We are through the first month of the 2006 NALB regular season. The defending champion Brooklyn Knights (21-7) have gotten off to a great start. However, the Cornfield Axemen (21-7) are matching them win for win in their division. Over in League 2, the Stade Maples (20-8) started red-hot and continue to lead their division easily. The Vancouver Wild (18-10) lead League 2's Division 2. The Richmond Slam (10-18), last season's cinderella team and League 2 champion, are off to a horrible start and currently occupy the cellar.

2006 standings are available off of the main NALB page.

April awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Jeff Castino (Brooklyn Knights)
Pitcher of the Month: Fred Millard (Brooklyn Knights)
Rookie of the Month: Al Mcbrayer (Dunedin Otters)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Chick Stultz (Vancouver Wild)
Pitcher of the Month: David Creamer (Washington Allies)
Rookie of the Month: Leslie Hubbard (Stade Maples)

The NALB 2006 season has officially begun. Once we have played through the month of April, I will post a more thorough summary. Right now, we are in mid-April and have played 18 games. For the time-being, I added a link to the NALB page for 2006 standings.

I had read many great reviews of FizzBall by Grubby Games. It was supposed to be somewhat like Breakout with a bit of Katarmari Damacy thrown in. The graphics looked cute and cartoonish and aimed toward kids. Given all of the raves and my satisfaction with many independent games by small developers, I decided to give it a try. I bought it yesterday and haven't regretted a minute of it. You really can't go wrong with this game, particularly because it is reasonably priced at less than $20.

Spring training got underway on March 2, 2006. Eyes are not only on the perennial powerhouse Knights but also the Luisville Beasts and their ballooning payroll. The Beasts enter the season with a mammoth $102.7 million payroll, almost $20 million higher than any other team. Expectations are very high in Luisville after several high-profile player signings. Time will tell if all of the aggressive spending pays off.

Brooklyn looked like a different team at the start of spring training, losing their first six games. They finished up 12-12, which was the best record in their division by one game. Luisville lived up to their towering expectations by posting a 17-7 record, best in the NALB.

Over in League 2, it was the familiar sight of the Stade Maples atop their division at 14-10. The Vancouver Wild were very strong as well, delivering a 16-8 record, four games ahead of St. James.

Spring training transactions:

3/19/06 - A contract extension between star catcher Topper Blefary and Stade was reached. Blefary will continue to play for the Maples and will pocket $39,900,000 over the next 5 years.
3/21/06 - The latest out of Dunedin indicates that Gene Battle has re-signed with the Otters and that the 38-year old starting pitcher is set to earn $8,812,800 over a 2-year span.
3/21/06 - A trade between the Nashville Firecats and the Luisville Beasts was made official this morning. The Firecats sent 26-year old third baseman Henri Cleveland to the Beasts in exchange for 32-year old center fielder Elmer Gallagher.
3/23/06 - The Phoenix Rattlers inked a deal with 28-year old Chuck Yeabsley today signaling that they not only wanted him on the field but in the clubhouse. Yeabsley, a left fielder, will draw $40,320,000 over the next 5 years.

Around the league, there were a number of trades and big free agent signings in the offseason. Here were a few of the most notable deals:

11/29/05 - Second baseman Dick Andrews decided to re-sign with the Key West Corals. The 26-year old inked a deal worth $39,050,000 over 5 years.
12/3/05 - The Luisville Beasts announced the signing of free agent starting pitcher Steve Curtis. The deal is worth an estimated $27,980,000 over 3 years.
12/3/05 - Bobby Vandyke tested the free agent market but ended up re-signing with the Phoenix Rattlers. The 34-year old center fielder will call Phoenix home for at least the next 3 years thanks to a $6,120,000 commitment from the Rattlers.
12/3/05 - The Dayton Grizzlies finalized a deal with the St. James Crusaders for the services of 31-year old starting pitcher Bruce Thomas. In exchange, the Crusaders received 25-year old right fielder Dean Mavis.
12/6/05 - Art Cihocki reached an agreement with the Quebeck Sky Chiefs for a $7,500,000 contract extension for 3 years.
12/6/05 - The Phoenix Rattlers pulled out all the stops to sign superstar closer Elbert Sullivan. Sullivan has 202 career saves and a lifetime 1.90 ERA. His performance was enough to earn him a 2-year deal worth $14,120,000.
12/8/05 - Dayton Grizzles' fans were ecstatic as team officials announced the free agent signing of second baseman Dustin Fernandez. It was a 3-year mega-deal worth $40,690,000.
12/9/05 - The Luisville Beasts delighted their fans by re-signing 36-year old left fielder Stan Johnson. The Beasts felt confident in Johnson's ability after he earned the Outstanding Batter Award as the game's most feared hitter in 2005. They rewarded him with a 3-year deal worth a staggering $46,250,000.
12/12/05 - Just three days after re-signing Stan Johnson, the Luisville Beasts continued their spending spree. This time, it was veteran Jeff Fletcher. The 34-year old shortstop signed on for $7,170,000 per year, and he will call Luisville home for 3 years. Beasts' fans were not quite as enthusiastic about this signing, however. Fletcher has built quite a reputation around the league as a clubhouse cancer.
12/22/05 - Marathon contract talks finally concluded between the Luisville Beasts and Chris Rodriguez. They appeared before the Luisville media to announce a new contract with the starting pitcher valued at $28,690,000 over 4 years. That is the second major free agent signing of a starter for the Beasts. They have been extremely active during the offseason.

I'm getting ready for the NALB 2006 season. I've been going through preseason activities for the Brooklyn Knights over the last two days: evaluating talent, signing contract extensions, following the free agent market, etc. The Knights have exceptional stability. I have kept the changes to a minimum. However, there are three main changes on our major league roster:

1. Our backup catcher, Bubba Allison, retired after last season. Brooklyn struck a trade with the Vancouver Wild. The Knights sent 32-year old reliever Harmon Lamb, 20-year old minor league right fielder Terry Watson and 25-year old minor league starting pitcher Tony Martell to the Wild for 33-year old reliever John Coleman and 24-year old catcher Danny Dygert. I promoted Dygert to the majors and he will serve as backup catcher to Ted Pollet.
2. I released starting pitcher Chuck Wagner. He had been with the Knights for several seasons and was our #5 starter in the pitching rotation. Unfortunately, he compiled a 12-11 record and a 5.41 ERA last year in the final season of his contract. We decided not to pursue a contract extension. Reliever Tracy Corkhill has been pushing for a move to the starting rotation. I decided to give him that chance.
3. With Corkhill no longer in the bullpen, that left a void for a solid left-handed middle reliever. The aforementioned trade with the Vancouver Wild solved the problem. John Coleman is our new ace lefty in the bullpen.

The voting is in. Here are the winners of North American League Baseball's prestigious awards.

League 1
Outstanding Batter Award: Stan Johnson (Luisville Beasts)
Outstanding Pitcher Award: Fred Millard (Brooklyn Knights)
Newcomer of the Year: Julie Renner (Cornfield Axemen)

Slick Fielder Award Winners
Pitcher: Chuck Wagner (Brooklyn Knights)
Catcher: Billy Johnson (Las Vegas Luck)
First Baseman: Ryan Tipple (Louisville Beasts)
Second Baseman: Norberto Salguero (Cornfield Axemen)
Third Baseman: Josh Martinez (St. Rock Mudcats)
Shortstop: Leo Sullivan (Louisville Beasts)
Left Fielder: Scott Buckley (Nashville Firecats)
Center Fielder: Jim Stoneman (Dayton Grizzlies)
Right Fielder: Bert Scott (St. Rock Mudcats)

League 2
Outstanding Batter Award: Paul Lyons (Stade Maples)
Outstanding Pitcher Award: Max Brown (Stade Maples)
Newcomer of the Year: Gary Gorski (Phoenix Rattlers)

Slick Fielder Award Winners
Pitcher: Walter Sheehan (Vancouver Wild)
Catcher: Al Abernathy (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)
First Baseman: John Orie (Key West Corals)
Second Baseman: Heinie Bell (St. James Crusaders)
Third Baseman: Ivan Cahill (St. James Crusaders)
Shortstop: Ismael Heard (Key West Corals)
Left Fielder: Ariel Cadore (Stade Maples)
Center Fielder: Bobby Vandyke (Phoenix Rattlers)
Right Fielder: Steve Jurewicz (Richmond Slam)

It's been a while since I posted a gaming update here. Actually, I have been playing Star Trek: Elite Force II for the past several weeks. I started playing it on June 21 and just finished it a few days ago on July 10. Its predecessor, Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force, was a real hit with me. I'm not a big first-person shooter fan but I am a huge Star Trek fan. That game became a real favorite of mine. I hoped that the sequel would be as good as the original.

In Elite Force II, you once again play Alex Munro, a member of the Hazard Team. After his assignment on Voyager, he gets transferred to Starfleet Academy. Very shortly thereafter, Munro is back on a starship. This time, he is assigned to the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701E) under Captain Jean-Luc Picard. The story revolves around a conflict between the Attraxians and the Idryll. Your enemies in many missions are dangerous artificially-created life forms known as exomorphs. Familiar foes include the Borg in the Voyager missions and the Romulans to close out the game.

So was it as good as the first game? It was very good but somehow wasn't quite as satisfying as the original Elite Force. One thing both games had in common was difficult end bosses. Elite Force II had a series of bosses in the final mission. I found the final combat quite frustrating and nearly impossible to survive given my level of FPS skill. They added a bit of puzzle solving and some additional role-playing elements (very basic dialog choices) to the sequel. However, I don't consider it to be good enough to knock Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force from my All-Time Favorites list.