Forecast: Gale-force wins

          Last night notwithstanding, you'd have to say the trip to Minnesota was a good one. Two wins in a day, a 2-1 mark against a good club (regardless of the Twins' record against the Yankees in the Ron Gardenhire era).

         You'd have to say that the prospects of the Yankees shaking off the sting of their series against the Red Sox, Rays and Mets is very, very good. Their next 16 games are against teams that are a combined 39 games under .500, quite a statistic this early in the season.

           Four against the Indians starting tonight, six against the Orioles, three against the Blue Jays (the only winning team in the bunch) and three against the Astros (let's go out on a limb and predict they won't have another staff combined no-hitter this time).

           The Yankees know you can't take anything for granted, but this will make their aches feel much better.