And it ended on a positive note when the offense, which had looked dormant in Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Royals, suddenly came to life with a 10-4 win on getaway day Sunday. Best of all, seven of those runs came on two swings of the bat, one each by Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez, two of the most vital cogs in their lineup.

But if you think last week was a roller-coaster ride, consider what's in store for this week.

First, their AL East-division rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays, who swept the Yankees in the season-opening series in Tampa, come to town for three games, and then the Seattle Mariners, and their designated hitter -- a guy named Jesus Montero -- come to the Bronx for the weekend.

In between, the Yankees may decide they are in agreement with a certain 39-year-old lefthander and add Andy Pettitte to their roster in time to pitch this weekend.

No wonder in the post-game clubhouse yesterday, many of the players seemed almost as excited by the prospect of having today off as they were with having beaten the Royals in the series finale.

Call it the calm before the storm, because this week promises to be a doozie.

The Rays have the second-best record in baseball (19-10, 1/2 game behind the division-leading Orioles) and both James Shields (5-0, 3.05) and David Price (5-1, 2.35) on rotation for two of the three games.

"They're playing great,'' Joe Girardi said of the Rays, "And we're going to have to play great to beat them.''

The Mariners, of course, are an entirely different proposition, sitting third in the tough AL West at 13-17 and not terribly feared by anyone.

Except, perhaps, GM Brian Cashman, who has got to be wary of confronting one of his worst nightmares this weekend: Namely, what if Montero comes in and just tears it up?

So far, Montero hasn't been great, but he has been better than OK, batting .287 with four home runs and 15 RBI. That is a higher batting average than any of the Yankee regulars not named Derek Jeter, twice as many home runs as Cano has, and more RBI than any Yankees other than Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira.

It is also more than either of the two players the Yankees got in return for Montero and Hector Noesi have given back. Both Michael Pineda and Jose Campos have visited the MRI tube and both are on the DL. Pineda is out for the year after having surgery to repair a torn labrum. Campos is said to have "inflammation.''

Can you imagine the reaction in Yankee Stadium if Montero gets some big hits this weekend? Montero knocked in the first two runs of Seattle's win over the Twins on Sunday, a game that was won, incidentally, by Noesi, who threw seven four-hit, one-run innings.

He is on rotation to start Friday night's game, which, ironically enough, is also the next day Pettitte is scheduled to pitch. Whether it will be in a minor-league park or at Yankee Stadium is yet to be determined, but the situation is fraught with possibilities for drama -- and disaster.

What if Noesi outpitches Pettitte? What if Montero gets the game-winning hit? Cashman may have to leave the ballpark the way Floyd Patterson left the arena after being knocked out by Ingemar Johannsen, in a beard and wig.

Whatever happens, it should make for an interesting week in the Bronx, which is, of course, the only kind of week we ever seem to have around here.