Jon Heyman is tweeting that the three-way trade between the Yankees, Tigers and Diamondbacks is a go, pending medicals on the players concerned. The Yankees get Curtis Granderson, the Diamondbacks get Edwin Jackson and Ian Jackson, and the Tigers get Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth and a couple of Yankees players. Steve Gilbert also says, "Looks like the three-way trade is going to happen," so that's good enough for me.

Edwin Jackson is 26 and has a career ERA+ of 96 in 110 starts, but had a very solid 2009, posting a 3.62 ERA for the Tigers (ERA+ of 127). Ian Kennedy is 25 and has a career ERA of 6.03, but has only made a dozen starts in the majors. More details and analysis to follow in due course. 

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FoxSports.com reports, "The Tigers are close to trading right-hander Edwin Jackson, according to major-league sources. The identity of the team is not known, but both the Diamondbacks and Mariners are known to have interest. The discussions have been more serious with Arizona than Seattle, according to one source."

The same story also goes on to say, "The Mets and Diamondbacks are the teams showing the most interest in free agent Adam Kennedy, major-league sources say, viewing him as a potential starter at second base." However, Nick Piecoro poo-poohs the latter report: "We’re told this isn’t true. A year ago this time, Kennedy would have made sense. Not now. They’ve got too many holes with too little money to be worrying about second base." Piecoro also reported earlier today that Arizona were "not close" to acquiring Jackson.

The official line from Josh Byrnes is that Arizona is "spending time in trade discussions with various clubs at this time," but Byrnes wouldn't go into any specifics such as players.

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

The Panda dives back to first, as a pick-off throw "bamboo-zles" Tracy and "shoots" past him during an April game in Phoenix.

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I'm pleased to report my digestive system is no longer participating in a Michael Bay remake of Krakatoa, East of Java. That's probably for the best, since our first-base situation is enough by itself to make me feel queasy. The past season was like the noted Abbott and Costello sketch for Diamondbacks fans: don't like who's starting first-base today? Come back tomorrow, you'll probably be happier. While we didn't quite have the most number of players at the position in the majors [the Cardinals used nine, though that was mostly LaRussa's late-inning shuffling: Phat Albert started at 1B 157 times], it certainly was the most unstable position on the field for Arizona, with seven different names appearing in the starting line-up.

This continues a decade-long trend: not since our inaugural season in 1998, has the same player started even 130 games at first-base, and in the past two seasons, the highs have been just 67 and 57 starts, by Conor Jackson and Chad Tracy respectively. [Today's trivia: name the most-frequent 1B for Arizona each season. Answer at the end of the article] After the jump, we'll take a look at what happened in 2010, and see whether there's hope for things to be any more stable in the upcoming season.

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I'd just like to say, gastroenteritis sucks. One second, you're feeling perfectly fine, the next you're calling for Ralph and Hughie on the big white telephone. Rinse. Repeat. I haven't been able to be more than 30 feet from a bathroom in two days now, except for the drive to and from work - and certainly makes for a nervous twenty minutes there, I can assure you. [Yes, I could call in sick, but I'm a firm believer that time off should only be taken when you are well enough to enjoy it. If I'm going to be miserable, I may as well get paid for it] Still, life goes on, and so does the ongoing work for the Diamondbacks' front-office, as they build towards 2010.

After the jump, we'll take a look at what the winter meetings may hold for Arizona - brief summary, nothing too startling, probably - discuss some unpleasantness down in Mobile, and look at what some of our guys are doing in the Central and South American leagues. I'll bring the saltine crackers.

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More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

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Haren, to no great surprise, cantered to victory in the Cy Young award, notching a thoroughly-convincing 86% of votes. Here's to the contest being a little closer in 2010, with Webb and Scherzer perhaps pushing Haren with their own pitching performances. We now move on to the final award: Most Valuable Player for the Diamondbacks in 2009.

You're kinda lucky this isn't just five players' name with a one-line summary such as 'Reynolds: hit the ball hard.' For yesterday, I came down with something rather nasty, stomach bug-wise - I'll spare you the details, but it was like a re-enactment of the Mr Creosote sketch from Monty Python's Meaning of Life. It was not a pleasant night. However, I am a bit better this morning [thanks go to Mrs. SnakePit and her NyQuil, hot sweet tea and damp towels for my forehead], so after the jump, we'll review the five top candidates for Diamondbacks MVP. I can not promise, however, that it will be entirely cut-and-paste free. Hey, I'm still not well...

I've also included the WAR [Wins Above Replacement] value from fangraphs.com, though obviously these do not take into account 'intangibles' such as leadership, etc. which may be considered important when deciding who is 'Most Valuable'. Will Haren's clear lead in this category be outweighed by his absence from the field of play four days out of five? It certainly doesn't seem to have hurt Brandon Webb, winner in both 2006 and 2007. He won't be a factor in this year's poll, and I'm thinking it could be quite close, as you could make a credible case for the majority of the nominees listed. After the jump, we'll list the names and put forward the cases.

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by David Zalubowski - AP

Montero gets up-close and personal with Todd Helton at home plate in Denver on July 4.

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Having completed the review of last season, it's time to turn the spotlight forward and look at what 2010 might bring for the Arizona Diamondbacks. I'll be doing this on a position-by-position basis, each Monday, and hope to keep them updated as we move through the winter, hence the imminent presence of a handy reference list on the sidebar. I'll be taking a look at what we got out of the spot in 2009, whether we might be looking to strengthen ourselves at the spot during the winter, and coming up with our depth-chart at the position for 2010.

We start off by going behind the plate, a spot which saw a definite shift in focus last season. Chris Snyder, with a solid contract extension, was the everyday starter, and there had even been discussion of shifting backup Miguel Montero to third-base during the preceding off-season. Circumstances, however, would end up driving the team in an entirely different direction, one that will likely persist into 2010. After the jump, we'll go into more detail about who'll be catching for the Diamondbacks next year.

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More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

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Congratulation to Gerardo Parra, who romped away with the Rookie of the Year 'Pittie, with 68% of the overall vote. I'm a little surprised it was quite as wide a margin, because by objective measurements like WAR or VORP, Parra was a good deal less credible a candidate than Juan Gutierrez. For instance, by WAR, Gutierrez came in at 1.5 wins, while Parra was all the way down at 0.3 wins. That puts him behind Rusty Ryal (0.6) and Zavada (0.4) and only fractionally ahead of Trent Oeltjen (0.2). However, by the time this was mentioned to me, Parra already had what was basically an unsurmountable lead.

To be honest, I've got a feeling this penultimate award is going to prove even more one-sided - and in this case, I don't think there will likely be much argument from the sabermetric community. Frankly, a chunk of me is tempted to toss up the obvious nomination and then go back to gnawing on honey-baked ham [which is basically what I'll have been doing for the past 24 hours or so] . However, that would be an abdication of my responsibilities. And, perhaps more important, merely typing the words "honey-baked ham" made me feel slightly nauseous. So, after the jump, we'll go through the five names on the ballot. And remember, it's an honor simply to be nominated...

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Here's a quick list of some of the baseball-related things, for which I'm thankful today:

• The game itself. Elegant in its simplicity, but endlessly fascinating.
• Jerry Colangelo, for having the vision and drive to bring baseball to the desert. I'd still have moved out here if there hadn't been a team, but I can hardly imagine myself supporting the closest team, the Padres...
• The 2001 World Series. There are eight teams in baseball that have never won a World Series, and three more that last did so more than fifty years ago. For the Diamondbacks to do so in my first year living here was a gift beyond compare.
• Chris: she shares as much of my passion for the game as possible, and tolerates the rest with endless patience.
• The community here at the 'Pit, who have shared their knowledge (not just in baseball!), humor and love of the game in a way that never ceases to amaze me and be appreciated.
• Blez and the rest of the SB Nation team, for building, maintaining and continuously improving the engine-room that powers this thing.
• Honey-baked ham. Oops, how did that get on here? ;-)
• The Diamondbacks organization. They're not perfect - no franchise ever will be - but they respect the fans and listen to them in a way that surpasses just about every team anywhere. 
• The Diamondbacks' players. There are certain (un-named) players on certain teams, who make me wonder how fans of that team can look at themselves in the mirror. There's no-one like that in Arizona.
• Hope. The feeling that 2010 is going to be better than 2009. That's something precious, which is not something every fan can say they feel.

I doubt there'll be much traffic on the site today, but if anyone cares to add to the list, please do so - you can also tell us what your day is going to be like. I'm currently awaiting the return of Mrs. SnakePit, who has gone to pick up her mother, and the turkey has just begun its slow-cooking process. Sorry, did I say "turkey"? I think Chris must have picked up a pterodactyl by mistake, going by the size of the beast. Anyway, various family members will be swinging by later, and we're going to have dinner out on the porch. This will be followed by the traditional groaning, complaining that we've eaten too much and falling asleep in front of the television.

Please have a happy, fun and safe Thanksgiving, and I'll see you tomorrow for the leftovers!