In round one, the Yankees received length from their starters and from baseballs hit by Alex Rodriguez, but not from their lineup.
Of course they still went deeper than the Twins, whose middle of the order failed around Joe Maurer while nine-hole hitter Nick Punto was making like Rogers Hornsby. That said, after Jorge Posada batted out of the six-hole, it was a long way to Derek Jeter. And when Jose Molina caught Game 2 it got even longer.
Johnny Damon went only 1-for-12 in the No. 2 spot, too. But among his seven post-season homers is a grand slam for the Red Sox in a Game 7 at Yankee Stadium to complete the greatest comeback in history, so the presumption is he will hit again, possibly as soon Game 1 tonight.
But Robinson Cano now has a .230 career postseason average in four career series. And Melky Cabrera, who had the same 2-for-12 as Cano in the ALDS against Minnesota, posts a lifetime postseason average of .161.
Granted, with both about to play in their first ALCS, such represents a short lifetime. Point is, time always is short in the postseason, when swings can get long, bat handles sweaty, and throats constricted.
Cabrera is a fourth outfielder, up from being a minor-league outfielder again a year ago, who can hit ninth in this Yankees lineup because it otherwise is so loaded 1-though-8. But Cano is a bona fide lineup lengthener, a .320 hitter in 2009 and a potential American League batting champion who, upon the occasion of his first advancement to an ALCS in three tries must begin to elevate his postseason level or develop one of those reputations.
Rodriguez fully earned his, and so far, has hit well in just two series against Minnesota. But A-Rod, Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter did take pressure off Cano in round one, like stars can do. Now the nature of advancing through three rounds involves Cano reciprocating as soon as possible.
“We have a lot of different guys who can get the job done and all the pressure doesn’t fall upon one guy,” Joe Girardi said. “Some guys will have better days than others but you can still win games doing that.”
Indeed, the Yankees won three games to Minnesota’s none doing exactly that. And let the record show Cano finally drove in a run in his final series at-bat with a bloop single.
“I hit in the last two games,” he said. “You go 1-for 4 in the regular season [too].
“It’s only three games. You don’t want to look at the negative side, we won the games.
“Some days you are going to do it with offense, some with defense, some with pitching. In the playoffs you are going to face the best pitchers. When you don’t hit, you have to do something different.”
In 2008, when he didn’t hit, Cano fielded indifferently, finally getting called out by Girardi in September. There was no sign of any pout during the Twins series, just not many signs of life from the seven hole.
Yesterday Girardi based his belief that Damon would find his way on a history of always having done so. Except for a 5-for-15 with two homers in the ALDS loss to Cleveland in 2007, no further such reference point exists for Cano.
Pete Rose always said all the pressure was in the league championship series, because getting to the World Series was accomplishment unto itself. Perhaps that changed when the division round began in 1995 and perhaps it did not.
What likely will not change will be the Yankee lineup as Girardi would rather save Brett Gardner, his other center fielder, as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, while waiting for his second baseman, one of the Yankees main guys, to resume hitting like it.
jay.greenberg@nypost.com