Tex: batter, gold glover, Sesame Street character

Am I bad person if I think Mark Teixeira doesn't look that cool? There are plenty of athletes who just don't look good (Sheldon Williams and Lance Thomas are two who quickly come to mind), but whenever Teixera steps up to bat and does his cross-eyed staredown of the opposing pitcher, I have to roll my eyes. The guy is not intimidating; he's a little pudgy; and with that nose and those fleshy cheeks, I'm hearing a stage call for Sesame Street.

Looks aside, though, Teixeira is finally starting to earn his contract. After treading water between the highway (hitting in the .100 to .199 range for non-baseball buffs) and the Mendoza line (around the .250 mark), Teixera has gone on a (small) tear during the recent homestand. He smashed deep, deep home runs from both sides of the plate tonight and lifted his average to .239. And he showed the hidden reason why the Yanks picked up his bat: his superb first-base defense. He had three amazing plays tonight at the corner bag, which is something New York has lacked sorely in the past few years. It's these little things that are going to keep the team in contention.

Tex is just one of several things starting to go right for the Yankees right now. The bullpen, despite letting a couple runs through, held on for the 7-6 win over the Minnesota Twins, even without the arm of closer Mariano Rivera. Andy Pettitte pulled out a win, his performance showing how the typical Yankee starter of 2009 plays: a few unfortunate runs augmented by gutsy pitching into the seventh that leaves enough room for the bats to win the game. Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera all knocked through a couple hits, and tonight the Yankees showed how they could go on a roll and get the new stadium very loud.

Believe it or not, the Yankees' rise to 21-17 puts them only a game behind the Boston Red Sox, and although the Toronto Blue Jays still lead the division at 27-14, they've had little play against their American League East counterparts. The Yankees and BoSox have played 19 games in the division, the Tampa Bay Rays 22 and the Baltimore Orioles 19. The Jays have tallied six.

It's shaping up to be a good part of the season.