YES Network.com

NEW YORK — In winning the first two games against the Chicago White Sox this weekend, the Yankees received a convincing reminder of who they'll need help from over the next month or more while they patiently wait for the return of outfielders Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield.

If you're thinking along the lines of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi, you're off the mark. Those guys are already producing the way they were expected to.

No, the Yankees are, for better or worse, partially dependant on the production from guys like first baseman Andy Phillips, and outfielders Melky Cabrera and Bernie Williams, the latter likely enjoying his last hurrah in pinstripes.

The Yankees beat the reigning World Champions Friday night in what eventually became a nip-and-tuck 6-5 affair and then pounded on them Saturday afternoon in a 14-3 laugher. Yet those three guys — the youngster (Cabrera) the journeyman (Phillips) and the respected veteran (Williams) — combined to go 7-for-19 with nine RBIs against the Sox, with seven RBIs coming from Phillips and Williams in Saturday's blowout.

These guys aren't really waiting for things to happen, they're making them happen. Cabrera's RBI Friday ended up making the difference, while Phillips exploded Saturday with a two-run double in the sixth inning and then smacked a two-run home run to right-center off Bobby Jenks in the eighth.

"It's similar to when a lot of these guys got hurt originally and guys were stepping up and it's kind of the same thing again," said Phillips, hitting .254 with six home runs and 21 RBIs, but had just five hits in his previous 44 at-bats before the double. "Today was a good example of guys stepping up top to bottom."

The Yankees re-signed the popular but clearly declining Williams to a $1.5 million deal with the intention of using him as a part-time DH and reserve outfielder. Only Williams has ended up playing in 79 of the Yankees' first 88 games, including 55 appearances in the outfield.

Yet Williams, 37, has produced — probably better than anticipated — hitting .284 with six home runs and 39 RBIs, including four RBIs in the first two games against the White Sox.

"He knows what he's doing," manager Joe Torre said. ``The biggest thing with Bernie is accepting the role, knowing what it was going to be like, doing it for a lot less money and still being thrilled to be here."

Williams has thus far been the leading role player in a rotation that works Phillips and Giambi at first base, Giambi and Williams at DH, and Williams and newcomer Aaron Guiel in what might be a right field platoon. Torre, however, remains adamant about getting Williams more rest, keeping him in the dugout for at least a few games a week so he doesn't drag like he did at earlier points this season.

Yet he also has to worry about the rookie Cabrera, who is getting his first extended test in the majors by playing in an unforgiving fishbowl. So far so good as Cabrera is hitting .279 with 29 RBIs coming out of the bottom third of the order and making several sensational plays in left field.

Cabrera is playing so well that he's making himself a perfect chip in the Yankees' effort to trade for an established bat. His name has already come up in rumors of a trade with Pittsburgh for slugging outfielder Jeromy Burnitz and bullpen help.

The bottom line is that — barring a blockbuster deal before the July 31 trading deadline — these are your New York Yankees. If you haven't already gotten used to seeing names like Cabrera, Williams and Phillips in the lineup, get used to it because they'll be there for the foreseeable future.

The odds of all three players succeeding were probably slim going into the deal two months ago, yet here they are. Not only are they hitting, but their actions this weekend have the Yankees just four games behind the White Sox for the wild card.

You really can't ask for much more. Can you?