AL NOTEBOOK: THERE SHOULD BE MAUER TO MVP VOTE.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA  Staff Writer

The degree of the injustice that will take place in about a month is sure to vary depending on perspective.

The Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer likely will not win the American League's Most Valuable Player award, and when that is made official the sweet-swinging catcher will merely shrug his shoulders and move on.

Twins players will then scoff at the absurdity of the process even though one of their own probably will walk away with more recognition.

Justin Morneau is sure to get more MVP credit as a result of a breakout season that put him among the big run producers in the American League.

Mauer certainly will get some MVP love and should finish in the top 10, but his value to the team probably is bigger than what Morneau brings. There is no way the Twins are as successful without the performances of each, but Mauer adds an added dimension.

That he was in the race for the batting title since the beginning of the season is only a fraction of his net worth. Mauer has handled a top pitching staff like a seasoned veteran even though he is in just his second full season.

Losing standout pitchers like Brad Radke and Francisco Liriano would be devastating to any team. But Johan Santana provided stability and Mauer helped nurse the rest of the staff home.

And then there was Mauer's performance at the plate Thursday. About to fall to the Kansas City Royals and miss out on an opportunity to move into a first-place tie, Mauer hit a home run to send the game into extra innings. The Twins ended up winning in the 10th.

But the home run wasn't some jacked-up-on-adrenaline, all-emotion, rush from a guy desperate to get his team even. Mauer was frighteningly clear headed in the at-bat and deposited the pitch just over the left-field wall.

His first drive for a division crown has hardly seemed to faze him.

``I knew he wasn't going to give me very much on the inner part of the plate, so I just split it in half and looked for something outside and got a fastball there,'' Mauer said. ``It went over the fence. It doesn't matter how far it went.''

Papi's hopes go Pop: Another MVP casualty is sure to be the Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz.It seems absurd to dismiss a candidate who hit more than 50home runs and drove in more than 130 runs. But the MVP voting is an inexact science.

Pitchers have a chance but it seems they only win when there is a dearth of offensive candidates. A DH can win but his team bette the rest of the field.

Early prediction on the MVP vote: Derek Jeter wins, followed by Morneau and Ortiz. That's not necessarily how we will vote, just an educated guess on how the writers will pick them.

Other AL awards: Santana should be the Cy Young, the Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander should take home top rookie, and give the comeback player of the year award to the Oakland Athletics' Frank Thomas.

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