Twins’ Santana wins Cy Young

Johan Santana swept the Cy Young ballot the same way he buzzed through batters all season.

Santana won the American League Cy Young Award on Thursday for the second time in three years, and the Minnesota Twins’ ace was a unanimous choice once again.

Santana received all 28 first-place votes for 140 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Chien-Ming Wang of the New York Yankees finished second with 15 second-place votes and 51 points. Toronto’s Roy Halladay was third with 48 points.

Santana went 19-6 with a 2.77 earned-run average and 245 strikeouts. He tied Wang for most wins in the majors and led the AL in ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched (233 2/3 ).

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Bob Geren will be promoted from bench coach to manager of the Oakland Athletics, a high-ranking baseball official told the Associated Press.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the team won’t introduce Geren as its new manager until today.

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The St. Louis Cardinals cashed in at the World Series, earning more money than any other team in history.

St. Louis split $20.02 million for beating the Detroit Tigers. A full share of that was worth $362,173, the commissioner’s office said. That was nearly $40,000 more than what Chicago White Sox players received last year.

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Tribune Co. hasn’t said whether the Chicago Cubs are for sale, but that isn’t stopping Chicago businessmen from putting together groups to bid for the franchise, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Some of the bidders say their interest is long-standing, and they have made previous offers that were rebuffed by Tribune, which has owned the Cubs for 25 years. But they now believe Tribune, which also owns the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other properties, will either be sold as a whole or in pieces.

Jim Anixter, the scion of a wealthy Chicago-area family, said he approached Tribune Co. about buying the Cubs and has been rebuffed.

Anixter has drafted a letter he intends to send to Eli Broad and Ron Burkle, the Los Angeles billionaires who have said they are interested in acquiring Tribune Co. Anixter said his message is simple: “If you are successful in buying Tribune, we’d like you to spin off the Cubs to us.”

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The White Sox dealt left-hander Neal Cotts to the Cubs for right-hander David Aardsma and minor league left-hander Carlos Vasquez.... First baseman Sean Casey is staying with the Tigers, agreeing to a $4-million, one-year contract.... Scott Spiezio and the Cardinals agreed to a $4.5-million, two-year contract.... Left-hander Jamie Walker and the Baltimore Orioles reached a preliminary agreement on a $12-million, three-year contract. The 35-year-old reliever was 0-1 with a 2.81 ERA this year for the Tigers.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Santana runaway

The voting for the American League Cy Young Award:

*--* Votes Player 1st 2nd 3rd Total Johan Santana, Min. 28 -- -- 140 Chien-Ming Wang, N.Y. -- 15 6 51 Roy Halladay, Toronto -- 12 12 48 Francisco Rodriguez, Angels -- 1 2 5 Joe Nathan, Min. -- -- 3 3 Kenny Rogers, Detroit -- -- 3 3 Justin Verlander, Detroit -- -- 2 2

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Source: Associated Press