Editor’s Note: This review has been composed by the Nittany Blue Hen, lead blogger over at our college football news site, College Fantasy Coach.com, and one of our many expert fantasy baseballers in our 2011 fantasy league.

MLB 11: The Show continues the franchise’s reign as the most realistic baseball video game on the market. This year’s version lives up to the reputation established by its predecessors and even makes some improvements.

The largest improvement is the implementation of full analog control, meaning swings and throws are controlled completely with the joy stick. Analog hitting is a real improvement. You pull back as the pitcher releases to start your timing, and push forward to make solid contact as the ball crosses the plate. The same principle is in place for throwing and pitching. Pull back to wind up, push forward to release toward the base. The more you wind up, the harder the throw and the less the accuracy.

If you’re a button masher, don’t be discouraged. The analog controls are easy to pick up and should only take a couple of games to master. There are even practice modes to help you get a grasp. If you’re still not a fan after trying it for a while, you can adjust the settings back to traditional controls.

Visually, the game is once again quite stunning. The stadiums look great, the players are unique and similar to their real life counterparts, and the animations are very well done. Even the cut scenes showing players before the game are well done. One drawback of the presentation is Dave Campbell’s return. The addition of Eric Karros is nice and hopefully this is the first part of a plan to phase out the “Soup.”

The first game mode to look at is the “Road to the Show”, which is the The Show’s signature game play mode in the franchise. This year’s version allows you greater ability to determine what type of player you’ll be at the beginning. You can gear your player to be a power hitter, a speedster, etc. One issue is the fact that if you do desire to make your player a speedster, his speed to start is only mediocre and you must build it up.

This bothers me somewhat, because Jacoby Ellsbury wasn’t slow when he was in double-A, and gradually became faster through his minor league career. The guy could burn in the minors his speed probably hasn’t changed much since he was 18. I understand what the game is trying to do by making you work to improve your player, but certain physical attributes are always present in a player.

One improvement to Road to the Show is a more sensible award system. If you’re a pitcher, the fact that you gave up a hit isn’t necessarily bad if you battled for a while and gave up a seeing-eye single. If you’re a hitter and battler for 15 pitches and lose, you are actually awarded.

My personal favorite, the franchise mode, is relatively unchanged. The trade AI seems to be getting better each year, however. If you want Pittsburgh’s all-star free agent to be, you need to be willing to part with some quality prospects. Just swapping a washed up vet with a similar rating rarely works.

MLB 11: The Show succeeds in improving itself. It is worth noting that the game is slowly becoming a yearly roster update like Madden, because the quality is to the point where there is little that can be done to continue improving. Either way, I would recommend it as it is also like Madden in that it has no real peers.

Season 3 saw a number of changes, including an improved player training system that gives randomized bonuses for training and leveling up players and the most comprehensive and easy to navigate player creation system so far. In addition, season 3 saw a full redesign of the Two Out Rally website. Such changes as a system for allowing players to write articles for The Scoop, the fictional league newspaper, allow everyone to be involved in story creation and add atmosphere and depth to the teams and players of the World Baseball League. Two Out Rally is a free to play baseball MMORPG. To reserve players or teams for Season 4, visit http://www.twooutrally.com.

Two Out Rally, a Baseball Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), announced today that Season 3 will begin with new features, including team ownership options and a referral rewards system. Combine that with a user base growing at a surging 40% clip, and users have a lot to look forward to this season.

As the only free and no-download role playing baseball simulation, Two Out Rally sees its tremendous growth among three key communities: gamers, fantasy baseball fans, and forum dwellers.

“While those are often the same person,” Walter Fulbright, President of Game Logic & Design said, “we really have something to offer for everyone, whether you like baseball, closely-knit communities, or you just seek out addictive games. It’s a neat opportunity to provide all three in a way that’s never been done before.”

To appeal to baseball fans and videogamers, Two Out Rally features a unique player creation system that is both fun and easy to use, including options to pick from any position, six different player backgrounds, seven unique player personalities, and twelve different skills for both batters and pitchers to upgrade.

But that may not be enough for fantasy baseball fans, Fulbright said. “That’s why we created a robust team ownership experience,” which includes a 25-man roster that can be filled with the user’s own players or with players found using the dynamic “Hot Stove” free agent search tool. Once the roster is filled and the lineup is determined, owners can choose from assorted game-time options which determine how the team handles its relief staff, base-running aggression, and situational strategy.

Two Out Rally, Baseball MMORPG is a free online browser-based baseball simulation that combines an addictive player design system with a strategically deep and challenging team ownership experience. Two Out Rally has multiple leagues for every level of competition, allowing the most casual of baseball fan a few minutes of fun per day from the comfort of an office cube, or hours of intense baseball entertainment for the most hardcore baseball fans anywhere.

Find out more at http://www.twooutrally.com or find them on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/twooutrally and twitter @2OutRally.

And, since we don’t really need MORE baseball art adorning the walls of our homes, we’ve decided to do something pretty cool with them – give ‘em away!

The regular size Longoria Fathead stands 6.5 feet tall and almost 4 feet wide. The Evan Longoria Fathead Jr. Sidekicks 2K has been nice enough to provide us measures about 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide. The smaller size would probably be considered a lot more manly to mount on the wall, and less obvious if you want your man crush on Longoria to remain subtle.

How To Win Our Evan Longoria Fathead Jr’s

So you wanna win one of our Evan Longoria Fathead Jr’s? We’re going to make it REALLY, REALLY easy for you. Just send an e-mail to us (webmaster [at] fantasybaseballdugout [dot] com) with your name, age, and email address… and you’re entered! Yeah, it’s pretty easy! Fantasy Baseball Dugout will be taking entries between today – Tuesday, February 23 – and Monday, March 1, 2010.

All e-mails collected will entered into two random drawings. The winners will be selected and contacted the week of March 1. Each winner will have three days to respond and claim their prize. Fatheads will hit the Pony Express within a week of the prizes being claimed.

How We Got These Evan Longoria Fatheads

Props go to the guys at 2K Sports for providing us with these Fatheads. In case you weren’t aware, Evan Longoria is the cover athlete for MLB 2K10. The game hits the streets on March 2 and, according to my connection at 2K, the game is a major upgrade over last year’s version.

Right now, the only way to get a copy of the game is in advance – MLB 2K10 is currently available for pre-order.

Anyone who orders before April 2 online from the official 2K Sports website will also get a voucher for a FREE Evan Longoria Fathead Jr. at no additional charge. Fathead Jr’s run about $40 a piece – so they ain’t cheap!

Enter to win your Evan Longoria Fathead Jr. TODAY! And good luck.

Of course, you can keep tabs on the latest from 2K Sports by following their Twitter feed – @2KSports – or become a fan of 2K Sports on Facebook.

The game is out on XBox 360, PS3, and Wii and produced by 2K Sports – the same crew that released MLB 2K9 in March. 2K9 was clearly the less popular option of this year’s main baseball  video games, but Bigs doesn’t seem interested in competing with either of those titles.

Early reviews of The Bigs are in, and the game seems to be high on fun and energy, low on realistic gameplay. If you’re into a video game that is sports related and high on entertainment value, this may be the right choice for you.

Below are three of the first reviews we could find on MLB: The Bigs 2, out today:

• GAMINGtruth
• Kombo.com
• Operation Sports

For more coverage of baseball video games, feel free to check out our exclusive dugout devoted to video games.

Let’s dispel one thing before we kick off this review – this game is not and will not be MLB 09: The Show. The game is inferior and will continue to be so unless 2K Sports gets its act together… or until their third party contract rights with MLB run out in 2012. Until then, we baseball fans without a PS3 will have to hope that things keep improving, and it’s safe to say they have slightly in 2009.

Lets get to the different game play aspects of MLB 2K9 for the XBOX 360.

Hitting In MLB 2K9
The gamers favorite part of the baseball simulation experience is hitting. It is relatively easy in this edition of the MLB 2K series even if you’re a novice that swings at almost every pitch. The left joystick controls where you will hit the ball upon contact (LF, CF, RF, fly ball, grounders, etc.) while a down and up motion on the right stick allows you to cock back and swing away. This left stick trumps whether you’re ahead of or behind on the pitch. The game also features something new for this season known as “Hitters Eye.”

A small circular shadow appears in the strike zone that you can move and lock, according to where you think the pitcher is going to throw the ball. If you guess correctly it will flash green before the pitch is thrown. Regardless of whether you like the idea of it or not this feature seems completely arbitrary. I rarely guessed the pitch in my games and averaged a solid ten home runs per contest.

That brings up another point: if you like the big fly, this is the game for you. It is ridiculously easy to smack homeruns. They are not as easily robbed either as they were in 2K games past. I’m personally not one for blow out games. After the first set of back, to back, to back, to back homers, it just gets old.

Pitching In 2K9
Pitching is better than in versions past as they have removed the third stroke with the right stick to get the ball across the plate. It is now only 2 strokes – one to get the power circle to start filling and the other to stop it at its apex. Catchers call a decent game, though I noticed a lot of them asking for occasional hanging sliders or curve balls. You have the ability to shake them off, though most times it is better to throw what is requested.

I found that pitching what you want can result in the other team teeing off on whatever the pitch is (and I’m sorry, but Yadier Molina is not going to fist a fastball down and in – out of the strike zone – for an opposite field ding-dong. That will never, ever happen). Picking off has improved, but also has become a bit too easy. If a runner takes more than a 2 step lead off the bag, consider him a goner.

Base Running In 2K9
Base running is slightly better than it has been in games past. A simple press of a button switches the runners and you still have the option to advance all or individually. Stealing is more about timing this year. As previously mentioned, it is quite easy to get picked off and one needs to pick and choose their spots carefully.

Fielding In 2K9
Fielding is a bit of a disaster. Though getting under a fly ball has improved a bit, throwing out runners on hits in the gap is terrible. Glitches in the animation cause fielders to not put down tags or simply be off the bag on what should be an outfield assist. If that was the price to pay for not having pre-generated cut scenes, I’d gladly take them back.

Other 2K9 Notes
The animation is brilliant in the game. Your favorite players look as such and 300+ have their signature moves. The stadiums are visually impressive as well with both the New Yankee Stadium and Citi Field included. Another improvement includes an almost hand held-like shot of pitchers and batters in a shallow depth of field. It is definitely a nice additional camera element.

As previously mentioned, there are no more pre-generated cut scenes so the game appears to be legitimately televised. You have the ability to put on a “Hurry Up” feature as well if this isn’t for you and you would prefer to get a quick game in.

The real improvements to the game come with the online features. There is hardly a lag when playing on XBOX Live, though I’ve heard otherwise in regards to online play for the different platforms. Another key feature is the roster update. Upon turning the game on, the system goes online and downloads the up-to-date roster and lineup for each respective team including disabled lists and call ups. This is a real treat for the avid baseball fan.

All in all the game is fun to play – if you can get past the flaws. It’s visually stunning and relatively easy to play.

If you can’t get past it’s shortcomings, however, then you’re out of luck. Unless you can get your hands on a PS3.

Here are some of the best links we could find to reviews of both games, now available at your local Circuit City nearest video game retailer.

Early reviews seem to be absolutely glowing for The Show – ESPN’s Jon Robinson went as far as calling it “the best baseball game he’s ever played… period.”

Reviews were more mixed for 2K9.

MLB 2K9 Reviews:

• Priced Out Of The Citi
• Stick Skills
• IGN (Wii Edition)
• Hartford Video Games Examiner
• Game Stooge

MLB 09: The Show Reviews:

• Game Daily
• ESPN Launch Center

A couple of Fantasy Baseball Dugout’s buddies who have better access to video game systems will be dropping by next week with exclusive and extensive reviews of both games – so keep your eyes peeled for those.

As someone who has played and enjoyed computer-based sim league baseball games such as Out of the Park Baseball and Baseball Mogul, 2K Sports’ MLB Front Office Manager has my name written all over it. I’m the kind of person who spends more time in fantasy drafts and on the trade block than actually playing out my team’s schedule in sports video games. It’s safe to say that I’m solidly a member of Front Office Manager’s target audience.

When I loaded the game for the first time, Billy Beane’s mug greeted me. As respected a GM as there is in baseball, Beane gave MLB Front Office Manager his seal of approval, going so far as to say that “it wouldn’t surprise me if the next generation of baseball general managers grow up playing this game.”

Career Mode
Immediately out to prove that I could one-up the Moneyball genius, I entered the game’s career mode without first reading the game’s instructions. I’m a hardcore baseball fan, so I’m very familiar with the rules governing the business side of the game. How hard could this video game be?

I created my character — a 25-year-old, sharply dressed portly fellow with a background in law — and chose to take a job with my favorite team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. I was greeted with my first e-mails and sent to work in mid-November of 2008.

The first disappointment came when I began searching through the Pirates’ farm system for familiar names. There was no sign of Pedro Alvarez, Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata or other prospects. Going a step further, it didn’t even seem as if there were any reasonable facsimiles for those players. My farm system was stocked with anonymous prospects graded vaguely for current talents and future potential on a standard 20-80 scale. My knowledge of the Pirates’ minors was useless.

Discouraged but not defeated, I took a trip to the winter meetings. I had arbitration hearings to hold and trades to make. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attempt some of the moves that Neal Huntington explored in real life. Jack Wilson, for example, has a full no-trade clause in the game that he doesn’t hold in real life. I was stuck paying him for 2009.

Still curious about the game play, I chose to advance the calendar to spring training. When I arrived in Bradenton, Florida, I was shocked to be missing half of the roster that I’d owned two game-months before. I had assumed that players whose rights I controlled (0-3 players with contracts renewing at the major league minimum) would be automatically placed on my team. Not so. The game had expected me to manually offer all of these players their $400,000 contracts that they had no choice but to accept, and they were sent to free agency when I skipped this step.

That’s where my first season ended. I couldn’t believe how in depth the game went: you really are expected to manage every aspect of the franchise’s baseball operations. Set scouting budgets for regions across America and around the world, allot resources for bidding on Japanese free agents, maintain full rosters and rotations from the MLB level all the way down to rookie ball, and more.

I decided to try again, this time taking on a team with a chance at being competitive in 2009. I signed on with the Chicago Cubs and was much more active during the hot stove season. I was able to ink CC Sabathia to a contract similar to the one he signed with the New York Yankees. I traded Geovany Soto for Troy Tulowitzki and acquired young players such as Cameron Maybin, Francisco Liriano and Pablo Sandoval. The game’s AI made sure that I paid a fair price for these up and coming stars, but as I gained experience, I was able to spend points to improve my skills as a negotiator.

After ensuring that my roster was well stocked, I proceeded to simulate a season. At first, I went day by day, actually making the simple in-game decisions myself (hit, bunt, hit and run or steal, and pitch, walk or shift defensive alignment). The Cubs got off to a hot start with me as their skipper, and I was able to track my players’ progress using advanced statistics (OPS+, runs created, etc.).

The day-by-day simming took a significant amount of time, though, and this is a game with an emphasis on management, not coaching or playing. I decided to try simulating chunks of the schedule at a time, but I found that the same team that had been red-hot through April and May turned cold in June and July. Moreover, the AI wasn’t giving my bench players at-bats (even though my depth charts were properly set). It truly seems as if MLB Front Office Manager is a game that you must obsess over in order to succeed.

My Cubs team slumped to the end of the season and missed the playoffs, and I didn’t bother continuing on to the next hot stove. My players were developing at seemingly arbitrary rates (players in their mid-30s would improve, while those in their late 20s could decline), and free agent salaries spiraled out of control. It would take hours to get an understanding of the fictional minor leaguers in the game, and even if that time was spent, a top prospect might not take a realistic path to the majors.

Online Play
I was hoping that MLB Front Office Manager’s online mode would simplify the more tedious sections of the career play, in the process making the game a more enjoyable experience. That wasn’t to be.

Gamers are presented with a number of options that allow leagues to cater to specific desires. Play in a ranked or unranked league, or perform quick searches for leagues looking for more players. Create a standard league, choosing between rotisserie or head-to-head scoring and whether or not users must control their own lineups and minors, or allow the AI to auto-manage those facets of the game.

League managers can choose whether to use standard 5×5 fantasy baseball scoring or substitute in more sophisticated metrics (e.g. OBP instead of AVG). Decide on the number of teams in the league (a minimum of two up to a max of 30), and the advancement time of the game (1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days) after which league members must have their rosters set. You can hold a fantasy draft or start with MLB Front Office Manager’s default rosters.

Still, the online game play suffers the same fate as career mode. Players are asked to do a little too much in order to succeed. 2K Sports wasn’t able to hit the sweet spot in between the management in usual sports games and Billy Beane’s actual job. The game is realistic to a fault — it feels like work, not fun.

All told, I’ll likely give MLB Front Office Manager another shot, learning from my mistakes again. The next version of the game would benefit from a cleaner interface and less intensive task list, but Beane was right. You can gain a great understanding of what’s necessary to run an organization, and a new generation of gamers may grow up idolizing Brian Cashman rather than Alex Rodriguez.

Cory Humes is the content director for MVN and blogs about the Pittsburgh Pirates at piraterevolution.com.

I’m one of the few gamers on earth that doesn’t have a next-gen gaming system yet, so hopefully they release this game on PS2… yeah, I’m old school like that.

Front Office Manager sounds like it will be very similar to EA Sports’ NFL Head Coach – manage the game without having to actually play the game. Think “Dynasty Mode” in your current MLB game without having the option of simulating or playing a baseball game.

According to stats mentioned in the 2K Sports press release, 3.5 million peeps play fantasy baseball. But will you want to play a simulated fantasy baseball?

Some more info about the game:

MLB Front Office Manager lets gamers do everything a real-life baseball GM can do to develop a team from Spring Training through a full MLB season, into the playoffs and the World Series. Gamers can replace aging veterans with rookies, scout the Minor Leagues, make blockbuster trades, and even participate in bidding wars for posted players from Japan as they make their way to the Hall of Fame.

Billy Beane steps in as a voice of advice in the game. I’m still waiting for the right time to pick up my copy of Moneyball and read it. If I buy this game and play it long enough, maybe I won’t have to actually read the book.

For more info on Front Office Manager, check out IGN.