YES, yes, yes. It’s early. It’s April. It’s far too soon to declare anybody a favorite in this race for supremacy in the America League, and it’s absurd to believe the Red Sox have in any way taken up residence inside the Yankees’ heads. It’s only six games. There are 13 more. It’s only one month. There are five to follow.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” Manny Ramirez said, beaming a thin smile in the far corner of the Red Sox locker room. “It’s a long, long way to go.”

Yes, you read that right. Manny was speaking. Manny was smiling. Manny was going on the record, moments after the Red Sox had taken another one off the Yankees, 3-2 in 12 innings.

Manny had driven in a run with a sacrifice fly in the first, scored the winning run on a Mark Bellhorn sac fly in the 12th.

Manny had never looked happier. “Right now, I think you guys can see,” he said, “that I’m trying to do my best.”

As much as anything, this is the sight that should terrify Yankees fans, even more than the thought of Ramirez walking into the batter’s box with men on base. There has never been a question about Ramirez’ performance, or his effort, or his numbers. He is a lifetime .318 hitter; only 56 players in baseball history have ever hit higher than that. He has 351 lifetime home runs.

“Manny,” said Terry Francona, his manager, “is one of the best hitters that I’ve ever seen.”

But he’s always been a little . . . well, off.

He’s always been a little . . . different.

It’s why he was available to any team in major league baseball prepared to pay the $20 million annual pricetag for his services last fall. It’s why the Red Sox were willing to part with him in order to put Alex Rodriguez in a Boston uniform last winter.

Manny did his own thing. He called in sick for an entire three-game series with the Yankees last summer, yet still found time to pal around with Enrique Wilson at the Boston hotel he calls home. He refused a pinch-hitting assignment. He took three days to circle the bases after a huge playoff home run against the A’s. And he started World War III at Fenway Park last October after over-reacting to a Roger Clemens fastball that was barely out of the strike zone.

Manny was a handful.

“I think the perception of Manny has always been a lot different than the reality,” said Mike Timlin, the man who came in and nailed down this win for the Red Sox. “As long as I’ve been here, Manny has been a terrific teammate. And you don’t have to say anything about how good a ballplayer he is. That’s obvious.”

Ramirez himself wouldn’t admit as much yesterday, but it sure seems like he’s having more fun on a baseball field than ever before. On his back is a tattoo that seems to summarize his new approach: “Laugh On.” On his right arm is another: “Only the Strong Survive.”

He has been more accessible so far this spring, which is a positive development.

More relevant to the Red Sox’ cause, though, has been his presence in a lineup that so desperately needs him. His 2-for-5 afternoon lifted his batting average to .380, and he’s been unaffected by the absence of Nomar Garciaparra north of him in the batting order and Trot Nixon to the south. Forced to carry the Sox, he’s carried them. While the Yankees wait on their offensive stalwarts to make like Lazarus, Ramirez had already lapped them. He’s well on his way to an MVP plaque.

Too early to say that? Maybe. But he’s sure been a bigger help to the Red Sox than he would have been in Texas.

“All I know,” Johnny Damon said, “is that I’m glad he’s still on our side.”

Good luck finding even one dissenting voice, anywhere in the Red Sox clubhouse.