Tim Lincecum has earned his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award after yet another dominating season on the mound.

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Despite falling off the radar due to a bad case of valley fever, we haven’t swayed in our love for Conor Jackson.

The Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman/outfielder, who missed the last five months of what turned out to be a really crappy season for his team, has been tearing it up in the Dominican Republic.

Jackson returned to the states Monday night after hitting .425 with two home runs, 16 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 23 games for Leones del Escogido. That’s great news since valley fever, caused by fungi in desert soil and contracted primarily in the Southwest, can become extremely serious.

Welcome back, hot stuff. We get valley fever just from watching you in action.

[Yahoo! Sports] | [Diary of a Diehard] | [Core Contrarian]

We’re going to be kinda lazy and let everyone else in the blogosphere tell the heartwarming stories of Jim Tracy and Mike Scioscia’s 2009 Manager of the Year awards.

“Congratulations, Mike Scioscia and Jim Tracy. You guys just won the most overrated award in sports.” – The Sports Rippers

“You simply cannot argue with the job that Mike Scioscia did this year.” – It’s The Truth

“Scioscia was a pillar of strength and a true leader during the aftermath of the tragedy.” – Angels Win

“Jim Tracy did more than to just make the Rockies a competitive team…” – Rockies FanHuddle

“Tracy’s impact was felt immediately.” – Rockies Review

“Shee-oot, what the heck does Joe Girardi have to do to win the AL Manager of the Year, now? Overcome the death of Chad Gaudin?” – Daily Skew Baseball

“Not much to argue here. Or is there?” – No Guts, No Glory

“Now Ron Gardenhire has his record-breaking FIFTH second-place finish in A.L. Manager of the Year voting…” – Miked Up

CHICAGO (AP) — Omar Vizquel agreed Monday to $1,375,000, one-year contract with the Chicago White Sox.

No catcher ever has won the Most Valuable Player Award unanimously, an honor Joe Mauer of Minnesota somehow was deprived of in the 2009 voting announced Monday by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Only one vote stood between Mauer and his rightful claim to history: a first-place vote for Miguel Cabrera, a powerful hitter, but a guy who played first base for a second-place Detroit team that coughed up a division title by finishing 1-4 while Cabrera went 3-for-20 and, on the last weekend of the season, was drunk and involved in a domestic violence episode. The vote was cast by Keizo Konishi of Kyodo News and the Seattle chapter of the BBWAA.

Few are the catchers who have been named MVP, but Joe Mauer added his name to that illustrious list Monday in winning a near-unanimous vote for the American League honor in 2009.

Joe Mauer Named AL MVP

Joe Mauer is your 2009 American League Most Valuable Player. And rightfully so!

Receiving 27 of 28 first-place tallies, Man Muscles nearly swept the voting. Mark Teixeira was second and his New York Yankees teammate Derek Jeter finished third behind the Minnesota Twins catcher while Detroit Tigers‘ first baseman Miguel Cabrera finished fourth.

Cabrera received the one and only first place vote that did not go to Mauer. For the record, that BBWAA writer is an idiot.

After missing the entire month of April, Mauer batted .365 with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs to earn his record-setting third batting title as a backstop. That’s right, he’s the only catcher in the history of the game to win three batting championships, and just the tenth player to ever accomplish the feat. What a badass.

His 191 hits included 30 doubles and one triple, with a .444 OBP and .587 slugging percentage to aid the Twins in an improbable September run to the playoffs… where they were promptly swept by the eventual World Champion Yankees.

The 26-year-old Minnesota native could leave the team like every other successful former Twin has done when he has the opportunity to become a free agent after his $12.5 million 2010 season. Minnesota brass, however, are expected to try to sign him to a new deal, in which Mauer has offered an undisclosed ”home-town discount.” That’s pretty sweet for the Twins since he’d be asking a gazillion dollars anywhere else.

Check back to read about Albert Pujols‘ National League MVP award, which will be announced Tuesday afternoon.

[USA Today] | [Sports Untapped] | [Twinkie Talk]