national league

The Arizona Diamondbacks have much power. Luis Gonzalez contributes a lot of the time at the plate hitting a lot of doubles.
The Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series in 2002 at Bank One Ballpark against the New York Yankees, who are one of the best teams in baseball. The Arizona Diamondbacks have come a long way to win that World series and they could win another one along the next couple of years.

When it comes to power you probably think of Chipper Jones and Andrew Jones. The Atlanta Braves have a lot of power. They lose some ,but they can go on a real hot streak sometimes. Many people believe someday they will be capable to win the World Series.

When you talk about good pitchers, do mention the Cubs. Their pitching has a lot of great guys like Mark Prior. Their batting is also great with the help of Derrek Lee and Michael Barrett. The Cubs were one of the greatest teams in the league until they traded homerun hitter Sammy Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles for three players. Sammy Sosa has done a lot in his career, for instance, he has hit over 500 homeruns. They Cubs are definitely World Series material.

The Cincinnati Reds aren’t very good, but this year, they were in line to win the conference to get to the playoffs. With people like Ken Griffey Junior or Jason LaRue, it is a very impressive ball club. With the proper coaching they could become a great team in the future.

There is more to see in Colorado than the mountains. There is Coors Field and the Rockies. The Rockies pitching is good with Denny Neagle. The outfield is well-fielded with Garrett Atkins, and their line-up is powerful thanks to first baseman, Todd Helton. Todd Helton is also a fantastic fielder, and helps with the defense as well.

What do you think when you hear the word Florida? Beaches, resorts, Florida Marlins? The Marlins play at a place that is a baseball/football field. Dontrelle Willis helps them by striking-out a lot of guys. The Florida Marlins won the World Series in 2001. Another good player on the Marlins is Miguel Cabrera. In 2006, he was in the Homerun Derby in Pittsburgh. He hit 9 homeruns in the 1st round, and 7 in the next.

Houston, Texas, home of Minutemaid Park and the Astros. The Astros have strong pitching with Roy Oswalt, Roger Clemens, and Brad Lidge. Also, a strong offense ad defense with Morgan Ensberg. If they aquired more players they might be able to be a great team. They could possibly win the World Series one day.

At Dodger Stadium, Jeff Kent, Eric Gagne, and others win many games for their team. Their offense is amazing and outstanding. Their whole lineup is one of the most dangerous.
They have a great pitching staff and defense. That is why they are referred to as 'a great ball club'.

			The Milwaukee Brewers were not really a good ball club until this year. They had a brand new rookie, Prince Fielder. He, Geoff Jenkins, Brady Clark, Rickie Weeks, and Ben Sheets , each did their part in 2006. Brady Clark is one of the fastest in the game, and Prince Fielder can hit the ball pretty far. Ben Sheets and Geoff Jenkins are very powerful too. With those 4 players the Brewers add up to a very dangerous team.
			At Shea Stadium, the New York Mets defend against other teams. The Mets have good defense and offense because of Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, and David Wright. They went to playoffs, but lost. The Mets are a very good team and probably will go to the World Series if they play harder and get more players.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a poor performing baseball team. They’ve had thirteen straight losing seasons. Even though they are not that good, the fans are loyal to them. They have Rookie of the Year winner, Jason Bay, Gold Glove winner, Jack Wilson, and batting title winner, Freddy Sanchez, and our closer , Mike Gonzalez. Pittsburgh may be rated the worst team, but they have the best ballpark. PNC Park was rated the nicest ballpark in America by ESPN. The Pirates may not be the greatest team in the league , but many bet that they will have their year, and that the curse will be over.

In Philadelphia, there are the Eagles, the Flyers, and the Phillies. The Phillies in 2006 were outstanding with Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell. Chas Utley went on a thirty-two game hitting streak. Ryan Howard won the Home Run Derby, and Pat hit over-20 home runs.

The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 2006 thanks to their coaches and players. Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, David Eckstein, and their pitching staff is one of the greatest in the entire league. Albert Pujols maybe the biggest threat to Hank Aaron's homerun record for Albert has hit over 40 homeruns each season so far.

At Petco Park, the San Diego Padres play baseball. They have been improving each year by adding on better players like Trevor Hoffman. A couple years ago the Pirates traded their best player, Brian Giles, to the Padres to get Oliver Perez and Jason Bay. Surprisingly, the Pirates got the better deal. Oliver Perez was traded to the Mets in 2006 for a couple of prospect pitchers. Jason Bay on the other hand won the 2004 Rookie of the Year award for hitting 36 homeruns and getting 13 stolen bases. The Padres almost won the wild card in 2006 but lost it to the Mets.

The San Francisco Giants do pretty well. They have Barry Bonds, who uses steroids, and is about to break the home run record. They have others like Ray Durham and Omar Vizquel. They almost won the wild card to get into the playoffs but the Padres beat them to the punch.

The Washington Nationals have a lot of great baseball stars. Overall, the Nationals are a well-devised baseball team. They have played better than ever since becoming the NationalThe Washington Nationals play at JFK Stadium. The used to be the Montreal Expos until the Nationals were established in 2004. They have Alfonso Soriano, Zach Day, and a lot of other great players.