Deal #1 will bring first baseman extraordinaire (left...that is a beautiful, beautiful sight) and former BoSock (BoSox? What is the singular form of Sox?) Doug Mientkiewicz to the Bronx for a cool $1.5 mil for the 2007 season. Mientky will take over the daily first base duties, freeing Giambi up for full-time DH work and freeing the Yankees Chick from having to watch the lumbering (fat?) Giambi awkwardly shuffle towards 1st to retrieve a double-play throw from Jeet or Cano. Where the move leaves Andy Phillips, who played 94 games at first base in 2006, is unclear. I would imagine that he will remain on the roster since he has also proved that he can play 3rd base in a pinch (he's played 15 games there over the past 3 seasons), but barring an injury I doubt we'll be seeing much AP in '07.

The 2nd deal announced yesterday is, of course, the Big Unit trade, which comes as no big surprise after the rampant speculation that took place last week. Mr. Mullet (see right; Randy, please grow it back, it would make me so happy) will be heading back to Arizona for both the 2007 and 2008 seasons - the D-Backs are giving the giant freak an extension as part of the deal - and reliever Luis Vizcaino and 3 exciting prospects are heading to the Bronx. The Yanks will reportedly have to pay between $1.5 and $2 mil of Randy's 2007 salary, which is actually a pretty small sum - teams often have to pay a hefty chunk of a traded star's salary (see Texas Rangers).

Both of these moves have made the Yankees Chick very happy to be a Yankees fan for the first time since October. Mientky may not be an offensive intimidater, but he will certainly tighten the Yanks' defense, an area the team has been in dire need of improving for quite some time. As for the Unit, I doubt I am the only one that will not miss him. His attitude really irritates me, and while I do think he is still capable of putting up a solid performance, his work in New York was nothing that can't be replaced. I'm also very excited about all 4 of the players the Yanks scored from Arizona. Vizcaino is a solid middle reliever whose presence will strengthen the bullpen - another area that seemingly always needs bolstering - and all 3 prospects (2 pitchers and a shortstop) look very promising. The prospect of having more exciting prospects (see what I did there...I'm clever) to look forward to is something a lot of Yankees fans have been desiring for a long time, and it is thrilling to see Cashman making a serious effort to make the sure the Yanks' farm brings some good crop to the big leagues in the future.

The only downside to these moves is that the roster is getting filled up very quickly, leaving the chances of another season with Bernie looking slimmer by the day. Much-loved as he is, I don't see a spot for him with the Yanks for 2007...unless its in a coaching uniform...