Simply a great weekend to be a Yankee fan: three walk off wins, A-Rod silences some critics, starters look strong, Tex finding his swing, Johnny staying hot and some nice play from the bottom of the order. It’s been about 7 weeks since the start of the season and for the first time this year I had some confidence in the Yankees when they were down late in the game, as they strung together walk-off’s in three consecutive games for the first time since August of ’72.

If the Yankees expect to compete in what is considered the toughest division in baseball they are going to have to play with a swagger at the end of the game, winning or losing. They need to shut down games when they’re winning and they need to stay alive with their bats when they’re losing. I think its safe to say that the Yankees have regulated their bat’s heartbeats for the moment. And the bullpen may have hinted at what they potentially could look like.

On Friday the bullpen looked strong backing up a fairly mediocre Phil Hughes start (5.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 SO, and 4BB), as they strung together 4 IP 3 H and 1 ER, the lone run being surrendered by Coke on a solo shot. This was encouraging to watch. Phil looked shaky and struggled to get to the end of the fifth inning without giving up any solid ground. With the lowest ERA in the pen being 3.77 (ironically Coke) I cringed at the idea of having the Bomber’s pen try and keep them in the game. As I pried my hand from my eyes I noticed a surprisingly strong bullpen performance keeping us in the game only down two going into the 9th; allowing Melky to be the hero with his second walk-off hit of the season.

Saturday was all about the Yankee power hitters finally coming to the rescue. After winning a series in Toronto because of strong performances by the bottom half of the line-up, it was time for the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum to step up and prove their worth. Tex finally looked worth a fraction of his salary going 4 for 4 with a walk, a 3-run bomb, a double and 4 RBI’s, and was single handedly the reason they were able to play extra innings on Saturday. Then came A-Rod with the game-winning walk off 2 run blast in the bottom of the 11th. The much hated and jeered A-Rod trotted around the bases, as an electric Yankee Stadium seemed to shake for the first time in its existence.

On Sunday morning I watched his home run three times in a row on yankees.com purely to hear the crowd actually get behind A-Rod; it’s A-bout time (sorry it was too easy). The fans seemed to silence their boo’s in order to respond correctly to A-Rod’s bottom of the 11th game winning torpedo.

Sunday was a perfect way to close out a thrilling weekend of Yankee baseball. Burnett threw 6.2 innings of gem-like stuff. Although he walked entirely too many batters (6), he struck out 7 and only allowed 2 runs. The bullpen gave Coke a rest (the only bull pen pitcher to allow runs (1 Fri, 2 Sat) in the past two games), and had strong performances from Mo and Aceves who got the win. A-Rod produced the only real offense in the first 9 innings with his 7th inning line-drive home run.

After an impressive top of the 10th pitched by Aceves, Johnny Damon finished off the Twins with a dominating blast to the second deck of the right field stands reminding everyone that he’s still swinging a hot bat.

Despite A-Rod’s initial low numbers I couldn’t be happier with his effect on what was a very low-key Yankee squad. His “line-up protection” has indubitably improved Teixeira’s performance, and his power hitting has obviously led to Yankee wins. But the most encouraging thing about A-Rod’s return is watching how the fans have responded. The crowd sounded abundantly loud during his walk-off home run and the fans haven’t really booed him any where near as much as I expected. In fact Burnett seemed to have a harsher response returning to Toronto then A-Rod has endured anywhere this season (thank you Manny).

The starting rotation has been key to the Yanks latest win streak. Hughes seemed hesitant on the mound, worried this start would reflect his previous (lets just put ewww in here instead of his numbers) but in the end Hughes pitched a good game on Friday. Joba didn’t have his shaky first inning (thanks to a high school like simulated first inning in the bullpen) and was only slowed by his babying pitch count. And Burnett, although victory-less since mid April, pitched as well as someone could in a no-decision situation.

I’d like to see the starters go deeper into the game but if the bullpen is going to pitch the way they have the past few games then maybe all the starters need to do is finish the 6th. Phil Coke has been the Yankees best middle relief man but looked pretty hittable in his past two outings. Luckily for him the rest of the bullpen decided to pitch this weekend and give the Yankees a much-needed stronghold of the middle innings.

The two things the Yankees and their fans have wished for all season have finally come true…sort of: The bullpen kept the Yanks in the game and the middle of the line-up actually contributed! Not only did I sense some confidence when the Yankees were down late, not only did I not hyperventilate every time Girardi went to the bullpen, but I actually felt like we’d win the game in extra innings…even when A-Rod was up.

This couldn’t have come at a better time. The Yankees have a weak schedule coming up with the only real challenge in the next two weeks coming from Philly when defending champs visit the stadium this weekend. The Yankees should take advantage of this weak schedule and keep their hot streak alive. This early in the season all they need to do is to start tallying some wins and shorten the distance between them and the top of the division. It’s still early and I’m sure the Yankees have the ability to look terrible but maybe this is an advertisement of what’s to come.