Yankees 8, Twins 2

Significant for two reasons:

1. No Yankee--not Babe Ruth, not Joe DiMaggio, not Mickey Mantle, not Reggie--ever hit five home runs in the first six games of the season . . . until A-Rod did so as of today.

2. Pavano, Pavano. With everything patch, patch, patch, this was a good sign. Now, let's see, if Wang comes back, Moose warms up, Pettitte does whatever, Igawa can throw a breaking ball for a called strike, then we got something.

3. Aside from A-Rod, the bullpen has been the team strength. Assuming the starting pitching gets figured out somehow (which may entail a trade, with teams lined up around the block to grad Hrubey or Viz, and Cashman looking more for a salary dump), and we know the hitting will be there . . . okay. No panic.

4. Don't tell me that they're playing well 'cause they're out of the cold. What good is clustering wins in warm weather if presumptive October baseball might be played in Detroit, in Boston, and certainly--duh--in the Bronx?