It's the last weekend of the MLB regular season. Here are five non-Sox related things I'm thinking about:

1. The two most disappointing teams this season had to be the Cubs and Mets. Both had big payrolls ($149 million for NY and $135 million for Chicago) and were expected to win their divisions, or at least be very competitive. The Mets were ravaged by injuries (Beltran, Reyes, Delgado, Wright and Santana all missed significant time) and the Cubs just never seemed to get going.
2. Colorado bounced back nicely from a poor 2008 to make the playoffs and still have an outside chance of winning the division (although it would require a sweep at Dodger Stadium this weekend). And they didn't need a freak winning streak to do it like they did in 2007.
3. It's a bit sad that two once-great franchises, the Pirates and Royals, have fallen on such hard times.
4. Did Cleveland really have a 3-1 lead on the Red Sox in the 2007 ALCS? How did they fall apart so quickly? Maybe trading the last two A.L. Cy Young Award winners had something to do with it.
   
5. Joe Mauer is one of my favorite non-Sox players. I hope the Twins can manage to sign him to a long term deal before he goes to free agency. Hopefully the revenues generated by the new Target Field help. They should do a big business in hand warmers and wool caps in April.