So I haven't updated in awhile...

So maybe I'll ramble a bit on what's been going on in baseball.

Yankee Stadium is done, save for a miraculous Yankees comeback, which would require winning out the rest of the season and the Red Sox losing out. So yeah, the Yankees are set to miss the playoffs for the first time since the strike. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays's magic number to clinch the division title is down to 5. So that's pretty exciting. I watched the game in which they clinched their first playoff appearance, and that was fun, except it came at the hands of Twins. Oh well, I'm too happy for the Rays to take it too personally that they clinched against my team.

Yes, my team. My true identity is Carl Pohlad.

The Brewers fired their manager with just a couple weeks left of the season. I understand why, but still weird timing. I guess whatever steps you need to take to spark that team into making a better push for the wild card than they have been this month. Speaking of this month, Ryan Howard has been a beast hitting .348/.420/.855 with 9 home runs and 27 RBI through the first three weeks of September (though he did go 0-4 tonight...slacker).

But speaking of the Brewers, it would seem that they are in direct competition with the Mets as to who can have a bigger late season collapse. Whichever one doesn't make the playoffs shall be declared the Fail Kings.

MVP awards? I like Justin Morneau's chances in the AL, though Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis are both worthy candidates, as is Joe Mauer. Also I suppose A-Rod should always be considered no matter how poorly the Yankees performed this year. Josh Hamilton's awesomeness has certainly dwindled as the season has progressed, and Carlos Quentin's injury may have killed his chances. NL: There's a few Phillies worthy of consideration, and Pujols is once again a stud. But with how they've greatly helped their teams make late season pushes, I think we could maybe see a MVP repeat of 2006 with Morneau and Howard. If Howard had a better BA, I would think he would be a no doubter.

Cy Young? Cliff Lee in the AL for sure, though that should diminish the great season that Roy Hallady has had. NL? My vote (which I don't have) goes to Tim Lincecum. It's too bad the Giants suck so bad as this has resulted in lil' Timmy not getting the recognition he deserves for the season he's had. Dude ripped right through the minors, playing in only 13 games before making it to the bigs.

In other random (non-baseball...gasp!) sports stuff, the U of M Golden Gophers football team is 4-0, and while that is against non-conference opponents, it's a nice change from last season's 1-11 record. Also, the Vikings may be on the right path to righting the ship. Beating the Panters bumped them up to 1-2, just one game behind the Packers at 2-1.

Ok, I'm gonna be done rambling for now and leave on this note. The Twins host the White Sox this week for a pivotal three game series at the dome. At 2.5 games out of first, the Twins need these games like (insert whatever analogy you please here, I'm feeling lazy).

Go Twins!