MLB

Yankees’ offseason moves pay big dividends

The Yankees regained what matters most to their organization when they won their 27th title.

And just to show their single-mindedness to that cause, manager Joe Girardi already had decided to switch from No. 27 to 28 for 2010, symbolically revealing the next quest before a single flatbed had navigated up the Canyon of Heroes.

But the Yankees got something else vital back this year that is harder to explain. It can be called mystique and aura, or mojo, or chemistry. Difficult to define, it was easy to see this year, especially because of its absence in recent years.

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Now those who believe in cold, hard numbers will pooh-pooh such elements, and simply point to the overwhelming talent purchased last offseason as the reason for another championship. But the talent has been there in recent years, and the group fell short of confetti in lower Manhattan.

“A lot of things were going on [in the clubhouse] that were not good, a lot of separation,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “A lot of players came here and thought it was going to be one thing, and it wasn’t what they thought. We worked on a lot of different levels to clean it up.”

Much of the renovation was about the new personalities: CC Sabathia’s affability, Mark Teixeira’s diligence, Nick Swisher’s zaniness and A.J. Burnett’s surprising amity.

THE ROAD TO TITLE 27

But this also was about what wasn’t there. Despite the huge dollars spent, the mercenary element vanished. The clubhouse was not polluted by the dour natures of a Kevin Brown or Randy Johnson or the misgivings of a Carl Pavano. Clubhouse life with the Yankees had become, if not miserable, certainly not attractive, and detracted from the overall group’s loyalty to one another and willingness to sacrifice for one another.

And, for these Yankees, Girardi mattered. Look at it this way, Swisher does not make it to May as a Yankee if Joe Torre is still here.

Torre was loyal to the core champions and the staid way in which they conducted themselves. And why shouldn’t he have been? That core brought him fame and wealth, and delivered consistent winning.

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But a caste system had developed in the clubhouse between those who had won for Torre and those who had not. That partition brought discomfort to the room, particularly because Alex Rodriguez so represented the have-nots and Derek Jeter symbolized the haves.

Girardi did not have that same tether to the past, even if he had played with the championship core. He did not actively de-emphasize the mainstays as much as create a forum in which new players did not have to walk on dynastic egg shells. Sabathia and Burnett still could look to Andy Pettitte for been-there-done-that wisdom and Jeter could still be the face of the franchise, but that did not preclude others from being seen and heard.

Girardi also made an important decision in his second year to foster unity and fraternity. He famously called off a spring training practice to host a pool tournament and he urged less crew-cut behavior by sanctioning louder music, the passing around of a gaudy championship belt and Burnett’s pie delivery system.

Also, hitting rock bottom after steroid revelations and right hip surgery became a blessing for A-Rod and the team. He stopped being a human black hole, sucking all clubhouse life through his staggering combo of ego and insecurity. Instead, he recommitted to the joys of playing and mixing in with a team.

These Yankees had fun and supported each other. They made this a good place to play again beyond the large paycheck, a word that will spread as it did in the best of the Torre years. For brevity let’s call it mystique and aura, and recognize that it traveled up the Canyon of Heroes again yesterday, as well.

joel.sherman@nypost.com