The 2013 season saw a changing of the guard. For the first time in NALB history, the Brooklyn Knights did not make the playoffs. The Knights’ 96 win season would have been good enough to win any division besides its own. However, the St. Rock Mudcats ended Brooklyn’s 13 consecutive division titles with a mighty 110 win season. The remaining division leaders from 2012 repeated. The Firecats, Corals, and Slam all make a return to the NALB playoffs.

The League Series match-ups:
Nashville Firecats (90-72) vs. St. Rock Mudcats (110-52)
Richmond Slam (92-70) vs. Key West Corals (92-70)

Playoff injury report:
The Firecats will be without two of its key players. Nashville’s RF Chris Lee and MR Danilo Fernández are on the disabled list. The Mudcats have been quite healthy all season. They are at full strength for the playoffs. The Slam experienced two significant injuries late in the season. Richmond’s star 1B Yuan Li was injured in August and is still out; CF Angel Jirnénez fractured his thumb in September and is also on the DL. The Key West Corals are healthy with the exception of SP Ray Cruz. He suffered a season ending elbow injury back in April.

With only one month to go in the regular season, the playoff picture is becoming a little clearer. The Brooklyn Knights fell as many as 14.5 games behind the St. Rock Mudcats. A surge late in the month brought them back to within 11 games, still a tough deficit to overcome. The Firecats are now a solid nine games in front of the Otters while the Corals widened their lead to 9.5 games over the Allies. The best divisional race is between Phoenix and Richmond. Thanks to the fearsome bat of Tony Rodarte, the Slam overtook the Rattlers and now hold a three game lead.

Brooklyn’s hopes at gaining ground on St. Rock were again dashed by injuries. In August, Flavio Marquez, Angel Santago, Gilberto Guerra, Bruce MacOmish, Carl Gwinn, and Porfírio Portio were all sent to the Knights’ disabled list.

August 2013 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Travis Araoz (St. Rock Mudcats)
Pitcher of the Month: Tyler Stivers (Brooklyn Knights)
Rookie of the Month: Jonathan Grandberry (Cornfield Axemen)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Tony Rodarte (Richmond Slam)
Pitcher of the Month: Benny Alazardo (Richmond Slam)
Rookie of the Month: Marc-André Lavoie (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)

July was the best month of the season so far for the Brooklyn Knights. Unfortunately, a 15-10 record still lost ground to St. Rock as the Mudcats went 17-8. The Firecats continued to hold off the Otters but Dunedin is only three games back. Like the Knights, the Maples have battled injuries for most of the season. They sunk to the cellar while the Corals held fast to first place. Phoenix and Richmond traded places atop their division as the Rattlers now lead by one game.

July 2013 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Oscar Barrientes (St. Rock Mudcats)
Pitcher of the Month: Ronaldo Mijangos (Brooklyn Knights)
Rookie of the Month: Jonathan Grandberry (Cornfield Axemen)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Tony Rodarte (Richmond Slam)
Pitcher of the Month: Cherokee Swaffer (Washington Allies)
Rookie of the Month: Romeo Usquiano (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)