Yankees 4

Tigers 2

BE careful what you wish for, Yankees.

Beating out the Red Sox is always wonderful, but what that really means is that instead of playing the West winner – Oakland or struggling Seattle – the Yankees will square off in the first round with the most dangerous team in the AL, the greatly improved White Sox.

What makes the White Sox particularly dangerous is that they are the only opponent that can throw three solid starters at the Yankees in a best-of-five series.

That is a precarious position to be in for a short series.

Oakland usually is the team with the deep, deep starting pitching in the first round, but with Mark Mulder out, that staff is much different. The White Sox’ Bartolo Colon just pitched his seventh complete game of the season and Esteban Loaiza leads the AL with 19 victories. The White Sox’ No. 3 starter, Mark Buehrle, is fifth in the AL in innings pitched while Colon is third and Loaiza is sixth.

Making matters worse for the Yankees is that their starting pitching could be in trouble, especially with Jose Contreras not making it through the fifth inning of last night’s 4-2 victory over the expansion-like Tigers at the Stadium.

Contreras left after 42/3 innings with a mildly sprained ankle and the score 2-2. The big right-hander ran into trouble after he appeared to injure his left foot when he slipped coming off the mound trying to run down Alex Sanchez’ bunt that was fielded by Alfonso Soriano.

The Yankees hold a four-game lead over the Red Sox in the loss column.

“Right now we are in a better position than anyone else in the division,” Joe Torre said before the game.

And with two more games against the Tigers, that position should improve.

One of those people thinking the Yankees haven’t played well, though, is the only one who matters in the Yankee universe – George Steinbrenner. But these Yankees know they have been through a lot already this season and they are still standing – in first, ahead of Boston.

Noted Jason Giambi, “With the last couple games we’ve played, I think we are in a good spot. I think we’re going in the right direction. We were kind of scuffling for a while, but I feel good about the at-bats we are taking the last couple of games.

“Hopefully we’re going to be peaking at the right time, where last year I was a little worried in the sense that we were barely beating Baltimore last year heading into the playoffs,” Giambi added. “This year, hopefully we’ll be hot going into the playoffs.”

You get the sense that these Yankees have really have had their fill of the Boss running around and threatening jobs. If anything, all of Steinbrenner’s rants have merely solidified Torre as the Yankees’ main man.

After all, what’s next for Steinbrenner, a credit card commercial with coaches he is threatening to behead? That’s what all this bad theater has come down to. George has cried the sky is falling so many times that even if it is coming down on the heads of his players and coaches, they don’t believe it. They believe in Torre’s calm ways.

The Yankees have kept the wolf at the door by taking their 3½ game lead over the Red Sox and there are some positive vital signs.

Derek Jeter is second in the league in hitting with a .325 average. Mariano Rivera is back to being electric.

Giambi’s slump remains a major problem but he still has three weeks to get out of his funk. Then Giambi and the rest of the Yankee hitters will have to be at the top of their game, especially if they are facing the White Sox’ Big Three.

Now if the Twins win the Central, the Yankees are right where they want to be in the first round.