Every year the baseball bloggers here at SB Nation get together and vote on the major post-season awards, using the same format and distribution system as the BBWAA. This year, in addition to my vote, site moderator and contributor "NYRoyal" also voted in the American League contests. Here are the irrelevant results from the weaker league:

It's odd that the guy who finished a distant fourth actually received the second most first-place votes, and reflective of the Sabathia's unique circumstances this season.

And now for the American League:

Essentially, the AL boiled down to a not-so-close two-person race, with the third place votes taking their usual role as randomness theater. Although Lee will likely win the "real" award because of his win total, he was actually a worthy candidate according to the more sophisticated metrics as well.

The only reason to prefer Halladay, as I did (voted Halladay-Lee-Lester), was the fact that he faced substantially tougher competition than did Lee, who seemingly pitched against the Royals and Twins forty times. (For my earlier post on this, click here.) I do not suspect the "real" Cy Young vote will be anywhere near this close, and Halladay may actually be surpassed by Lester or Frankie Rodriguez.

Well thank goodness the long-suffering fans of Boston have something to cheer about now.

Contrary to what might be expected, sometimes I miss a game. Not that I usually have much going on -- baseball games are usually very convenient in that respect -- but there are 162 games after all, and even a hermit might be unavailable from time to time.

Tonight was one of those games. I was following until sometime in the second inning and then I checked out. I'd been grading for about five straight hours, and it looked absolutely gorgeous outside, with the fading sunlight set against a darkening sky (it's pouring now). About an hour later, enjoying a quiet library, I checked the score, and went on reading. The conclusion to this incredibly boring story is that the next I heard of the game was an update given while I was listening to Cubs-Astros, waiting in line at Taco Bell.

This actually almost happened last season, when the Royals were nearly no-hit by Scott Baker, although that time I had an excuse, as I had spent the day traveling across the country. I caught that game in the 8th, but had no such luck this time.

So that's baseball, which anyone obsessed enough to be on this site already knows. Game to game, anything can happen, and sometimes that anything is extraordinary. Tonight? I was roaming around a deserted Iowa City and reading I Want it Now by Kingsley Amis in the library.

As for the game, the Royals went into the contest hitting .264, which is actually the fifth best batting average in the American League. Looking at the lineup, Lester was essentially given two free innings of no-hit ball, thanks to the presence of Tony Pena Jr and Esteban German. So congrats on tossing a no-hitter through seven.

Alright, I'm kidding.

A little bit.

We can add that the only guy the Royals really have, beyond single-rific Grudz, is Jose Guillen who has been mashing for the last two weeks. That's it. No one else is doing a damn thing. Getting Grudz to go 0-3 was half the battle.

There really is nothing to say, other than cool, whatever, that kinda sucked, so yea... A few years ago it would have really upset me, but I'm only a few more ticks upset than I would be had the Royals simply been shutout again.