sangueza to the Vancouver Wild. In return, they received 32 year old starting pitcher Cal Valentine.
• The Beasts sent 32 year old shortstop Ray Sanchez to Dunedin for 25 year old reliever Doug Reynolds and 22 year old minor league center fielder Lou Haggart.
• The Otters dealt 27 year old reliever Gregg Fecteau and 23 year old minor league first baseman Armando Luján to the Crusaders in return for 31 year old second baseman Drummond Lopez.
• Phoenix sent 30 year old first baseman John Holler to St. James in exchange for 26 year old reliever Rikiya Kiyomizu and 21 year old minor league shortstop Sergio Sigarán.
• The St. Rock Mudcats sent 28 year old right fielder Sergio Duarte to Las Vegas. The Luck will receive 26 year old reliever Simeon Barreiro as part of the swap.

Six months ago, I finished playing a campaign in Rome: Total War. In that campaign, I led the Julii family and the Roman Empire to greatness. My victory was in 149 BC. Last month, I decided to return to Rome: Total War by playing the Barbarian Invasion expansion pack. The expansion begins in 363 AD and it covers the decline of the Roman Empire. Victory conditions must be met by 476 AD.

There were many new factions to play. I didn’t want to play as the Romans again. Given the focus of the expansion, I definitely wanted to play as one of the barbarian factions. I decided to play as the Goths. In order to achieve a Gothic victory, I needed to control 16 settlements; two of the settlements had to be Constantinople and Rome. That meant I needed to to do battle with the Eastern and Western Romans to eventually capture those cities.

This campaign was quite a bit tougher than playing the Julii in Rome: Total War. In the beginning, I was under attack from several barbarian peoples, starting with the Roxolani. We eventually fought against the Vandals, Burgundians, Lombards, Franks, Ostrogoths, and Slavs. Our primary enemy, however, was the Eastern Roman Empire. After their initial attack on the Goths, there was never peace between us. On the other hand, the Western Roman Empire treated our people well. We were even allies for several years.

Eventually, we achieved victory in 440 AD.


Click the image to enlarge.