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willowz · 06-19-2006, 09:38 PM

New York (99-63) – Meet the Mets, meet the Mets, come on out and greet the Mets! After fifteen years of looking up at the noses of the mighty Braves, the Mets dethroned Atlanta for the first time from the NL East pedestal. Led by Pedro Martinez who showed he still had some left in the tank with a 20-10 record and a 2.57 ERA, the Mets were the 2006 NL champions, losing to Boston in six games in the World Series. Victor Zambrano and Brian Bannister also turned in decent seasons with 4.08 and 4.18 seasons respectively. Billy Wagner's debut year with New York turned out decent as he turned in 42 saves and a 2.12 ERA. The Mets bullpen was perhaps the deepest in baseball however, as Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Chad Bradford and Royce Ring all provided stellar sub 3.30 seasons.

Cliff Floyd finally stayed healthy for an entire season and showed what he could do, by hitting .322 with 37 HR and 119 RBI. David Wright wasn't far behind, hitting .308 with 30 homers. Carlos Delgado also recorded a stellar season with a .286 batting average, 34 home runs and a team leading 129 RBI. Jose Reyes was also decent, hitting 23 long balls while batting .272.

Philadelphia (85-77) -- The Phillies have not made the playoffs in so many seasons now that we've all almost become accustom to seeing this team come dangerously close and then fall off at the last second. 2006 was no different. It started with the starting pitching, where Cory Lidle, Brett Myers and Ryan Franklin were all relatively average. Gavin Floyd was alright as well, but nothing spectacular. Tom Gordon returned to the closer role with 36 saves and a 3.10 ERA, but behind him the Phillies bullpen looked relatively atrocious.

Pat Burrell and Chase Utley both hit just over .300 with 30 homers, though Burrell won the RBI title with 105. Bobby Abreu was decent also, but the big slugger of the team was Ryan Howard, who while hitting only .245, knocked home 38 blasts in his rookie season.

Atlanta (82-80) – The streak is finally over, but it certainly wasn't for lack of effort, or good starting pitching. The Braves in fact, in the end, enjoyed some of the better starting pitching in baseball, led by Tim Hudson and Horacio Ramirez. Ramirez went 11-6 with a 3.08 ERA, and Hudson let up a few more runs at a 3.45 rate, but won 16 ballgames. John Smoltz wore down a little and finally started to show his age, perhaps, at 4.28. Chris Reitsma was a serviceable closer, saving only 22 games but doing so at a 2.28 rate. Darren Dreifort was the next best option for the team with a 3.39 ERA, and youngster Joel Devine continued to raise questions as to his usability as his ERA stood at over 5.

Hitting wise, however, is where the Braves seemed to struggle, as their best hitter was probably the newly acquired Edgar Renteria, who it .304 with just under a dozen blasts. The power was provided by the Jones' as normal, Chipper hitting in 30 homers, while Andruw Jones slugged 36, but hit only .256 in the process.

Florida (73-89) – Ah, the costs of a fanless franchise, the Marlins quietly went about their sub-par 2006 season in relative silence. Silent starter Dontrelle Willis was not however, putting together a powerful 2006 campaign, charged by a 3.12 ERA with a team-high 14 wins. Aside from that however the rotation was pretty stale, as youngster Sergio Mitre provided the next best option with a 4.25 season. A lot of youngsters on this team, and Chris Resop went 3.64 with only a handful of saves but looks to be serving as the teams future closer. Joe Borowski was also decent, with the team's lowest ERA out of the pen at 3.32.

Josh Willingham and Hanley Ramirez were the two best youngsters to hit for the team, both hitting over .300, with Willingham taking the HR (28) and RBI (100) crowns for the team.
Washington (70-92) – The Nationals are back in a familiar place in the basement, somewhere a team of this caliber certainly doesn't expect to be. John Patterson (4.23) and Livan Hernandez (4.79) were alright out of the rotation, but beyond that there isn't much to write home about. Chad Cordero was sub-par as the team's closer with a 4.27 ERA, though he did manage to save over 25 games. The middle relief for the Nats was above average however, with four guys recording lower earned-run averages than their closer, those being T.J. Tucker, Jon Rauch, Gary Majewski, and Kyle Grobowski.

Hitting seemed to be the biggest problem in the end for Washington, as only one real hitter stood out: That being Alfonso Soriano, who hit only .265, but did knock 34 homers and 106 RBI.

NL CENTRAL

Houston (96-66) – Houston provided one of the best rotations in baseball in 2006, and surprisingly, it was no thanks to the short-seasoned return of Roger Clemens, who had a 5+ ERA for the first time in a long time. The rest of the rotation was solid however, Roy Oswalt with the lowest ERA at 3.28, but the other three guys in Andy Pettite (3.40), youngster Jason Hirsh (3.40), and Ezequiel Ramirez (3.69) weren't far behind. Brad Lidge saved 45 ballgames in 2006, but may be ruined by that slugger from St. Louis, because his ERA was a pedestrian 3.54. Trever Miller, Dan Wheeler, and Joe Valentine all provided middle relief with ERA's under 3.50, and young gun Felipe del Guidice had a stellar rookie season at 4-1 with a 3.74 mark.

Lance Berkman led the offensive charge at .307 with 39 HR and 110 RBI, and Morgan Ensberg had a surprisingly powerful season, hitting .285 with 35 blasts. The home-run lead came from Jason Lane though, who hit only .248, but slugged the ball out of the park a remarkable 44 times.

Milwaukee (89-73) – Milwaukee made an impressive return to post-season baseball in 2006 with 89 wins and the NL wild card birth. The Brewers were led by a solid season by Ben Sheets who won 14 games but had a remarkably low 2.94 ERA. Doug Davis won 14 games also, but a got a little better run support as his ERA was 3.90. Derrick Turnbow was phenomenal out of the bullpen, saving 40 games with a 2.90 ERA, and Danny Kolb was alright in his return stint with Milwaukee, with a 3.20 ERA as the team's new go-to middle innings guy.

Brady Clark hit .305 with 19 blasts and 1 rbi short of triple digits, which was attained by Geoff Jenkins, who hit .299 with a 26 bombs and 100 RBI's flat. Cliff Lee had 27 homers, and hit a shade under .280, while the youngster Prince Fielder hit .263 with 26 home runs of his own. Rickie Weeks was also a big contributor, hitting .294 and knocking 24 round-trippers, he also had 58 steals.

St. Louis (85-77) – St. Louis was the odds-on favorite to win the NL Central again in 2006, but they sputtered and faded in the second half, letting Houston claim the crown and even falling as low as third.
Jason Marquis was the headlining pitcher for the Cardinals in '06, winning 18 games with a 3.80 ERA. Not to be outdone by two much, Mark Mulder (3.87) and Chris Carpenter (3.88) both won 14 games in solid seasons. Prospect Mike Melancon held closing duties for St. Louis in 2006, and faired okay, with a 3.60 ERA in his opening campaign. Another young arm in Brad Thompson was the next best option out of the pen, and maybe even better, with a 3.28 ERA. Sidney Ponson also saw a lot of action from the bullpen, and put up a 4.01 mark.

Albert Pujols was good, but not as dominant as his in-real-life counterpart, as he hit a smidgen over .336 with 36 blasts and 111 RBI. The rest of those you'd expect to be consistent were so, Juan Encarnacion hit .298 with 28 HR and 100 RBI, Scott Rolen had 8 less homers, but shared the same batting average and knocked in an extra run, just for kicks. John Rodriguez also hit well, .290 with 20 HR, before fracturing his ankle late in the year.

Pittsburgh (77-85) – Pittsburgh eeked out the 4th position in the NL Central in 2006, a spot that for them might be considered a noticeable improvement. Zach Duke refreshed his 2005 season with a decent 2006, going 11-15, but doing so with a 3.45 ERA. Oliver Perez was the next best thing, having a 4.23 ERA but a winning record at 10-9. The low decision totals for the starting rotation leads us to believe the Pirates bullpen wasn't all that great; Mike Gonzalez saved 26 games and had a 3.75 ERA. Roberto Hernandez was good however, boasting a 2.98 mark with just over 50 innings of work.

Jason Bay was the highlight of the Pirates hitting, and beyond that their simply wasn't much. Bay hit
.278 with 36 home runs and 101 RBI. The best average on the team came from 4-star prospect Jose Castillo who hit .313 for the year.

Chicago (75-87) – Ah, a little more torture in Wrigleyville, the final curse of baseball continues through 2006 with another unpleasant season. Cub fans in my world however may rejoice in the fact that Mark Prior was actually a bright spot instead of a dim stain, or something, as he had a nice 2.68 ERA but only managed to leave the mound with a win 13 times. Beyond that the pickings got quickly slim, as Kerry Wood and Carlos Zambrano both put up ERA's over 4.50, with Kerry Wood's even making an appearance over 5, something Cub fans definitely don't want to see. The lack of a bullpen didn't help either; Ryan Dempster had a 4.70 ERA as the team's official closer, and not too much other help came out of the pen. Scott Eyre had the only sub 4 ERA at 3.92, and that was about it.

Derek Lee was impressive, hitting .303 with 43 home runs, and Aramis Ramirez maybe had the best season in all of baseball, leading the Cubs in average at .304 with an astounding 53 bombs and 133 RBI. Aside from those two, the output was pretty general, Jacque Jones did okay, providing a .276 year with 17 HR.

Cincinnati (55-107) – Cincy was plain bad in 2006, there just isn't much of a way around it. Eric Milton was refreshingly decent, and you still know his name, this time pitching at a 3.90 rate but with under a dozen wins. No one else in the rotation had much to say, Bronson Arroyo was okay, he threw at a 4.38 rate, but lost 16 games. Todd Coffey had a 3.45 ERA as the team's closer, and Brian Shackelford (3.72), Ryan Wagner (3.89) as well as Antonio Osuna (3.98) all had decent years in relief work.

There were hardly any hitters on this team, Ken Griffey Jr. knocked 31 round trippers, but hit only .252, and there wasn't a player with over 400 at-bats on this team to hit over .270.

NL WEST

San Fransisco (88-74) – Jason Schmidt had a decent season the NL West division champs for 2006, going 13-9 with a 3.51 ERA. Matt Morris wasn't bad either, he won 17 games, and threw for a 3.89 pace. Armando Benitez was surprisingly good, he saved 36 games and had a 2.35 ERA, but no one else from that bullpen was even in the same planet. Rookie Merkin Valdez was the only other reliever south of 5.

I'm sure you all want to know how Barry Bonds did, but first some props to Ray Durham and Randy Winn who both hit .335 or higher with 16 and 14 HR respectively. Bonds slowed as he did in real life, hitting .267, with 33 blasts, putting him at 741 all-time and a one-year contract extension looks like he will go for the record in 2007.

Los Angeles (87-75) – The Dodgers just fell short of the NL West crown in '06 by a game, and were led by a consistent battery of good starting pitching: Derek Lowe (14-9, 3.54), Brad Penny (12-14, 3.62), Odalis Perez (10-6, 3.76). Eric Gagne was back to form in '06, with 31 saves and a 1.49 ERA, and Joe Biemel provided a solid season with a 2.24 mark. Danys Baez also helped things out with 24 saves of his own a 3.01 ERA.

J.D. Drew was the most complete hitter for the Dodgers, hitting .281 with 30 HR and 100 RBI. Jeff Kent was right around with similar marks, but a few less HR and RBI. Jose Cruz Jr. hit .270, while Jason Repko had a good rookie season in Centerfield with a .276 AVG and just shy of 20 blasts.

San Diego (80-82) – The San Diego Padres lost two of their last three to keep them from a positive record for 2006. Jake Peavy was good though. Try 18-6, 2.66 on for size. Beyond that there isn't much to talk about. Scott Linebrink saved 36 games but had a 4.53 ERA. Trevor Hoffman isn't the closer anymore, but won 7 ballgames. He had a 5+ ERA though.

A lot of average hitters also compiled on this team, Mike Piazza left New York to go .295/22/94 back on the west coast, while Khalil Greene put up similar marks.

Colorado (72-90) – The balls typically flew out of Coors Field in 2006, and the pitching was evidence of that. Young arm Jeff Francis wasn't too bad, with the team's best ERA at 4.32, but all of the other starters were above the 4.50 watermark. Ramon Ramirez closed for the Rockies and did okay with a 3.68 ERA, but he was the only one in the pen under 4.50.

Todd Helton continued to benefit from the thin Colorado air, hitting .313 with 30 Bombs and 110 RBI. Clint Barmes was good, hitting .310 with 24 long balls, and Brad Hawpe had a fair season, at .289 with 32 HR and 98 RBI.

Arizona (66-96) – Brandon Webb had the team's lowest ERA at 4.10, and the team's high in wins with 10. No starter, in fact, had a winning record for the Diamondbacks this season. Jose Valverde had 26 saves, but a high 4.48 ERA for a closer.

Youngster Connor Jackson had the best offensive season for Arizona, at .304 with 20 HR. Shawn Green led the team in HR with 27, while hitting .295. Fan favorite Eric Byrnes also had a good year, hitting .287, with 16 HR, 72 RBI, 74 R.

AVG

Ray Durham; SF, .340
Albert Pujols; STL, .336
Randy Winn; SF, .335

HR

Aramis Ramirez; CHN, 53
Jason Lane; HOU, 44
Derek Lee; CHN, 43

SB

Rafael Furcal; LAN, 75
Jose Reyes; NYN, 74
Juan Pierre; CHN, 70

ERA

Pedro Martinez; NYN, 2.52
Jake Peavy; SD, 2.66
Mark Prior; CHN, 2.68

WINS

Roy Oswalt; HOU, 20
Pedro Martinez; NYN, 20
Jason Marquis; STL, 18

SAVES

Brad Lidge; HOU, 45
Billy Wagner; NYN, 42
Derrick Turnbow; MIL, 40

AWARDS

Cy Young – Pedro Martinez, NYN
MVP – Albert Pujols, STL
Rookie of the Year – Josh Willingham, FLO
Gold Glove --

P – Claudio Vargas, ARI
C – Yadier Molina, STL
1B – Adam LaRoche, ATL
2B – Orlando Hudson, ARI
3B – Scott Rolen, STL
SS – Cristian Guzman, WSH
LF – Pat Burrell, PHI
CF – Mike Cameron, SD
RF – Jason Lane, HOU

06-19-2006, 09:38 PM	#6
willowz Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 38	New York (99-63) – Meet the Mets, meet the Mets, come on out and greet the Mets! After fifteen years of looking up at the noses of the mighty Braves, the Mets dethroned Atlanta for the first time from the NL East pedestal. Led by Pedro Martinez who showed he still had some left in the tank with a 20-10 record and a 2.57 ERA, the Mets were the 2006 NL champions, losing to Boston in six games in the World Series. Victor Zambrano and Brian Bannister also turned in decent seasons with 4.08 and 4.18 seasons respectively. Billy Wagner's debut year with New York turned out decent as he turned in 42 saves and a 2.12 ERA. The Mets bullpen was perhaps the deepest in baseball however, as Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Chad Bradford and Royce Ring all provided stellar sub 3.30 seasons. Cliff Floyd finally stayed healthy for an entire season and showed what he could do, by hitting .322 with 37 HR and 119 RBI. David Wright wasn't far behind, hitting .308 with 30 homers. Carlos Delgado also recorded a stellar season with a .286 batting average, 34 home runs and a team leading 129 RBI. Jose Reyes was also decent, hitting 23 long balls while batting .272. Philadelphia (85-77) -- The Phillies have not made the playoffs in so many seasons now that we've all almost become accustom to seeing this team come dangerously close and then fall off at the last second. 2006 was no different. It started with the starting pitching, where Cory Lidle, Brett Myers and Ryan Franklin were all relatively average. Gavin Floyd was alright as well, but nothing spectacular. Tom Gordon returned to the closer role with 36 saves and a 3.10 ERA, but behind him the Phillies bullpen looked relatively atrocious. Pat Burrell and Chase Utley both hit just over .300 with 30 homers, though Burrell won the RBI title with 105. Bobby Abreu was decent also, but the big slugger of the team was Ryan Howard, who while hitting only .245, knocked home 38 blasts in his rookie season. Atlanta (82-80) – The streak is finally over, but it certainly wasn't for lack of effort, or good starting pitching. The Braves in fact, in the end, enjoyed some of the better starting pitching in baseball, led by Tim Hudson and Horacio Ramirez. Ramirez went 11-6 with a 3.08 ERA, and Hudson let up a few more runs at a 3.45 rate, but won 16 ballgames. John Smoltz wore down a little and finally started to show his age, perhaps, at 4.28. Chris Reitsma was a serviceable closer, saving only 22 games but doing so at a 2.28 rate. Darren Dreifort was the next best option for the team with a 3.39 ERA, and youngster Joel Devine continued to raise questions as to his usability as his ERA stood at over 5. Hitting wise, however, is where the Braves seemed to struggle, as their best hitter was probably the newly acquired Edgar Renteria, who it .304 with just under a dozen blasts. The power was provided by the Jones' as normal, Chipper hitting in 30 homers, while Andruw Jones slugged 36, but hit only .256 in the process. Florida (73-89) – Ah, the costs of a fanless franchise, the Marlins quietly went about their sub-par 2006 season in relative silence. Silent starter Dontrelle Willis was not however, putting together a powerful 2006 campaign, charged by a 3.12 ERA with a team-high 14 wins. Aside from that however the rotation was pretty stale, as youngster Sergio Mitre provided the next best option with a 4.25 season. A lot of youngsters on this team, and Chris Resop went 3.64 with only a handful of saves but looks to be serving as the teams future closer. Joe Borowski was also decent, with the team's lowest ERA out of the pen at 3.32. Josh Willingham and Hanley Ramirez were the two best youngsters to hit for the team, both hitting over .300, with Willingham taking the HR (28) and RBI (100) crowns for the team. Washington (70-92) – The Nationals are back in a familiar place in the basement, somewhere a team of this caliber certainly doesn't expect to be. John Patterson (4.23) and Livan Hernandez (4.79) were alright out of the rotation, but beyond that there isn't much to write home about. Chad Cordero was sub-par as the team's closer with a 4.27 ERA, though he did manage to save over 25 games. The middle relief for the Nats was above average however, with four guys recording lower earned-run averages than their closer, those being T.J. Tucker, Jon Rauch, Gary Majewski, and Kyle Grobowski. Hitting seemed to be the biggest problem in the end for Washington, as only one real hitter stood out: That being Alfonso Soriano, who hit only .265, but did knock 34 homers and 106 RBI. NL CENTRAL Houston (96-66) – Houston provided one of the best rotations in baseball in 2006, and surprisingly, it was no thanks to the short-seasoned return of Roger Clemens, who had a 5+ ERA for the first time in a long time. The rest of the rotation was solid however, Roy Oswalt with the lowest ERA at 3.28, but the other three guys in Andy Pettite (3.40), youngster Jason Hirsh (3.40), and Ezequiel Ramirez (3.69) weren't far behind. Brad Lidge saved 45 ballgames in 2006, but may be ruined by that slugger from St. Louis, because his ERA was a pedestrian 3.54. Trever Miller, Dan Wheeler, and Joe Valentine all provided middle relief with ERA's under 3.50, and young gun Felipe del Guidice had a stellar rookie season at 4-1 with a 3.74 mark. Lance Berkman led the offensive charge at .307 with 39 HR and 110 RBI, and Morgan Ensberg had a surprisingly powerful season, hitting .285 with 35 blasts. The home-run lead came from Jason Lane though, who hit only .248, but slugged the ball out of the park a remarkable 44 times. Milwaukee (89-73) – Milwaukee made an impressive return to post-season baseball in 2006 with 89 wins and the NL wild card birth. The Brewers were led by a solid season by Ben Sheets who won 14 games but had a remarkably low 2.94 ERA. Doug Davis won 14 games also, but a got a little better run support as his ERA was 3.90. Derrick Turnbow was phenomenal out of the bullpen, saving 40 games with a 2.90 ERA, and Danny Kolb was alright in his return stint with Milwaukee, with a 3.20 ERA as the team's new go-to middle innings guy. Brady Clark hit .305 with 19 blasts and 1 rbi short of triple digits, which was attained by Geoff Jenkins, who hit .299 with a 26 bombs and 100 RBI's flat. Cliff Lee had 27 homers, and hit a shade under .280, while the youngster Prince Fielder hit .263 with 26 home runs of his own. Rickie Weeks was also a big contributor, hitting .294 and knocking 24 round-trippers, he also had 58 steals. St. Louis (85-77) – St. Louis was the odds-on favorite to win the NL Central again in 2006, but they sputtered and faded in the second half, letting Houston claim the crown and even falling as low as third. Jason Marquis was the headlining pitcher for the Cardinals in '06, winning 18 games with a 3.80 ERA. Not to be outdone by two much, Mark Mulder (3.87) and Chris Carpenter (3.88) both won 14 games in solid seasons. Prospect Mike Melancon held closing duties for St. Louis in 2006, and faired okay, with a 3.60 ERA in his opening campaign. Another young arm in Brad Thompson was the next best option out of the pen, and maybe even better, with a 3.28 ERA. Sidney Ponson also saw a lot of action from the bullpen, and put up a 4.01 mark. Albert Pujols was good, but not as dominant as his in-real-life counterpart, as he hit a smidgen over .336 with 36 blasts and 111 RBI. The rest of those you'd expect to be consistent were so, Juan Encarnacion hit .298 with 28 HR and 100 RBI, Scott Rolen had 8 less homers, but shared the same batting average and knocked in an extra run, just for kicks. John Rodriguez also hit well, .290 with 20 HR, before fracturing his ankle late in the year. Pittsburgh (77-85) – Pittsburgh eeked out the 4th position in the NL Central in 2006, a spot that for them might be considered a noticeable improvement. Zach Duke refreshed his 2005 season with a decent 2006, going 11-15, but doing so with a 3.45 ERA. Oliver Perez was the next best thing, having a 4.23 ERA but a winning record at 10-9. The low decision totals for the starting rotation leads us to believe the Pirates bullpen wasn't all that great; Mike Gonzalez saved 26 games and had a 3.75 ERA. Roberto Hernandez was good however, boasting a 2.98 mark with just over 50 innings of work. Jason Bay was the highlight of the Pirates hitting, and beyond that their simply wasn't much. Bay hit .278 with 36 home runs and 101 RBI. The best average on the team came from 4-star prospect Jose Castillo who hit .313 for the year. Chicago (75-87) – Ah, a little more torture in Wrigleyville, the final curse of baseball continues through 2006 with another unpleasant season. Cub fans in my world however may rejoice in the fact that Mark Prior was actually a bright spot instead of a dim stain, or something, as he had a nice 2.68 ERA but only managed to leave the mound with a win 13 times. Beyond that the pickings got quickly slim, as Kerry Wood and Carlos Zambrano both put up ERA's over 4.50, with Kerry Wood's even making an appearance over 5, something Cub fans definitely don't want to see. The lack of a bullpen didn't help either; Ryan Dempster had a 4.70 ERA as the team's official closer, and not too much other help came out of the pen. Scott Eyre had the only sub 4 ERA at 3.92, and that was about it. Derek Lee was impressive, hitting .303 with 43 home runs, and Aramis Ramirez maybe had the best season in all of baseball, leading the Cubs in average at .304 with an astounding 53 bombs and 133 RBI. Aside from those two, the output was pretty general, Jacque Jones did okay, providing a .276 year with 17 HR. Cincinnati (55-107) – Cincy was plain bad in 2006, there just isn't much of a way around it. Eric Milton was refreshingly decent, and you still know his name, this time pitching at a 3.90 rate but with under a dozen wins. No one else in the rotation had much to say, Bronson Arroyo was okay, he threw at a 4.38 rate, but lost 16 games. Todd Coffey had a 3.45 ERA as the team's closer, and Brian Shackelford (3.72), Ryan Wagner (3.89) as well as Antonio Osuna (3.98) all had decent years in relief work. There were hardly any hitters on this team, Ken Griffey Jr. knocked 31 round trippers, but hit only .252, and there wasn't a player with over 400 at-bats on this team to hit over .270. NL WEST San Fransisco (88-74) – Jason Schmidt had a decent season the NL West division champs for 2006, going 13-9 with a 3.51 ERA. Matt Morris wasn't bad either, he won 17 games, and threw for a 3.89 pace. Armando Benitez was surprisingly good, he saved 36 games and had a 2.35 ERA, but no one else from that bullpen was even in the same planet. Rookie Merkin Valdez was the only other reliever south of 5. I'm sure you all want to know how Barry Bonds did, but first some props to Ray Durham and Randy Winn who both hit .335 or higher with 16 and 14 HR respectively. Bonds slowed as he did in real life, hitting .267, with 33 blasts, putting him at 741 all-time and a one-year contract extension looks like he will go for the record in 2007. Los Angeles (87-75) – The Dodgers just fell short of the NL West crown in '06 by a game, and were led by a consistent battery of good starting pitching: Derek Lowe (14-9, 3.54), Brad Penny (12-14, 3.62), Odalis Perez (10-6, 3.76). Eric Gagne was back to form in '06, with 31 saves and a 1.49 ERA, and Joe Biemel provided a solid season with a 2.24 mark. Danys Baez also helped things out with 24 saves of his own a 3.01 ERA. J.D. Drew was the most complete hitter for the Dodgers, hitting .281 with 30 HR and 100 RBI. Jeff Kent was right around with similar marks, but a few less HR and RBI. Jose Cruz Jr. hit .270, while Jason Repko had a good rookie season in Centerfield with a .276 AVG and just shy of 20 blasts. San Diego (80-82) – The San Diego Padres lost two of their last three to keep them from a positive record for 2006. Jake Peavy was good though. Try 18-6, 2.66 on for size. Beyond that there isn't much to talk about. Scott Linebrink saved 36 games but had a 4.53 ERA. Trevor Hoffman isn't the closer anymore, but won 7 ballgames. He had a 5+ ERA though. A lot of average hitters also compiled on this team, Mike Piazza left New York to go .295/22/94 back on the west coast, while Khalil Greene put up similar marks. Colorado (72-90) – The balls typically flew out of Coors Field in 2006, and the pitching was evidence of that. Young arm Jeff Francis wasn't too bad, with the team's best ERA at 4.32, but all of the other starters were above the 4.50 watermark. Ramon Ramirez closed for the Rockies and did okay with a 3.68 ERA, but he was the only one in the pen under 4.50. Todd Helton continued to benefit from the thin Colorado air, hitting .313 with 30 Bombs and 110 RBI. Clint Barmes was good, hitting .310 with 24 long balls, and Brad Hawpe had a fair season, at .289 with 32 HR and 98 RBI. Arizona (66-96) – Brandon Webb had the team's lowest ERA at 4.10, and the team's high in wins with 10. No starter, in fact, had a winning record for the Diamondbacks this season. Jose Valverde had 26 saves, but a high 4.48 ERA for a closer. Youngster Connor Jackson had the best offensive season for Arizona, at .304 with 20 HR. Shawn Green led the team in HR with 27, while hitting .295. Fan favorite Eric Byrnes also had a good year, hitting .287, with 16 HR, 72 RBI, 74 R. AVG Ray Durham; SF, .340 Albert Pujols; STL, .336 Randy Winn; SF, .335 HR Aramis Ramirez; CHN, 53 Jason Lane; HOU, 44 Derek Lee; CHN, 43 SB Rafael Furcal; LAN, 75 Jose Reyes; NYN, 74 Juan Pierre; CHN, 70 ERA Pedro Martinez; NYN, 2.52 Jake Peavy; SD, 2.66 Mark Prior; CHN, 2.68 WINS Roy Oswalt; HOU, 20 Pedro Martinez; NYN, 20 Jason Marquis; STL, 18 SAVES Brad Lidge; HOU, 45 Billy Wagner; NYN, 42 Derrick Turnbow; MIL, 40 AWARDS Cy Young – Pedro Martinez, NYN MVP – Albert Pujols, STL Rookie of the Year – Josh Willingham, FLO Gold Glove -- P – Claudio Vargas, ARI C – Yadier Molina, STL 1B – Adam LaRoche, ATL 2B – Orlando Hudson, ARI 3B – Scott Rolen, STL SS – Cristian Guzman, WSH LF – Pat Burrell, PHI CF – Mike Cameron, SD RF – Jason Lane, HOU