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In the 2001 World Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks rode their pair of ace starting pitchers to victory against the New York Yankees starting their three season championship draught. In 2002, the D-Backs won the NL West again with a 98-64 record, but they were eliminated by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round. Last season proved to be a painful season as both of the D-Back’s aces went down for substantial amounts of games. The Diamondbacks only pulled out an 84-78 record, finishing third in the NL West.
In November of 2003, Arizona traded Curt Schilling to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for 3 pitchers and a player to be named later. The team also brought in slugging first baseman Richie Sexon and left handed pitcher Shane Nance from the Milwaukee Brewers for Craig Counsell, Lyle Overbay and Junior Spivey.
The lineup is anchored by longtime D-Back left fielder Luis Gonzalez, center fielder Steve Finley, and third baseman Shea Hillenbrand. The team will look for Sexon to add a much needed pop to the middle of their lineup.
The pitching staff is lead by the intimidating left-handed Randy Johnson who only started 18 games last year. Fellow starters include Brandon Webb, Casey Daigle, Elmer Dessens, and Steve Sparks. The bullpen is lead by the one-two punch of hard throwing right handers Jose Valverde and Matt Mantei. Mantei will open up the season as the closer but Valverde will be trying to wrestle the closer job away from him.
The Arizona Diamondbacks take refuge from the desert in Bank One Ballpark, which is also affectionately known as “The Bob.” It’s equipped with a retractable roof that will keep the rain and desert sun out. Also unique to Bank One Ballpark, is the swimming pool in beyond right-center field that can be rented out for 35 fans each game.
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