The Yankees have come back from the All-Star break strong and have steam rolled into first place. With Boston going through a mini-slump and New York showcasing great starts by all 5 men in their current rotation, it’s not surprising to see the Yankees sitting on top of the American League one game in front of the sAWks.

Sergio Mitre was the name on everyone’s minds Tuesday night as he made his first big league start in two years. Stronger than everyone’s doubts was the faith Joe Girardi had in his former player. Girardi had managed Mitre in Florida during his rookie-coaching season in 2006 and said Monday night that Mitre had a “bulldog attitude.” The Yankees signed him this past off-season on what Mitre suspects was, “the advice of Girardi” (yankees.com)–looks like the skip was on to something.

Now I’m not sure he was bulldog-like on Tuesday night but he was at least a pissed off Golden Retriever in a field of squirrels. He was obviously excited to be back on the big league hill and showed he was worthy going 5 2/3 allowing only 3ER striking out 4 and walking 1. These are the kind of numbers a team is looking for out of a 5^th starter. And when you compare them to what Wang was giving us this season, Mitre’s look like Cy Young’s. Granted it was Baltimore, the bunny slope of the AL EAST Mountain, but it was still good to see him work his way out of trouble with confidence early in the game.

The team backed him up on both sides of the ball. The Yankees we only ever down for one-inning thanks mostly to a two-run, two-out single by A-Rod in the 3^rd, and a two-run bomb by Cano in the 4th. Robinson Cano is probably hitting the quietest .308 in the league to go along with his team leading 25 doubles. He has been a productive hitter who has dramatically lessened his strike out total (29). And so far this year he has proven last year’s numbers a fluke. He’s a flexible hitter and with Girardi’s ever-changing line-up card, that’s a very important thing.

The bullpen continued to look crisp Tuesday night as Phil Coke, Alfredo Aceves, and MO pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Aceves followed up Monday night’s win with another brilliant pitching performance Tuesday. He has turned into a fantastic relief pitcher (6-1 with a 2.53 ERA) and could be considered one of the best in baseball. He tried out starting against the Twins before the All-Star break, but I think the bullpen is his home and Pappa Girardi is obviously more than confident in his stuff.

Sticking with the bullpen: Phil Coke has regained the confidence he lost early in the season and has really been dependable lately, especially during these last 5 close wins. He’s improved his ERA to 3.76 and has been reliable considering he’s technically a rookie (Debuted September 1^st of last year and pitched 14.2 innings). He could be a very important piece to the Yankees playoff Jenga Tower.

The bullpen was definitely a large question mark at the beginning of the season but recently their role has cleared up and their confidence restored. These two guys along with MO and the developing Phil Hughes, have begun to cover up the shame left by Bruney’s flops and Marte’s busts. Everyone knows good pitching win’s ball games and the Yankee bullpen has been a exemplifying that recently.

This is the first time the Yankees have had the sole possession of 1^st place since June 8^th. They had it for a full day, coughed it up to the BoSox and were swept. As the dog days approach the value of first place increase as the room for error and bad play decreases. There are 11 games left between the top two teams in the AL East, 7 of which are played in the Bronx.

Unless you’re on crack or are a frequent Green Red Sox Jersey wearer, you hopefully realize that the 8-0 streak Boston has against the Bombers will end soon, probably the next time they play. The Yankees are flowing like the Nile during a monsoon and the Red Sox have been slow to start back up since the All-Star break. The success they’ve found against the Yankees is not equal to their success versus the rest of the league. The bad news for Red Sox fans is that reality is just around the corner and that reality is a lot of long nights in the Bronx.

But before I make claims beyond the appropriate boldness I’ll stick to simple predictions made with my brains and not my gut. The Yankees will have the 1^st place spot all to themselves at least one more night as they hope to sweep O’s on Wednesday. They have a very hot AJ Burnett facing off against a weak offensive Baltimore squad who are putting Jason Berken on the mound sporting a 1-7 record with a 6.53 ERA. This should be another sweep for the Yankees and another 24 hours in first place.