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When it comes to the World Series, SportsNation is of one mind -- the Yankees will win but it won't come against Cliff Lee. (In fact, voters think if Lee had started Game 4 on short rest, we'd be waking up to a 2-2 series today). So with that settled, we move on to something else that happened Sunday. Namely, Derek Jeter winning the Hank Aaron Award as the American League's best offensive player, as voted by the fans.

The only problem? Jeter didn't lead the AL in batting average, hits, runs, home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, stolen bases or much of anything, really. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, one SportsNation resident, commenter MazGonzoBeckett, offered an explanation for Jeter's win.

• "It's true, Jeter deserves it. There were only two better hitters on his team, and you can't count ARod because he was out for the first month, and you can't count Teixeira because I keep hearing he's mostly there for his defense. Jeter was the second-best-hitting shortstop in the league, but you can't count Bartlett because the Rays lost a bunch of games in September. And you can't count Mauer because he's left-handed. And you can't count Zobrist or Youkilis or Morales or Cabrera or Morneau or Abreu or Bay because ... ok, I give up." -- Join the conversation
• Vote on the World Series: Should the Phillies have pitched Cliff Lee on short rest?
• Chat: Buster Olney talks World Series and more, 1 ET

• Vote: Who gets your support for Cy Young and MVP in each league?

Sure, Zack Greinke isn't going to get to 20 wins. But the guy made a late September game against the Red Sox meaningful -- for the Royals. That's downright superhuman. Greinke's six shutout innings earned him win No. 15. Only 23 percent of SportsNation thought he had the Cy Young wrapped up before that effort, but another 34 percent -- more than enough to push him over the top -- thought last night clinched it.

When it comes to MVP, Albert Pujols' grip on the award makes "Mad Men" envious, but the AL race still has some intrigue. Most people seem to think it's down to Joe Mauer and Derek Jeter, but SportsNation blogger brianRuberti -- a Yankees fan, no less -- has Jeter fifth, Mauer second and another time at the top of his ballot.

• "If Miguel Cabrera wasn't in that lineup every night, do you thing that Minnesota would only be 2 games back? Try being 5 games up instead. He does it all in run production, and having a .994 fielding percentage doesn't hurt either." -- read the full post.

Darrell (Tennessee)

Please tell me that my Mariners King Felix will win the Cy Young. I'm tired of hearing about CC cause he plays in New York, this is a two horse race between Felix and Grienke.

Rob Neyer

You're not hearing about CC because he plays in New York. Well, maybe a little bit. But w/r/t to the Cy Young, you're hearing about him mostly because he's got a shot at winning 20 games; in fact he's the only pitcher who's got a shot at winning 20 games. Voters have always liked 20-game winners, and some of them still do. Full transcript

Nora (St. Louis)

Carpenter has given up 4 or more runs in a start only once. Lincecum has done that five times. I know Lincecum strikes everyone out, but Carp's only really had the one bad start. He's been so good so consistently.

Buster Olney

Nora: And Carpenter has made fewer starts, too, because of that early-season injury. But believe me, I'm not saying there is a clear-cut choice... If Carpenter throws well in his last couple of outings, and Lincecum has another stinker, I think Carpenter will win. If Lincecum and Carpenter labor the next two times out and Wainwright throws well and finishes with 20 wins, I think that'll really help Wainwright's chances. Total toss-up right now. Full transcript

• MLB Awards: Pick your winners for AL/ NL Cy Young and AL/NL MVP.

Tim Lincecum's gem against the Rockies Monday night may yet make a race out of the NL wild card, the lone prospect for any sort of September drama in the standings. But if the Giants ace eventually captures his second consecutive Cy Young, Monday's line -- 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 11 K -- may go down as the clincher.

Lincecum has been out in front of the SportsNation voting most of the season. He dominated the midseason Cy Young rankings and had a 46-percent lead on his closest competition, Chris Carpenter, as recently as two weeks ago. But between Lincecum's bad back and Carpenter's amazing second half, the gap had closed to 20 percent last week.

• Your Power Rankings: How many of the top five teams are in the American League?
• Chats: Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, 11 a.m. ET | SweetSpot blogger Rob Neyer, 12 p.m. ET

Ryan (Detroit)

What would it take for Verlander to win the Cy Young?

Peter Gammons

I think he'd have to reel off dominant starts from here until the end of the season. As of now Zack Greinke's ERA, quality starts and strikeouts make him very difficult to beat. But Verlander, Felix Hernandez and CC Sabathia are right in the mix. Full transcript

• Vote: Is Joe Mauer part of baseball's best one-two punch at the plate?

We're going to start the day talking about a Minnesota sports star. Wait! Give us a chance; it's not about that guy. We all need a break from he who shall not be named.

But Joe Mauer, who is not from Mississippi, and as far as we know, hasn't been videotaped throwing footballs to high schoolers since he was himself a prized gridiron recruit bound for Florida State, is quietly having a heck of a season. Quietly, because he plays for the Twins, who are still mathematically in the AL Central race but are also several games under .500 and thus earning less attention than either Ricky Rubio or that quarterback fellow.

Mauer hit two home runs yesterday, pushing his season line to the following: .383 batting average, 1.011 OPS, 25 HR, 77 RBIs. That's especially noteworthy because only three guys -- Rod Carew, George Brett and Tony Gwynn -- have hit better than .380 for a season since Ted Williams last hit .400, and none of them hit as many as 25 home runs doing it.

Sounds like an MVP, right? Well, the catch is the team with the best record in baseball also has a guy, Mark Teixeira, putting together a heck of a season (.283 BA, 30 HR, 86 RBIs). So as we head toward September, what's the call, SportsNation?

• Mauer was SportsNation's pick for batting champ at the All-Star break.
• But voters split when it came to .400 for Mauer or 62 home runs for Pujols.
• Wednesday chat: Steve Phillips answers your questions at 1 p.m. ET.

“

The Twins are still in the hunt. Mauer's numbers are ridiculous... Especially considering the time he missed. Teix's numbers are extremely inflated... Just look at his splits from home and away stats.

” -- JETsrunway

“

Why would they pitch to Mauer when Morneau and Kubel are out of the lineup?

” -- MavUnit13

Terry and Tito Francona need not apply. Tony Gwynn and Tony Gwynn Jr. can also save the application fee. No extra credit for the third generation, so the Bells are out.

And after last night's barren performance, Brandon Inge can bring Babe Ruth back and have the Sultan of Swat adopt him, and he's still not getting another go.

Fathers playing catch with sons is an American theme. But fathers and sons crushing the heck out of the ball is smaller, less universal club. One in which Prince Fielder emphatically staked his surname's membership in Monday's Home Run Derby. Sure, it wasn't Josh Hamilton blasting off or Bobby Abreu hitting 40-plus dingers, but Fielder gave us what we wanted -- a guy swinging with enough force to put Tiger Woods to shame and occasionally hitting the ball more than 500 feet.

He also did it far more consistently than his dad, Cecil, ever did in three appearances in the Home Run Derby. But whatever their current relations, how would the Fielders fare against two other families with almost 1,000 home runs between the generations? Since we're cruelly denied a chance to vote for Jose and Danny Tartabull, we're voting Griffey.

• It's not going to the Ivy league but the Derby gets a passing grade from the 'Nation.
• How many home runs will Fielder hit in his career? Vote on Derby-related issues.
• All-Time Derby: Barry Bonds fared well on his own against the legends.
• Chat: Ask Rob Neyer about Danny Tartabull's greatest hits (and more) at 12 ET

“

The derby last year was 20x more interesting than last night. Last year the whole derby was filled with energy and the stadium was going crazy. I been to a Cardinals game and I do like the atmosphere there but the whole derby last night was borderline boring to watch. I also didn't like how they spent the whole night kissing up to Pujols I understand it's his home park but still it came off as staged and annoying.

” -- _nysportsfan_

“

Yea, you won the home run derby, now do something important and reconcile with your Dad and show everybody your a real man, Cecil should have been there with to give the derby a little drama and positive feel. You can hit a ball far but can you do something hard like forgive someone. Man, the young fans could use a story like that. Shame on the powers that be for putting inge in there, it was a mockery enough with the doping.

” -- rent-a-ron

• Rank the field of eight for the Home Run Derby.

It's Nelson Cruz, Brandon Inge, Adrian Gonzalez and the greatest show in sports! All right, so part of the lineup for this year's Home Run Derby has almost as much star power as a Syfy Channel original movie (although on the plus side, much, much better special effects). But as long as guys like Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard are around, the field isn't completely barren beyond hometown hero Albert Pujols.

In fact, more people are picking someone else to win the Home Run Derby than are picking someone other than Tiger Woods to win the British Open.

And like the NBA's dunk contest, minus the props, it's the fun of the moment that makes the event. If you can name the last five winners of the event, you may have an unhealthy obsession with Miguel Tejada. It's all about hitting a lot of balls a long way. And as long as somebody challenges Pujols, and Carlos Pena doesn't try to draw a walk, we'll be fine.

• Pujols is good, but more people would rather see LeBron in the dunk contest.
• LeBron aside, only a few states prefer the dunk contest to the HR Derby.
• All-Time Derby: Roger Maris doesn't fare well against history's best sluggers
• Chat: Ask Ken Griffey Sr. about his All-Star memories at 4:15 p.m. ET

“

I have to admit, I'm actually very excited to see what Joe Mauer does. Save for Ken Griffey Jr. ,I'm not sure there's a better looking swing in all of baseball. I don't think he'll win (not with those guys on the NL roster), but I think he'll do better than most might think for a "non-power hitter."

” -- rodeojones000

“

So Awsome to see Inge getting whats been due to him for years. I hope he takes the whole thing.

” -- AjP_

That Joe Mauer cuts such a dashing figure that we had to get to the AL Central after yesterday's AL West incursion. Bonus points if you can guess what comes tomorrow.

Anyway, few questions have divided the 'Nation quite like the fate of the AL Central. All right, so people outside Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City and Minneapolis-St. Paul aren't necessarily passionately divided on the question, but they are divided nonetheless.

As a division, it's sort of like picking a checkout aisle at the grocery store on the night before Thanksgiving.

In the days before the season began, the Indians, Tigers, Twins and White Sox were all getting roughly the same amount of support to win the division. And by April 20, Royals supporters were flying high, so to speak, to make it a five-way race.

• Mauer and Morneau rank at the top of SportsNation's MVP ballot | Your ballot?
• Cast your votes on each AL Central team at the midway point.
• More midseason reviews: AL East | AL West | NL West | NL Central | NL East
• Groups: American League Central | Cleveland Indians Fans worldwide | Tiger Den

“

I agree that the sox need another arm, not just to compete for the division, but for the playoffs also. Id cut contreras out of the rotation entirely in the post season. 4 man w/ whoever KW can find to plug that 4th hole.

” -- weinertime

“

Do you think the Tribe would take the same deal for Lee that SD wanted to take for Peavy? Richard and Poreda plus 2 pitching prospects to be named later? Richard has some good stuff (as is evident by how good he is the first time through the order, he just needs some fine tuning and I don't think he'll solve it this season) and Poreda has a lot of potential. Plus, Cleveland could use all the young talented arms they could get.

” -- morganator316

“

I tried to keep the faith in Ordonez as long as possible but he just cont. to look bad......... real bad! I wonder how long Leyland is going to rotate Kelly and Thomas in and out of AAA Toledo before settling on one to head down the stretch. I guess anything can happen IF and or WHEN they make a more final decision on Mags.

” -- KaneBowman

“

I've tried to remain positive, but I can't hold back anymore. It's time for Dayton Moore to go. Schoddy trades, head scratcher draft strategy, horrible free agent contracts (this off season), and now the cream of the crop TPJ still on the team. Hernandez is no great shakes, but he is a completely better ball player then TPJ. Fire DM now.

” -- BairdHater1

“

I am thrilled with Joe Crede. The teams of the past would strand 7 or 8 singles per game but this guy every 15 or so at bats hits a canon shot over the fence and that puts runs on the board. Plus just the routine plays he makes is such an upgrade over Brian Buscher. He is not our problem. Our problem is getting Nick Punto out of the starting lineup. Freddy Sanchez would be great. Punto still has great value as a utility player as his defense is superb at multiple positions. And give him credit he does draw some walks but his bat is horrible.

” -- miraclemauer

Two things we know for sure about Albert Pujols. First, Calvin Borel will play no part in the pursuit of this Triple Crown. Second, SportsNation considers him the greatest hitter in Cardinals history (although it's worth noting Missouri gives Stan Musial a little more love than most states).

But as good as Pujols has been since his first season in the majors, leading one SportsNation blogger to say he's the kind of player to tell your kids about in 25 years, he's on the verge of exploring new statistical territory. Not only is Pujols on pace to hit at least 61 home runs, a mark a majority of SportsNation still considers the single-season record, but he could become the first player since Carl Yastrzemski to win a Triple Crown.

Check where Pujols stands: Average | Home Runs | RBI

• 80 percent: Winning the Triple Crown would be more impressive than 62 home runs.
• 63 percent: Which is all well and good, but Pujols won't win the Triple Crown.
• 52 percent: Hitting 62 home runs would be better than Joe Mauer hitting .400.
• Groups: St. Louis Cardinals Nation. | Saint Louis Sports! | National league
• Chat: Don't have Pujols? Get fantasy answers in chat at 3 p.m. ET

It's not gaining much traction yet, because, frankly, if it takes place in Minnesota and doesn't involve Brett Favre, good luck getting attention. But Joe Mauer will hit the weekend hitting better than .420. Granted, he also missed the first month, so he's not overloaded with official plate appearances, but things could get interesting here shortly.

• Fan groups: Minnesota Sports Fans | American League Central | Minnesota TWINS!

Adam (Minnesota)

How late in the Season does Joe Mauer have to hit .430 for people to start giving him a chance at hitting .400 all year?

Jerry Crasnick

Adam, I've gotta think mid-August. Let's add in the wear-and-tear on catchers as a factor as well. Maybe it's a good thing Mauer sat out the first month -- he'll be fresher down the stretch. Full transcript.

The Red Sox are in the midst of their most dominant stretch against the Yankees since the year the Titanic hit an iceberg, but a lot of fans get a sinking feeling when those two teams dominate the discussion. We'll get to the rival empires in a bit, but there were other interesting developments on the diamond Wednesday night.

• Twins 6, A's 3: Two more hits for Joe Mauer raises his average to .415. SportsNation blogger JSchnootz gives the catcher credit as one of the emerging names capable of carrying the sport out of the steroids era.
• Tigers 2, White Sox 1: Sadly, no memorable rant from Ozzie Guillen, but Justin Verlander makes another move toward the Cy Young race. Count on Scott Boras using this as evidence that high-profile picks sometimes live up to the hype.
• Chat today at 12 p.m. ET: SweetSpot blogger Rob Neyer takes your questions