Maybe the fans in St. Louis are the nicest people in America. Not only did they give Jeter an ovation practically every time he took a breath, but, according to Sterling and Waldman, they came over to Yankee fans dining at a local restaurant after a Yankees win and congratulated them with a “Nice game.” If only we saw that sort of behavior everywhere.

But I digress. What’s most amazing is that the Yankees are still standing and the road trip ended on a winning note. All this despite the absence of Beltran and Teixeira, despite the slump and benching last night of Solarte, despite the use of McCann at first base and despite the makeshift pitching staff. Yes, Tanaka notched his first loss in forever and the Yankees defense was sloppy at best, and the offense was forced to play “small ball” (I do miss the homers), but if it weren’t for Toronto’s miraculous run of wins the Yanks would be on or near the top of the heap.

Do I think the team can go patchwork into the rest of the season this way? Probably not. Guys need to come back healthy and holes need to be filled. But I was pretty impressed by this road trip. The boys did us proud in the Midwest. They deserve this day off.