At first glance, Andy Stankiewicz is a glutton for punishment.

Why would one man put himself through this, again? He was a free man last year, roving from team to team, teaching the intricacies of infield defense. He never stayed in one place for more than a week.

Stankiewicz, the Staten Island Yankees manager in 2003, didn’t have to slog through losses anymore. Or answer any more “What’s wrong with this club” questions.

But in spring training of this season, the Yankees asked Stankiewicz (whose S.I. Yanks went 29-47 in 2003) to work as a roving infield instructor for the first half of the year and to coach the Baby Bombers for the second half. He agreed.

So far this season, the decision looks like the right one. Their offense exploded in a loss Tuesday night. And last night, timely hitting and superb pitching helped the Baby Bombers to a 5-2 win over the Brooklyn Cyclones in front of a crowd of 6,485.

“That team in 2003, no offense to them, but it was patchwork,” Stankiewicz said. “Now we have an offense. Coming in, we knew we had a set team. Back then, we had to find out where we had to play people. Now we know.”

Jason Stephens was brilliant in relief (he’ll start next week for Staten Island), tossing four shutout innings of one-hit ball.

Brett Gardner epitomized his leadoff role yet again, legging out two bunt singles. Tuesday night, Gardner scored three times. And John Poterson, who blasted a three-run shot Tuesday, enjoyed another productive evening, going 2-for-3 including a two-run double.

“This was kind of textbook,” Stankiewicz said. “It’s what every manager looks for. We got a good five innings from our starter [Justin Berg] and four very good innings from our reliever.”

The Yankees took the lead with a three-run seventh. Kyle Larsen ripped an RBI single to right and, a batter later, Poterson crushed a double off the left-center field wall to drive in two for a 5-2 lead.

“I’m just feeling it right now,” Poterson said. “I was just looking for a pitch to drive.”