Yankees pickups are stickups

April baseball is fraught with moments that feel huge and turn out to be little after all. Exhibit A could wind up being the Yankees' exciting 6-5 victory over nemesis Texas (and venerable punching bag Arthur Rhodes) Sunday night at Yankee Stadium.

Say this for these Yankees, however, at this odd juncture in which they stand as the lone American League East team with a winning record (9-5):

They've put together a strong first draft.

Newcomer Eric Chavez, filling in for the ailing Alex Rodriguez, smoked an eighth-inning single off Rhodes, driving in Mark Teixeira from second base with the go-ahead run. Russell Martin, Chavez's fellow first-year Yankee, slammed a tying two-run homer in the fifth.

For such a bummer of an offseason, the Yankees' winter moves look pretty savvy. Even Rafael Soriano, the expensive, eccentric setup man, picked up the win, thanks to a scoreless eighth inning.

"The guys are veterans," said CC Sabathia, who started the game and drew a no-decision. "I think they knew what they were stepping into. This is a great clubhouse and a great team to be on. They've embraced it, and it's been paying off."

Agreed Martin: "I just enjoy the intensity. It's a pleasure. If you like intense baseball, this is the place to be."

Martin has four homers, a .333 on-base percentage and a .600 slugging percentage; combine this with his solid defense, and you can understand why no one is clamoring for Jorge Posada to return behind the plate. Posada, meanwhile, has displayed encouraging results as the regular designated hitter; he is tied for the AL lead with five home runs.

Chavez, signed to a minor-league deal, hasn't played as much as Martin, but his seven hits in 15 at-bats plus strong defense provide an encouraging start to his new role as reserve corner infielder.

Soriano, you know, has been erratic; just Saturday, he looked terrible in nearly blowing a lead established by another low-risk newcomer, Freddy Garcia. He returned Sunday night to provide the sort of dominance for which Yankees ownership signed him -- overruling general manager Brian Cashman to do so, you recall.

Yeah, that's the kind of winter it was for the Yankees. Hal Steinbrenner wanted to sign Soriano just to show the fans that the club wasn't sitting on its hands as Cliff Lee chose the Phillies and Andy Pettitte deliberated before finally opting for retirement.

Count on many more additions and subtractions along the way. Shoot, Kevin Millwood pitched a gem for Double-A Trenton Sunday, and given Phil Hughes' current place on the disabled list, Ivan Nova's struggles and the tenuous statuses of Garcia and Bartolo Colon, Millwood probably will get an opportunity at some point.

Once the amateur draft occurs in early June, teams will seriously start assessing themselves, and the buyers' and sellers' markets will clarify. The Yankees will see if they can find a top-flight starting pitcher and a lefty reliever, and maybe another outfielder if Brett Gardner can't dig his way out of trouble.

You can't just disregard April, of course. Which is why the Yankees have to feel so satisfied about their early payoffs. Especially when the Red Sox, who brought in Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, are 4-10, and defending AL East champion Tampa Bay is 6-9.

Posada, asked if he feels any healthier now that he no longer squats for a living, responded: "It's still too early. I think everybody feels good right now. You ask me that question in August or September, I can tell you. But everybody feels good now."

Those words apply to the entire team. Keep monitoring the Yankees. But commend them for their strong start.