USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale has some interesting notes on Brian Cashman and the Randy Johnson trade. In addition to revealing the degree to which the Johnson deal was influenced by Randy’s unhappiness in New York, the article contains some remarks from Cashman confirming the approach that has been evident on the transaction wire. Sez Cash: “I’ve been very vocal and stated our goals. We want to reduce payroll, improve our farm system, get younger and have more flexibility.” Can’t get much clearer than that.

Speaking of the Johnson deal, about which I’m surprisingly lukewarm, the Yankees inked Luis Vizcaino, the homer-happy righty setup man they acquired in the deal, to a one-year, $3-million contract on Wednesday, thus settling with their only arbitration-eligible player.

On a personal note, my apologies for my disappearance from this space over the past month. I’ve just finished editing Baseball Prospectus 2007, a monstrous task, as you may have heard from my cohort Steven Goldman (Steve and Christina Kahrl are BP’s editors on the book; starting with this year’s edition and for the next two years, I am the publishing house’s editor). With that done, I’m back in action as we hurtle toward pitchers and catchers, which is now just 27 days away.