The Yankees wrapped up the trade season with a minor, yet surprisingly good trade, sending Shawn Chacon to Pittsburgh for Craig Wilson. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but Wilson can definitely help this team down the stretch.

Wilson hits lefties well, Andy Phillips hits righties well … it’s a good match for a platoon at first base, at least for the next month. Chacon was essentially worthless to this team at this point, so to get a serviceable player for him is impressive.

Brian Cashman did a phenomenal job this week, acquiring Bobby Abreu, Cory Lidle and Wilson without sacrificing any of the team’s top prospects. I said my peace on Abreu and Lidle last night, so I won’t repeat myself. But the thing that stands out to me above all else is that Cashman got the job done.

Boston? No moves.

Toronto? No moves.

Chicago? No moves.

Minnesota? No moves.

But the Yankees, hot in the middle of both the AL East and AL Wild Card races, did what they had to do in order to make a run down the stretch.

Are they the best team in the AL now? Probably not, since Detroit still holds that distinction. But did the Yankees thrust themselves right there with Boston and Chicago for No. 2, and there is no reason to think that they can’t overtake the Red Sox and win the AL East now. Even the most pessimistic of Yankees fans has to admit that now.

Some thoughts from around the league… It’s nice to see Greg Maddux get a chance to finish up with a decent team instead of languishing with the Cubs for the rest of the season. … I’m shocked that Alfonso Soriano is still with the Nationals, but not at all surprised that Miguel Tejada, Barry Zito and Roy Oswalt remained with their teams. … The Mets did a nice job getting Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez after finding out that Duaner Sanchez will miss the rest of the season.

With the trade deadline behind us, my vacation begins. I’ll be off for a week before rejoining the circus in Chicago for the Yankees-White Sox series.

Keep the blog alive — I know you will.

After dozens of rumors and weeks of speculation, the Yankees finally made their move.

No, they didn’t deal away Hughes, Melky or Tabata; instead, they sent away last year’s first-round pick, C.J. Henry, fan-favorite lefty Matt Smith and two kids from A-ball to the Phillies for Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle.

What a deal for Brian Cashman.

In Abreu, the Yankees landed the corner-outfield bat they needed so badly, and they got a serviceable starter for the bottom of their rotation to boot. To do those things and not give up the gems of their farm system, that’s pretty amazing.

Abreu hasn’t shown much power since last year’s All-Star week, when he hit about 1,000 homers to win the Home Run Derby. He has just eight bombs this year, but they don’t need Abreu to hit homers. He has an OBP of .427, which can only help this lineup.

New York didn’t even have to pick up Abreu’s $15 million option for 2008, which is a huge factor. The Yanks are committed to Abreu through the end of 2007, and that’s it.

Lidle isn’t going to set the world on fire, but he’ll give the Yankees innings and a chance to win just about every game he pitches. Certainly a better option than Sidney Ponson.

To top it all off, the Yanks didn’t have to part with Scott Proctor, who, in addition to being a good guy in the clubhouse, has been an invaluable piece of the bullpen, especially since the All-Star break. Mike Mussina actually seemed most excited after the game on Sunday that Proctor wasn’t traded, which shows how important Proctor’s teammates believe he is.

Will there be more deals on Monday? I’m sure of it. Will the Yankees make any of them? It’s a possibility, as Cashman could go get another relief arm along the lines of Roberto Hernandez from Pittsburgh.

No matter what happens, the Yankees improved themselves at little cost. Cashman should sleep well tonight.

I’ll say this for the Yankees … they take a beating with the best of ‘em.

It was just a little more than three weeks ago when the Bombers were torched, 19-1, by the Indians in Cleveland, so Saturday’s 19-6 loss wasn’t even their worst defeat of the month. Of course, it came at the hands of the last-place Devil Rays, but I think this is one they will be able to put in the rear-view mirror rather quickly.

As we all watched the scoreboard (or our MLB.com Gameday, in my case) as Francisco Rodriguez gave away a two-run lead to the Red Sox in the eighth inning, I had a bad feeling about the Yankees’ fortunes on this day. Instead of a chance to take hold of first place, the Yanks were playing to keep the deficit at a half-game.

After Jeter and Giambi went back-to-back, it looked like New York would be off and running, but instead, an untimely Johnny Damon error (which could have just as easily been scored a double) and a few bad Randy Johnson pitches later, the Rays were ahead — for good.

I don’t think this game will have a negative effect on Johnson. Unlike earlier in the season, where he was searching for answers and taking things personally, he has pitched very well of late (8 of his last 10 starts have been excellent), so he should be able to put it behind him. He certainly did that after his horrific start against the Mets on July 1, and I expect him to do so when he takes the mound later this week.

Yes, the Yanks lost a game to both the Red Sox and White Sox, but it makes little difference. Over the next 61 games, that is bound to happen from time to time. The big picture is that they have won five of their last seven and 14 of their last 20. They’re in good shape right now.

Mussina takes the mound Sunday, which should provide a nice lift for them. Proctor, Farnsworth and Rivera also didn’t throw in the past three days, so they should be very fresh. After the 19-1 loss in Cleveland, the Yanks bounced back with four straight wins. I’d be surprised if the same type of thing didn’t begin on Sunday.

What a difference three days makes, eh?

It was just a few days ago in this very space that I talked about the highs and lows of the baseball season and how people’s perception of a team can change on a day to day basis.

Case in point: After losing three of four in Toronto, there was a lot of panic among Yankees fans. They had their hats handed to them by the Blue Jays, who has crept within two games of New York, while the Red Sox had a 2 1/2-game lead in the AL East and the White Sox were 2 1/2 games up in the Wild Card standings.

Now here we are, three days later, and the Yankees sit on top of the Wild Card standings and have trimmed a game off Boston’s lead, which is now just 1 1/2 games in the East. As for mighty Toronto? They’re four games behind the Yanks. Things are looking up for the Bombers.

Things are also looking up for A-Rod, who went 4-for-12 with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, two RBIs and five runs scored in the three-game series against his former team. He also went three straight games without an error, making every play that came his way. Perhaps this will put an end to this whole A-Rod nonsense, but I doubt it. It will, however, be interesting to see how he is received at home on Friday night.

A few notes from Wednesday’s game:

* Nobody needs Thursday’s off day quite like Scott Proctor. He took one for the team when he took the ball on Wednesday, as Kyle Farnsworth’s back wouldn’t allow him to pitch. Farnsworth expects to be ready on Friday.

* Jason Giambi may be in a bit of a slump at the plate, going 5-for-26 (.192) on the road trip, but two of those five hits led directly to Yankees wins. His pinch-hit RBI double tied the game in New York’s only win in Toronto, while his two-run blast on Wednesday was the game-winner against Texas. Not a bad way to chip in during a slump.

* T.J. Beam didn’t do very well on Wednesday, but I think this kid has some potential. I know that a lot of fans want to see Matt Smith and his 0.00 ERA up here instead, but the Yankees don’t have a need for a third left-hander in the bullpen. Torre seems to have a lot of confidence in Beam, who was lighting it up in the minors before being called up again.

* Shawn Chacon’s huge eighth inning was a nice moment for him on Wednesday, but I fully expect the Yankees to give Sidney Ponson another shot as the fifth starter on Aug. 5. Chacon could see more time pitching in the bullpen, but until he puts a few good outings together in a row, I don’t think he’ll be back in the rotation.

* The Yankees catch a break this weekend, as Scott Kazmir won’t be starting for the Devil Rays after being scratched with a sore shoulder. Tampa Bay will start Tim Corcoran, Jae Seo and James Shields, while the Yankees counter with Chien-Ming Wang, Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina.

I’ll be back Saturday. Who knows how y’all will feel about the Yanks by then.

A lot of people have asked me over the years, "How do you live in New York City?"

I spent my entire childhood and the majority of my adult years living in Manhattan, so I guess it’s just second nature for me. Living in New Jersey now, I find it strange at times, but I’m adjusting. Especially to having more than 550 square feet to live in.

That said, I must ask a similar question. How does anybody live in Dallas?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are nice things about Texas, I just never seem to come across them during my brief trips here. The weather is oppressively hot, the air seems to always be thick enough to chew and you have to drive everywhere you go.

I just don’t get it.

Very strange game tonight for the Yankees, who collected just four hits but managed to score seven runs in another win. For those of you counting at home, that’s five wins in five tries in Arlington this season, with a 7-2 overall mark against the Rangers.

The Yankees’ two big innings came in the fourth (three runs on one hit) and the fifth (Aaron Guiel’s three-run homer), both coming in unlikely fashion.

I keep hearing how the Yankees can’t possibly score enough runs with the guys they’re throwing out there on a nightly basis, but guys like Guiel and Miguel Cairo are coming up with big hits, and even in an 0-for-19 slump, Andy Phillips contributed with a big, bases-loaded walk to get the first run on the board.

The bullpen has been dominating of late, with Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth slamming the door on opponents to set up Mariano Rivera. Proctor had another great outing on Tuesday, retiring all six men he faced. He hasn’t allowed a run in nine consecutive innings, a stretch of seven appearances since the All-Star break.

A-Rod went 0-for-1 in the game, but he reached base three times (two walks and a hit-by-pitch) and scored a pair of runs. After the game, he chatted outside the clubhouse with his former teammate, Rafael Palmeiro, who appeared to be giving Alex some hitting advice.

These last two wins have helped to erase the memory of the disastrous weekend in Toronto, but a sweep on Wednesday would send them back to New York feeling very good about themselves.

"I’m mad as ****, and I’m not going to take it anymore!"

No, Alex Rodriguez didn’t utter those words on Monday. Those words, of course, belong to Peter Finch’s character, Howard Beale, in the movie "Network," for which Finch earned an Academy Award.

A-Rod didn’t quite hit that kind of high note after Monday’s game, but he did make it clear that he wasn’t going to sit back and take the kind of criticism that he has been subjected to over the past few weeks.

Rodriguez compared his plight to that of Tiger Woods, who was the subject of question after question following the U.S. Open, when Woods missed the cut in a major for the first time as a pro.

"People expect a lot out of me," Rodriguez said. "You saw Tiger Woods three weeks ago, he didn’t make the cut [at the U.S. Open], and he was thrown under every bus in the world. The same thing is going on with me.

"He just came back and won the British Open," he continued, "so hopefully I can come back and shut some people up."

Of course, Woods was just weeks removed from the death of his father, and he hadn’t played golf in about two months, so he had a good excuse. A-Rod hasn’t been dealing with anything of that nature, but he made his point. He’s tired of the harsh criticism and he’s ready to do something about it.

As my buddy Sweeny pointed out to me in the press box, this is something we haven’t seen from Rodriguez in recent weeks. Throughout this entire ordeal, he has repeatedly said that he’s not bothered by the fans’ booing, by the media’s criticism or by anything people are saying about him.

But Monday, he indicated otherwise. It’s about time.

If A-Rod is finally ready to take a "Screw you" attitude toward this whole thing, if he is ready to show a fiery side that people don’t see, it can only help him. Go to the plate with some attitude, the one that helped you win a pair of MVP awards. A little chip on your shoulder isn’t always a bad thing — just ask Gary Sheffield.

After going 0-for-10 to finish the Blue Jays series, A-Rod had a pair of hits on Monday, including a single on which he scored the game-winning run and an RBI double.

Is this the start of something good? Who knows. If A-Rod really intends to "shut some people up," it better be.

Do you know what I find fascinating about the baseball season? You can change your mind every day about a team’s fate.

I’m not talking about what happens when a team loses a key player to injury, but rather how a team’s overall personality and look can be so different from one day to the next.

After five innings on Saturday, the Yankees trailed the Blue Jays by two runs and appeared to be well on their way to a fourth straight loss. That would have put them only one game ahead of Toronto, left them 3 1/2 games behind the Red Sox and in no position to gain any ground on the White Sox.

Things just didn’t look good. Teams that go into bad losing streaks, especially this time of year when races are really starting to take shape, sometimes can’t control it when it starts to snowball in the wrong direction.

Less than two innings later, New York had a 5-4 lead, then Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth struck out six batters and Mariano Rivera closed the game 1-2-3 in the ninth.

All of a sudden, the Yankees found themselves three games ahead of Toronto, 2 1/2 games behind Boston (two in the loss column, which is what really matters) and just 1 1/2 out of the Wild Card behind Chicago.

Don’t get me wrong … a loss on Sunday, combined with wins by Boston and Chicago will send people scurrying around in a panic, wondering how the Yankees can get themselves back in the race.

That’s the beauty of a 162-game schedule. Teams can win five straight and it looks like they’re world beaters. Then they can follow that with three losses and even the most optimistic fan can begin to think, ‘Maybe next year.’ One win, however, can turn that fan right back into the believer that he or she was just days ago.

This is going to happen a lot over the next 10 weeks. How great is that?

(Yes! I made it through an entire blog entry without mentioning A-Rod! Oh, wait …*****.)

Well, this road trip hasn’t gotten off to a very good start for the Yankees, but it’s not quite time to panic yet.

Yes, the Blue Jays handed it to the Yanks the past two days, with Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett besting Mike Mussina and Jaret Wright. Toronto pulled within two games of the Yankees, who are now 3 1/2 behind Boston and 2 1/2 behind Wild Card leaders Chicago.

While people sweat out the Red Sox and worry about the Blue Jays, the Yankees all of a sudden have another team to pay attention to: the Twins.

That’s right, the duo of Santana and Liriano have brought Minnesota within a half-game of the Yankees and three games of the White Sox, putting them smack in the middle of the Wild Card race. The Twins suffered two bad losses with the injuries to Torii Hunter and Shannon Stewart, but with those two horses at the top of the rotation, you can’t count them out.

So now we’re looking at a three-team race in the East and a four-team race for the Wild Card. This is what baseball is all about.

There will be plenty of panic spreading throughout Yankees fans — especially the regulars on this blog — but there’s no reason for it yet.

Why not? No, I’m not going to feed you any lines about the pitching getting better, the offense improving or the injured players coming back.

The simple fact of the matter is that with 11 games against Toronto, nine against Boston, three against Minnesota and three against Chicago, the Yankees still have the chance to control their own destiny. Beat the teams that you’re fighting with and you make the playoffs. It’s in their own hands. They’re not at the point yet where they have to count on other teams doing their dirty work for them.

Throw in 13 games against the lowly Orioles, 10 against the feisty Devil Rays and three each vs. the Royals and Mariners, that is another 29 games against terrible competition. Go 15-4 in those games and things will look a lot better.

It’s July 21. There is no reason to count any team out yet. At least not the ones who are this close to the postseason.

On a side note, it was nice to see Alex Rodriguez hit his three-run homer on Friday. It was the 2,000th hit and 450th home run of his career, giving him an opportunity to reflect on his amazing career and remember that he is one of the best players in the game.

Sure, it would have been nicer for him to reach those milestones in a victory, but it wasn’t meant to be. Yeah, he made yet another error (and could have been charged with a second on a missed popup), but that wasn’t the story tonight. A.J. Burnett dominating the Yanks offense (save for A-Rod’s homer, there wasn’t much of it) was the story.

Maybe this hit will remind Alex who he is. For the Yankees’ sake, they better hope it does.

Before tonight’s game, I was expecting a classic matchup between Mike Mussina and Roy Halladay, one which I would be able to gush over in this very space when I got back to my hotel.

Mussina looked marvelous through five innings, allowing two measly singles. Halladay pitched well, but the Yankees took a 3-0 lead and appeared to be on their way to a big win.

Then came the sixth. A-Rod made an error, which helped one run score. Mussina made a couple of bad pitches, and all of a sudden the Jays led 4-3.

What happened from there became almost insignificant. Yes, the Yankees battled back against B.J. Ryan, the bullpen performed well for both teams after that and Vernon Wells ended up blasting a walk-off homer against Mariano Rivera, the first homer allowed by Mo since last August.

But after the game, what was the talk among fans, reporters and even some players?

Yup, you guessed it. A-Rod.

This is getting out of hand. As I was leaving the ballpark, my boy Bordo pointed out to me that only with A-Rod could an error that made the game 3-1, an error that had little to do with the next three runs scoring, an error that certainly had nothing to do with Wells’ game-winner — only with this guy could that error be the talk of this game.

If Derek Jeter had made the same play, it would have been mentioned, then forgotten about five minutes later. But it’s A-Rod, so it’s now back-page news.

Gimme a break.

Yes, Alex is going through another horrendous stretch in the field. Yes, he has 17 errors after making 13 all of last year. Yes, the fans have decided that they just can’t take him anymore and they would like to see him dealt anywhere else, giving some other fan base the pleasure of watching him play on a daily basis.

Folks, we’re not talking about Chuck Knoblauch here.

The decision to throw home tonight may not have been the best one, but it wasn’t the worst one, either. I said at the time that I thought he should have thrown to first, and I still believe that. Mussina said the same thing after the game, saying that he would have traded that run for the second out of the inning in a heartbeat. I don’t blame him. A 3-1 game with no one on base and two outs would likely have remained 3-1 at the end of the inning. But it didn’t.

If Alex makes a good throw there, no one says anything about the decision. But he dipped his arm and made a bad throw, and the floodgates opened from there. Blame Alex, blame Mussina, blame Mariano … they each played a part in this loss. Blame Jeter for his 0-for-4. Blame all of the above for playing a part in the loss. But to lay this loss at A-Rod’s feel alone is just going overboard. It’s ganging up on the guy and kicking him while he’s down.

I’m not saying that he doesn’t deserve some of the blame. He certainly does. Had this game been at the Stadium, he would have most certainly heard the boos loud and clear.

But the latest incident of his photos in the park? I have never heard anything more ridiculous than the idea that by laying out with his wife and daughter in Central Park, he was too weak to play a game. He’s from Miami for crying out loud. Hot weather is normal for him. This is a story? It’s stuff like this that makes me feel bad for the guy.

I got several e-mails today asking me about some trade rumor that seems to be floating around, one which would send Alex and Melky Cabrera to the Phillies for Bobby Abreu, David Bell, Tom Gordon and Pat Burrell. I have absolutely no idea where this rumor came from (I did a Google search and came up with nothing), but it’s the most absurd thing I have ever heard.

A-Rod can’t handle the pressure and the boos in the Bronx, so he’s going to accept a trade to … Philadelphia? Huh? This is the city that booed Santa Claus for crying out loud!

Alex isn’t accepting a trade anywhere. Plain and simple. Propose all of the crazy ideas that you want on this blog, call up Mike and the Mad Dog and tell them what the Yankees could get for him, send a letter to Brian Cashman at the Stadium and give him your ideas. None of it will matter.

If Alex were to waive his no-trade and take the next flight out of town, it would be him admitting that he failed in New York and couldn’t handle the pressure. That isn’t going to happen.

After the game, someone asked Alex if he was getting to the point where he thought he would be better off playing elsewhere. He laughed a little and put an end to that idea in about five seconds.

"That’s not true," he said. "That couldn’t be further from the truth. That’s a ridiculous thought."

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Back in Canada for the second time this year. I’m afraid that by the next time I come here, the Canadian dollar will actually be worth more than the American buck. I got $107 CAD for $100 US … yet somehow, the prices up here haven’t gone down at all. What a rip.

I must admit, though, that after the heatwave that hit the New York area this week, I must say that four days in a climate-controlled dome sound pretty good.

Back to baseball … Toronto designated Shea Hillenbrand for assignment, meaning he’ll be traded or released in the next 10 days. Judging by the fact that many fans wanted the Yankees to bring up Erubiel Durazo last month, I’m guessing there will be people who think that the Bombers go after Hillenbrand now.

My question is, why?

Hillenbrand is a first baseman who can also play a little third. Despite the intense hatred for A-Rod by the fans right now, the fact is that he’s not going anywhere. So that rules out the need for a new third baseman.

If you get him to play first or DH, you’re essentially getting rid of Andy Phillips. Why would you do that? Phillips has played well, is probably a better fielder than Hillenbrand and costs next to nothing.

I see no upside in adding Hillenbrand in place of Phillips. If the Yankees are going to add a bat, it should be one that plays a corner outfield spot, and Hillenbrand doesn’t.

The closer we get to the deadline, the more I think the Yankees won’t do much in the way of dealing. I still think that a guy like David Dellucci would help, but the Yanks shouldn’t deal any major prospects (forget Hughes or Tabata … they’re not going anywhere) for a guy like Soriano or Abreu.

Yes, the offense struggled the last couple of days, but they also put up plenty of runs against the White Sox. They have the horses to score runs. Matsui should be back in three or four weeks, so I don’t think a big bat is a priority.

I’ll stick with my prediction of 3 out of 4 in Toronto. Mussina vs. Halladay tonight … should be very entertaining.