Derek Jeter was pulled from the starting lineup yesterday with a head cold. Nick Swisher missed a cutoff man. Nick Johnson appeared more likely to lead the crowd in a rousing rendition of “God Bless America” than actually swing his bat.
That was a public service announcement to assure folks that there are problems with the 2010 New York Yankees.
Trust me, though, right now it is probably easier to find a Yeti than Yankee mistakes.
There is a sense of inevitability about the Yankees these days. For example, Andy Pettitte admitted to being in “survival mode” during the first three shaky innings of his start yesterday and the offense mustered just one hit in seven at-bats overall with runners in scoring position. Yet this 5-2 victory over Texas was never in doubt.
The Yanks swept this three-game series as the Rangers played like a timid, edgy squad that knew it was out of its weight class. They have now won their first four series of the season against four teams (Tampa, Boston, the Angels and Texas) that finished a combined 78 games over .500 last year.
In what was supposed to be an arduous portion of the schedule, the Yanks won nine of 12, though Alex Rodriguez did not homer until Saturday and Mark Teixeira until yesterday.
So the offense has been a patient wrecking machine, and still has the promise of 60-plus homers coming from their so far mostly dormant Nos. 3-4 hitters.
“We know [trouble spots] are going to come,” Pettitte said. “We are going to struggle.”
Pettitte is almost certainly right. The Rays are also 9-3 and writing off the Red Sox due to a 4-8 start is folly since Boston will probably mimic a lot of recent Yankees teams that opened slowly, raised doubts and then won something like 21 of 25 around Memorial Day to right themselves.
Still, it is hard to ignore the positive early signs that have made it feel as if only catastrophic injury could keep the Yanks from challenging the 100-win mark.
Yes, Javier Vazquez has been problematic in his first two starts and opens a nine-game road trip tomorrow in Oakland. But that blemish is so heavily outweighed right now by all the encouraging answers to preseason questions. Jorge Posada can catch A.J. Burnett. Curtis Granderson can handle center field. Brett Gardner can impact the daily lineup with his speed.
CC Sabathia, Burnett and Pettitte have not looked diminished from the heavy workload of last year. The Core Four members have performed as spry as ever with Jeter and Mariano Rivera sprucing their Cooperstown credentials, and Pettitte and Posada adding to intriguing Hall candidacies. Robinson Cano is handling the fifth spot in the lineup and Phil Hughes the fifth spot in the rotation.
And there has been no post-championship hangover. They have stayed dedicated to detail and hungry to win. Because of their star-power and huge payroll, the Yankees do not often enjoy the reputation as a fundamentally sound team such as the Twins or Angels. But they are as fundamentally sound as any team as they proved against both of those bumbling squads last postseason, and as they are showing again this season.
The Rangers, with horrible fundamentals, contributed as much to this sweep as any Yankee. The Yanks, meanwhile, have not made an error in 10 straight games — their longest-ever streak in April — and Teixeira’s stellar defense, in particular, helped Pettitte endure early yesterday when five of the first 11 Rangers reached safely.
“There is no need to overanalyze or over-think it,” hitting coach Kevin Long said of the team’s early excellence in every phase of the game.
For their brilliance last year, the Yankees received their championship rings on the just-concluded homestand and a week from today they will go to the White House to meet the president. Yet there are no indicators they are living in the past. The Yankees are present and accounted for in 2010. They are rolling with a sense of inevitability. There is a long season to go. But right now that appears a much larger problem for the Yankees’ opponents than for the 2010 Yankees.
joel.sherman@nypost.com