Davidoff: Yankees appear to be heating up at right time

You know the baseball adage that it's not the best team that wins the World Series, it's the hottest team?

History shows that you don't need a great deal of lead time to get hot. Two weeks. A week. Maybe even just a couple of days. Maybe zero days (remember the 2000 Yankees?).

With these 2010 Yankees, it has been merely four victories in five days. Yet with a second straight win over the Rays last night, 8-3, at Yankee Stadium, they're starting to look like a righted ship. Their 21/2-game lead over Tampa Bay in the division (two in the loss column) marks their largest such advantage since Sept. 9.

And in evening the season series with their new rivals at 8-8 - important, since the head-to-head matchup will determine the division winner if the teams finish with the same record - the Yankees reminded the baseball world that, if they're not perfect, well then, neither are the Rays. "You still have a lot of games, and you've got to play good baseball throughout," the ever-stoic Joe Girardi said after the game. "Obviously, it's better to have a 21/2-game lead than no lead at all, or to be behind."

It's true that, with the erratic A.J. Burnett pitching Wednesday night for the Yankees and the sublime David Price pitching Thursday night for Tampa Bay, this seeding race could turn right back around. Nevertheless, the Yankees' return home seems to have reinforced some positives from their challenging 3-6 road trip through Texas, Tampa Bay and Baltimore, rather than reviving some negatives.

Phil Hughes, in picking up his 17th victory of the season, offered fodder for both pessimists and optimists. Despite being handed a 5-0, first-inning lead, he labored through the first four innings, walking five and throwing 80 pitches. Then he straightened out to last into the seventh inning, retiring seven of the final eight batters he faced.

With probably one start left as he approaches his innings limit of 175 (he's at 1691/3), Hughes expressed satisfaction in his stuff and, particularly, his improved changeup as a weapon against lefthanders.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez each contributed a pair of hits, providing hope that their respective worst full seasons of their major-league careers will turn upward at the ideal time. And with Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner back in the lineup, the Yankees look far more imposing offensively than they did just last week at Tropicana Field. They put up a five-run first against Tampa Bay starter "Big Game James" Shields.

Javier Vazquez? He relieved Hughes and didn't pitch very well. The Yankees might leave him off the postseason roster. Nevertheless, it appears that the Yankees have sufficient pitching depth for the upcoming postseason run. Joba Chamberlain, who cleaned up a mini-mess made by Vazquez in the eighth and quickly worked through the ninth, looked very sharp again.

Questions loom about the pitching, and about the old men Jeter and A-Rod. Every AL competitor faces concerns, though. The Rays' starting rotation beyond Price looks pretty underwhelming.

The Rangers, whom the Yankees would play in the first round if the playoffs began today, announced that star outfielder Josh Hamilton has two fractured ribs. The Twins, the Yankees' perennial postseason punching bags, announced that stud catcher Joe Mauer would probably receive a cortisone shot to treat inflammation in his left knee. Important players, unsettling developments.

Who's the hot team? We still have another week and a half to see. At this point, whether you're looking at the Yankees or their competition, you have little reason to feel down if you're rooting for a repeat World Series championship.