Amid all the Mommy M.I.A. posts, you might have gotten the impression I’d forgotten about the final weekend of the baseball regular season. You’d be mistaken. This was a great weekend of baseball with plenty of playoff spots up for grabs. You had the Twins pulling past the Tigers for the AL Central crown (a move yours truly predicted back in April). The Dodgers and Padres squared off for the NL West title while my beloved Cardinals limped into the playoffs thanks to Houston’s loss to Atlanta today. I’ll be making my postseason predictions tomorrow, but until then, here are my awards for the 2006 season. (I’m still waiting for the baseball writers to extend me an official vote. Someday…)

AL MVP: 6 weeks ago, I’d have voted for David Ortiz. 2 weeks ago, I’d have voted for Johan Santana. Now that the season is over, I’m torn. I refuse to buy the media hype that Derek Jeter is the league MVP. Take him off that club and they’re still an offensive juggernaut. I’ll make my case for Justin Morneau, the Twins power-hitting first baseman. His 129 RBI ranks second in the league. His .321 average is good for 6th best in the AL. He became the first Twin in nearly 20 years to hit more than 30 home runs. His power bat was the dominant force in the middle of the Twins lineup. I’m still tempted to vote for Santana, but after thinking it over, Morneau’s contributions are impossible to ignore.

AL Cy Young: Johan Santana. Hands down, this is the most dominant pitcher in the game today. He’s nearly unhittable at home and his second half stats from the past 3 seasons are absolutely amazing. That he even factors into the MVP debate only proves his greatness.

AL Rookie: Justin Verlander. Francisco Liriano, Jonathan Papelbon and Jered Weaver each had great rookie seasons, but Verlander was the only one to spend the entire season on a big league roster. His meteoric rise to co-ace of the Tigers rotation has been nothing short of remarkable. Look for this filthy righthander to anchor the Tiger staff for years to come.

AL Manager: Jim Leyland. Another Tiger. A case could be made that no person has been more valuable to his team than Leyland has been to Detroit. His presence has been the key factor in the Tiger resurgence this season. An early season tirade let his young club know their skipper meant business. Honorable mention: Ron Gardenhire. The Twins, once left for dead thanks to the Tigers hot start, made a late season push, winning the division on the last day of the season. Because of his unassuming attitude, Gardenhire may be the most underrated manager in the game today.

NL MVP: Albert Pujols. Ryan Howard had a great season, no doubt, and I wouldn’t fault anyone for voting for him. But Pujols had a similarly fabulous season with several key hits down the stretch to help the Cardinals to their 3rd straight division championship. In the first half, it was Pujols, not Howard, who the talking heads predicted would break 61. Despite missing 18 games with an injury, Phat Albert hit .331 (3rd in the league) with 49 HR (2nd) and 137 RBI (2nd). He led the league in slugging percentage and ranked 2nd in on-base percentage. Compared to Howard (another first baseman), Pujols is also the superior fielder, sporting a .996 FP to Howard’s .990. Granted, Howard has had a remarkable season in his own right. Ideally, the two could split the honor, for they’re both extremely deserving. But if I’m forced to pick one, I’ll choose the one whose club is in the postseason.

NL Cy Young: This is another toss-up. There are plenty of deserving candidates, like Roy Oswalt, Brandon Webb and Chris Carpenter, last year’s winner. It’d be nice to honor Trevor Hoffman, the new all-time saves leader. A vote for any of those candidates could hardly be disputed. But you can only pick one and I’ll go with Webb. He had a dominant first half and even though he faltered down the stretch, he was tied for the league lead in wins pitching for a mediocre Diamondbacks team. Plus, he was on my fantasy team. Sure, I’m playing with my heart here, but there’s honestly not a freckle’s difference between these guys.

NL Rookie: As with the NL Cy Young, there are a plethora of quality candidates here with no clear cut favorite. Prince Fielder appears to be following in his father’s girthy footsteps in Milwaukee. The Marlins have a trio of great position player rooks in Josh Willingham, Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez and a rookie pitcher in Josh Johnson; all are worthy choices. But for my money, Ryan Zimmerman has been the class of this year’s rookie crop. 20 homers, 110 RBI, a .351 OBP and Gold Glove-caliber defense make him the clear choice for freshman honors.

NL Manager: Joe Girardi. This is the easiest of the NL Awards to handicap. Shortly after Girardi accepted the Marlins job, management purged the squad of much of it’s upper tier talent, leaving the new manager with little more than a AA ball club. After a dreadful April and May, Girardi righted the ship, leading the Marlins wild card charge in the second half. His likely reward: a pink slip due to his public conflict with Marlins ownership. No worries; he’ll have his choice of managing vacancies for 2007.