2006 American League Awards

I don't have the energy to put all this all in one post, and it would get very long, so I'll just cut it in half, and go for the American League awards now:

MVP
More than any other year, there are lots and lots of legitimate candidates. Heck, I've seen guys that are as high as 1 and as low as 8 or 9 on some ballots... the class is that strong. Before he got hurt, I would have put Travis Hafner as my MVP. Obviously he doesn't play defense, but he was the best hitter in the American League this year when he was healthy. Manny Ramirez was also fantastic at the plate, but he had even less ABs than Hafner.

The toughest thing about this crop of candidates is that all of them are so similiar... Hafner, David Ortiz, Justin Morneau, Jim Thome, Frank Thomas, etc. For the most part, they're very good hitting 1B/DH. Other than Morneau, none of those guys contributes at all in the field.

Then there's the guys that contribute greatly not only at the plate but in the field. Joe Mauer is a gold-glove caliaber backstop, Derek Jeter plays an average SS, Grady Sizemore is a great defensive CF, and Jermaine Dye has a cannon in right. Personally I tend to favor these guys a bit (as you'll notice).

So who's my MVP? I'll give you a hint, he put up a .429 OBP while playing catcher. To a lot of Twins fans, Joe Mauer wasn't even the MVP of the Twins... but I'd obviously disagree. Mauer was the rock in the lineup, posting a great OBP at #3. Also, while he didn't hit a lot of HR, he did hit a good amount of doubles, which helped contribute to a solid SLG. He finished 7th in the league in OPS (right above Morneau). Oh yeah, and he played great defense at the most demanding defensive position.

1. Joe Mauer
2. Derek Jeter
3. Grady Sizemore
4. Jermaine Dye
5. Johan Santana

Cy Young
There's really no debate up top. Johan led the league in Wins, ERA, Ks, and IP. If he doesn't win the Cy, we'll know for sure the award is a sham. This should be his 3rd straight, but I guess I'll have to settle for #2.

After that is where things start to get real hazy. Kelvim Escobar (11-14) is 6th in the league in ERA. CC Sabathia, John Lackey, and Mike Mussina also deserve some consideration.

But the other factor is closers. Normally, I would say closers don't deserve to be in the discussion. Pitching 70 innings is just not as valuable as pitching 200 innings. However, some things are at work here. For one, there were a lot of legitimately great closers this year. K-Rod, Mariano Rivera, Jonathon Papelbon, Joe Nathan, BJ Ryan, and JJ Putz were all unvelievable this year. Combine that with mediocre starting pitching, and I think some closers deserve to at least be in the discussion.

1. Johan Santana
2. Roy Halladay
3. Mike Mussina
4. JJ Putz
5. CC Sabathia

Rookie of the Year
If only Francisco Liriano hadn't gotten hurt. Then we'd be talking about him as the easy ROY and a Cy Young candidate. He was that dominant this year. But there's no need to dwell on the past. Health was a big issue for the class... Papelbon also missed extensive time. Which I why I like Verlander the one pitcher to throw over 125 innings, and he threw 186. That's a huge margin.

After that, Liriano and Weaver were great in about 120 innings. Papelbon was lights out in the pen. Ditto for Joel Zumaya. In any other year, these guys are worthy winners. Nick Markakis was excellent as well. But I think the top 5 spots all belong to pitchers this year, who, if healthy, can wreak havoc in the AL for year.

1. Justin Verlander
2. Jonathon Papelbon
3. Francisco Liriano
4. Jered Weaver
5. Joel Zumaya

Any egregious errors?

is it really over?

6 months of Twins baseball. A 25-33 start, falling as many as 12.5 games back of the division lead, only to comeback and dramatically take the lead on the final day of the season. A batting champ, the probably Cy Young, and MVP candidates.

All erased in 3 games over the span of 3 games.

Did that really just happen? Can it really be over so quickly? What the heck happened?

I could talk at length about why the Twins lost this series, but I'll stick to this quick analysis, and stop with the negatives. Heck, there wasn't a whole lot of positives for the series. I don't understand how a team that won 96 games could look so bad. But I digress.

I'll just focus on what a fun and exciting season this was for the Twins. The aforementioned 96 wins and AL Central title. But that's just a small part of what made this the most fun season following the Twins of my life. What did I love about these Twins? Well, since you asked:

- Joe Mauer. What else needs to be said? The first catcher to lead the MLB in batting while playing Gold Glove caliber defense behind the plate. At age 23. It was a pleasure to watch Joe play baseball day in and day out.

- Another fantastic season for Johan Cytana. He got the pitching triple crown which all but locks up his 2nd Cy Young award. This should be his 3rd straight Cy Young, but voters are stupid.

- The electricity of Francisco Liriano. When he was on the mound, there was no one better in the MLB this year. Great fastball, great changeup, and an absolutely devastating slider. If he was healthy, things might have been a lot different. Come back healthy Francisco.

- Justin Morneau becoming the star everyone thought he'd be. Everyone knew the power was always there, but he became a very complete hitter, hitting to all fields. One of the most fun guys to watch hit the ball.

- The effort of Torii Hunter. Sure, he can make mistakes (see: Game 2). And he's lost a step defensively. And he can take some bad swings at the plate. But he gives it all whenever he's out there, and there's not much better about baseball than watching him play baseball. Friday may have been his last game in a Twins uniform... if that's the case, thanks for the memories Torii.

- Brad Radke. You can't say enough about this guy. Pitching with a torn labrum is bad enough, but he was also gutting it out with a stress fracture in his throwing shoulder. He couldn't do anything without pain, yet he was pitching great start after start, and truly left everything he had. Thank you Brad Radke, for a great season and a great career.

- Covering everything on Thank You Brian Sabean. I wrote about the Minnesota Twins almost every day for the last 4 months... which made me appreciate the good times more. I don't know if I'll be back next year with TYBS, but hopefully time permits it, because it was really a great experience.

So while the last 3 games were not exactly the storybook ending everyone was hoping for, it was an unbelievable and unforgettable season, and one I won't soon forget. From the division title to winning 96 games to getting back to the playoffs, it was just about everything I could ask for. And with a young team, we might be back here again next year.

Thanks for reading, thanks for letting me ramble, and see you in a few days. While it was a great year that I'll look back fondly on, it's still a tough pill to swallow being swept. So I'll mope for a few days, and start looking forward to next year, where I can only hope for half the excitement this year brought.