MVP - Justin Morneau

Even though I stated earlier this week that I would vote for Derek Jeter for MVP, I was pretty pumped to hear today that Justin Morneau took home the trophy.
This is a guy who last year batted .239 with a .304 OBP, 22 homers, 79 RBIs and was nearly sent to the minors.
Even this year, while his power numbers were steady all season long, he was still hitting in the .220's in late May, and while the Twins weren't seriously considering sending him to the minors, there was building concern that Morneau would perhaps never become the all-around five-star hitter they had hoped.
Then, from June 8 on, he batted .362 with 92 RBIs, and helped carry the Twins to the AL Central title.
Good as Joe Mauer was, if there was a big spot, there was nobody you wanted at the plate more than Morneau.
His final numbers, .321, 34 homers, 130 RBIs, are very Kirby-like.
Another reason I felt like Morneau was more deserving than Mauer was the big seasons had by Cuddyer, Hunter and even Mauer himself.
Morneau's presence in the lineup as a bona fide power threat changed the entire Twins lineup, and changed the way pitchers pitched to their hitters. If Morneau had batted .235 all year, there's no way those other guys put up the numbers they did.
A big bopper makes everything better, and for years that's all we wanted in Minnesota. Now we got one, and he's the MVP.
I think it's especially cool because the MVP award has always seemed to exist outside of the Twins as an organization. No matter how good Kirby Puckett was, he never won the award, and in past years, the Twins haven't ever really had anyone who warranted serious consideration. Even when the Twins started winning this decade, they were doing it largely with secondary stars. The MVP award was reserved for the Big Guys - the A-Rod's, Giambi's, Bonds' and Guerrero's.
Maybe Morneau didn't deserve the MVP - I don't care. For the first time in my life the AL MVP is on my team (along with the Cy Young winner and the batting champ), and that's pretty cool.

Ugly Athlete No. 7 - Charlie Villanueva

Have you ever been sitting at your desk at work, blankly staring into the computer screen, and wondered - "Whatever happened to the guy that played Sloth in the Goonies?"
Turns out dude is playing power forward for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Seriously this guy is fuckin weird looking.
Where are his eyebrows? Does he even have to shave his head? I'm guessing no, it looks like the guy has never had a hair on his entire body in his life.
He's actually a pretty good player, and supposedly he's a terrific guy. The NBA is full of thugs, and this dude dedicates signifcant time to the 'Charlie Villanueva Foundation'.
That's great, and it makes me feel a little bit bad about making fun of him for being so ugly, but hey, it's the offseason, and I need material.
I'm sure you're a great guy Charlie, but you're also really goddam ugly.
Charlie Villanueva
Pro Basketball Player
2005- present
Ugliness: 9
Creepiness: 9
Identifying Characteristic: Cassell-like skull structure and facial composition, appears to be completely lacking in hair (does he have cancer? if he does I'll take this down...maybe)
Looks like: Sloth from Goonies, also like Baraka from Mortal Kombat (the dude with swords for arms)

AL MVP...and the rest of the awards

I've often felt that Derek Jeter is one of baseball's most overrated players.
Not that he isn't, or hasn't been, a great player, I just never felt he was deserving of the G0d-like status he has been given from the media. He's an average defensive shortstop, and he isn't even really as 'clutch' as ESPN and FOX would have you believe.
After all, the guy has had damn near a thousand post-season at-bats, so of course he's gonna get a few big hits in the playoffs with that many chances.
Having said that, I must admit that, even in a year when my lifelong favorite team, the Twins, has at least three solid candidates for AL MVP, that the award must go to the Yankee shortstop.
The guy had a flat out tremendous year.
Here's how I would vote, if the Baseball Writers Associatoin would get off their asses and let me in on the thing.
1. Jeter
2. Justin Morneau
3. Johan Santana
4. Joe Mauer
5. Jermaine Dye
6. Carlos Guillen
7. Joe Nathan
8. Travis Hafner
9. David Ortiz
10. Frank Thomas
Why Jeter?
He batted .343 with a .417 OBP, totalling 214 hits, 69 walks and 14 homers. He stole 34 bases in 39 attemtps. He had 97 RBI, scored 118 runs. The Yankee lineup had a lot of injuries this year, and Jeter's career year helped them shrug it off and easily win the AL East.
I don't feel the least bit like a homer in putting Twins in four of the next six slots.
Morneau's total package hitting turned the Twins into a bona-fide elite team, while Mauer provided big-time offense from the most difficult defensive position on the field.
Santana gave the Twins a virtual automatic win every fifth day. He was far, far, far and away the best starting pitcher in baseball this year (once Liriano went down).
Dye had a huge year for the Sox, keeping them in the race almost by himself as the rest of his team turned to shit in the late summer months.
Carlos Guillen is the Tigers best player, and maybe the most underrated player ever. Every year he's awesome, and half of the baseball world still has never heard of him.
Nathan might seem like an odd choice, but don't be fooled by his low save totals. Saves are a meaningless stat, anyway. The guy was the most dominant reliever in baseball.
He blew only two saves, and the Twins won both of those games. He averaged about 13 k's per 9. He was automatic, unhittable.
Thomas, Hafner and Ortiz were all studs, but all DH's.
As for the rest of the awards.
AL CY
Santana. No brainer
NL CY
Brandon Webb. He had a Scott Erickson 1991 type year, throwing his sinker 100 times a game, with pretty good results.
AL ROY
Jonathan Papelbon. Verlander (who actually won it) was good, but Papelbon and Liriano were great. If Liriano had made maybe 4 or 5 more starts, he'd get my vote.
NL MVP
Albert Pujols
The Ted Williams of his generation, he edges out Carlos Beltran and Ryan Howard.
AL MGR
Jim Leyland
Gardy deserves a lot of credit for the Twins second half turnaround, but Jimmy's Tigers weren't even part of the discussion in April.
NL MGR
Willie Randolph
If his entire rotation hadn't got hurt right before playoffs, his team goes to the Series, maybe even wins it.

I'm back bitches

Where to start?
Torii Hunter winning a Gold Glove?
Carlos Silva coming back?
Liriano done for '07?
How about we start with the worst and most boring team in the NFL - the Minnesota Vikings.
Seriously, fuck these guys. I got better things to do than watch them on Sunday.
As much as Brad Childress seems like a decent guy I can't fucking stand him. This is not high school football jackass. Running extra wind sprints and going off-tackle 40 times a game doesn't win in this league.
It's kind of embarassing really.
I know there are people out there who think it was important for the Vikings to clean up their image and instill more discipline after last year, but count me among those who don't give a shit what the players do in their spare time.
Want to drive drunk? Bang hookers in stairways? Smoke weed, pay for hummers on a cruise-ship? Guess what, if you're good at playing football - GO RIGHT AHEAD. I DONT CARE.
Vikings tickets are ridiculously overpriced. If I'm gonna pay $75 to $100 to watch a football game, I'd prefer to watch talented athletes than a bunch of mediocre boy-scouts.
Of course, the Vikings actually do still have some talent on their roster, they just have a dumbass coach who either doesn't know how or doesn't want to win with it.
Childress didn't take over a 3-13 team. If he did, none of this would bother me.
He inherited a 9-7 team with plenty of talent. But it's apparent that he isn't interested in winning for another couple of years. Fuck him. I'm not watching this team anymore.
*The Gold Glove is officially the stupidest award in baseball. Torii Hunter was above average at best this year (those were even his own words in describing his play) and detrimental to the team's pitching and defense at worst. Yet he won another Gold Glove.
Hopefully Hunter will be closer to 100% next year, but even if he is, the guy's on the wrong side of 30. The Spider-Man days are probably over.
*It might seem ridiculous to pay Carlos Silva $4.25 million, but with Liriano gone, the Twins need a veteran arm in their rotation, and they decided to stick with what they know. Going out and getting a free-agent like Steve Trachsel or Jeff Suppan would've cost at least as much. Silva will probably never be as good as he was in 2005, but hopefully he won't be as bad as he was in 2006. If he can eat 200 innings with an ERA anywhere under 5, that'd be alright, I suppose.
*Liriano's surgery is good news. Because that means it's gonna get fixed.
I'm kind of pissed the Twins didn't decide on surgery right away, but I'd be even more upset if they went all the way to spring training thinking the ligament in his elbow was going to somehow magically regenerate all by itself. The Twins '07 chances obviously take a big hit without him, but he's the most precious arm in the bigs, and getting him fixed long term is more important.
*Anyone catch the Gopher mens basketball team getting beat by Winona State the other day? Nice. Might as well sign Monson to an extension, too.
It's been a long time since Gopher football and mens' bball have both been so bad at the same time.
* Not much better for the T-Wolves. After winning their first two, they've gone back to being a lifeless team with no direction, no identity. 2nd round draft pick Craig Smith has been a pleasant surprise, but new point guard Mike James hasn't done anything. Might want to go out and catch a game at Target Center this year, because it'll probably be your last chance to see Kevin Garnett in a Wolves uniform.
*Thank God for the Wild. They're 11-4, even with top scorer Marion Gaborik injured for much of the early going. The Wild look like a lock for the playoffs, and if they can get and stay healthy, could compete for a division title, which would guarantee them at least a 3-seed.
I never thought the Wild would become my second favorite team, but that's how bad the Vikings and Wolves have gotten.