Over the past two days, Bauxites have been informally invited to cast their "votes" -- for who should win, not necessarily who will win -- in 10 significant MLB award categories for the just-concluded 2010 season. Let's take a look at some of the early returns.

Note: though the vote thread was opened more than a thousand times in its first two days, and there are literally hundreds of registered Bauxites, there were only a few dozen "votes" cast.

In the least surprising return in the history of post-season voting (just look at the outdated site banner still aloft this online magazine's home page) ...

 

James Strapp checks in again with some information that surprised me.

Alex Anthopoulos sat down with the media today to discuss the season and his plans for the off-season.  He talks about the manager search without revealing anything and his positive view of the 2010 season.  He did have some interesting player comments.

The Box’s series looking at some of the candidates to replace Cito Gaston as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays continues by looking at Ron Roenicke. The Blue Jays recently requested permission from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to interview the team’s bench coach, who happens to be the uncle of a contender for a spot in the 2011 Jays bullpen.

The regular season has ended and that means it is time for the annual Blue Jays top 30 prospects list.  But that's not all.  Over the next ten days we will also have interviews with minor league field coordinator Doug Davis and roving pitching instructor Dane Johnson.

So all the playoff spots and seeds are sewn up now ... um, right? Now we can focus for a few moments, before post-season play begins, on individual awards and accolades.

Cast your "vote" here ... but let's all agree that these votes represent who we, as individuals, think should win, not necessarily who we believe will win.

There are 10 award-winners for you to list; no need to defend or explain any of your votes, but you are welcome to do so if you wish.

Let's see whatchagot, Bauxites ...

There's been some talk about the defensive shortcomings of John Buck and Jose Molina, talk which generally focuses on one thing - baseballs rolling to the backstop. It's my understanding (I don't hear the radio team much) that Alan Ashby, a former catcher who was very good at this part of the game, has been talking about it all season.

Bauxites in multiple threads this week have begun to wonder en masse -- hey, the Blue Jays have honored Cito this week. Where's the Batter's Box "Gone but not Forgotten" thread?

Well, you asked, we answer ... it's right here. Cito isnt actually gone yet, of course, as there's another game to play this season, as the Jays -- who fell to the Twins in the ninth today -- search for their 85th win of 2010 to close out the season.

So step up and say "thanks" to the man who led the Jays to the only two non-US-based World Championships in MLB history in his first go-round, and who, here in take two, look to crack that 85-win barrier for only the fourth time since the 1994 strike season.

13 seasons, nearly 900 wins, five division titles, two league champtionships, two titles. Not bad at all, Clarence. Thanks!

Good ol' Don Baylor. Attached by the SABR crowd regularly (myself included) and loved by old school types including Cito Gaston. Lets see what the case is for him and if he could be the ideal manager for a young team in the toughest division in baseball™.

Cito Gaston managed his last home game as a Blue Jay two nights ago, and was sent off in style; who was the last manager to receive a portrait of themselves painted by Vernon Wells' dad as a parting gift? But soon Cito's final season will be officially over and it will be time for the Blue Jays to start looking for their next manager.

With only a handful of games remaining, Cito Gaston’s time is almost up as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. It’s about time that we begin a discussion on who should be the field chief in 2011 and beyond.

Cito Gaston was in a no-win situation with JP Arencibia yesterday. Meanwhile, on Wednesday Brian Tallet went to bat for a Blue Jays fan.

It's been a couple of years since I examined how the rotation was managed...

As I write this sentence, the Jays (81-76) are sitting squarely on a season total of 81 wins, which is exactly half of the schedule's 162 games, which means they cannot, in any scenario finish below .500 and label 2010 as a "losing" season. Um ... hooray?

So, the question today is this ... does it matter to you at all ... should it matter to you at all ... does/should it matter to players, to retiring manager Cito,, to the fanbase, that the team win at least one of its final five to finish at least 82-80, a "winning" record?

Obviously, nobody wants to close the year on a six-game skid, so there's that. But a fourth-place finish in what is clearly the toughest division in baseball, where two teams are making the playoffs and a third might end up with a better record than three other playoff teams? So, overall, our Question of the Day ... does that 82nd win matter? Should it?

The All-Star teams that get to play, that everyone remembers, get picked at the beginning of July when there's an awful lot of baseball yet to be played. Let's do this thing right!