How you viewed Kingston's next move depended on whether you were a reporter or a Combers fan. At the end of November, Kingston traded pitcher Jeremy Lindsey to the Cobras for back up catcher Dylan Hale. The press dubbed it the "Great Thanksgiving Trade"

because it involved one turkey being traded for another turkey.

The fans called it a "War Trade" because all the teams did was trade bombs. The acquisition of Connor Blake from the Tomahawks was Kingston's final move and probably his best in the eyes of both the media and the fans.

Connor Blake 27, was a tall, skinny kid with brownish blonde hair and blue eyes. His freckled face sported a pair of silver rimmed glasses that rested on a pair of slightly over sized ears and slightly upturned nose. A bundle of energy and source of never ending chatter, Connor had hit 321 with the Tomahawks with 22 homeruns and 102 RBIS. Blessed with the speed of a greyhound, he had also stolen 45 bases while getting caught only ten times.

As the frigid cold from the Arctic continued to blanket the northern cities, the Combers left for Florida where they could practice their craft under cloudless azure skies and a brilliant sun as it warmed the earth below.

An excellent spring training in which the team finished with a record of 19-8, only fueled the Combers hope for a winning season. The Combers left spring training with the same sense of anticipation that a woman expecting her child feels.