Mauer opens up lead in the AL batting race

Joe Mauer has won two American League batting titles, but this is the first time that he has led the league in hitting at this point in this season.

Mauer, who could be headed for his third batting crown, was hitting .374 after the Twins' 7-3 victory over Cleveland on Wednesday. His nearest rival is Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who was hitting .354 after going 1-for-3 against the White Sox on Wednesday night.

In 2006, when Mauer won the batting title for the first time, he was second in the American League, batting .344 behind the Yankees' Derek Jeter, who was at .346 on Sept. 16.

The Twins catcher finished at .347 to Jeter's .343. Mauer batted .383 in 11 games from Sept. 17 until the end of the season, compiling 18 hits during the remaining games.

On Sept. 16, 2008, Mauer was third in the American League, trailing Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox at .327 and Magglio Ordonez of the Tigers at .324. Mauer finished at .328, ahead of Pedroia's .326.

Winning a third batting title and being ranked as the best catcher in baseball means Mauer will become one of the highest-paid players in the game when he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2010 season.

Recently Mauer was asked if he has a preferred timetable for having his contract -- and future with the Twins -- resolved.

Mauer was also asked why, with all of the relatives he has attending games, he wouldn't stay home or close to home, all things being equal or close to equal?

"I grew up here, and my family gets to watch me every night," he said. "That is something I've been very appreciative of, and it's kind of neat. I think a lot of people always want to come back home and play for their hometown team. I've been fortunate to start off here."

Well, I don't think money will be the prime factor when it comes to Mauer's decision where he will play. The Twins can't afford to lose him, and I'm sure Mauer wants to continue to play here.

The Lions' losing record It's hard to believe that the Vikings have defeated the Lions in 17 of their past 19 meetings.

In fact, even if you go back to the Bud Grant days, the Vikings have always done well against the Lions. During Grant's tenure as head coach from 1967 to 1983, and in 1985, the Vikings compiled a 26-8-1 record against Detroit.

One thing current coach Brad Childress didn't want to talk about was that losing streak.

"I don't know anything about that streak," said Childress, who has led the Vikings to a 5-1 record against the Lions, the only loss coming on an overtime field goal in 2007.

Childress said the Lions are dangerous "in terms of having a strong-armed quarterback [rookie Matt Stafford], an exceptional wide receiver [Calvin Johnson], a good runner [Kevin Smith]."

Then Childress talked about his respect for Scott Linehan, the former Vikings offensive coordinator who now has that job with the Lions. Linehan, Childress, said, is good at putting the best Lions offensive players in a variety of schemes where they can succeed.

In losing to the Saints last week, Stafford was 16-for-37 for 205 yards and was intercepted three times, twice by former Vikings safety Darren Sharper. The Lions allowed six touchdown passes by Drew Brees. This tied a Saints single-game record that had held up since 1969, when Billy Kilmer led a 51-42 defeat of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Jottings Michael Cuddyer is a much better hitter while playing first base than while playing right field. In 17 games at first base for the Twins this season, Cuddyer has hit .353 with seven homers, 16 RBI and five doubles.

The lights at Target Field will be lit for the first time on Oct. 5. The stadium lights will be on for 100 consecutive hours as a part of a testing process. That's the Monday night that the Vikings host the Packers, so it wouldn't be a surprise if ESPN includes the Twins' new home in its broadcast. The Gophers also host Wisconsin the previous Saturday, the Twins play their last game at the Dome the next afternoon, then the Vikings face Favre's former team.

Michael Jordan, just inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and Vikings star Adrian Peterson are scheduled to appear at the Trent Tucker Celebrity Poker and Golf Tournament today through Saturday. The poker tournament will be at the Running Aces Harness Park near Forest Lake, and the golf will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday with a shotgun start at Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove. Jordan will play golf, Peterson will play poker. Proceeds support the Trent Tucker Youth Program.

Ryan Grant, the former Eden Prairie football player and son of coach Mike Grant, is one of few freshmen playing for the Gophers. He is on most of the special teams. One of Grant's former high school teammates, Corey Frazier, is a second-team defensive back at Rice as a freshman.

St. Paul native Jeff Nelson, an American League umpire, worked the Cleveland series at the Dome. Nelson has completely recovered from the cancer that had sidelined him.

Bloomington native and former Wild forward Mark Parrish is taking part in the Vancouver Canucks training camp.

Faribault native and goaltender Jordan Parise (son of former NHLer J.P., brother of Zach of the New Jersey Devils) was sent by the Penguins on Wednesday to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL.

Manny Fernandez, the ex-Wild goaltender who was traded to the Bruins, is a free agent who hasn't signed with anybody.

The St. Louis Blues extended coach Andy Murray's contract through the 2010-11 season Tuesday. Murray, a former North Stars assistant coach and head coach at Shattuck-St. Mary's, spends part of his summers in Faribault.