CINCINNATI — Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon, who spent nearly a decade observing the Yankees while serving as Tampa Bay’s manager, got his first look last weekend at these retooled Bronx Bombers — the team that was supposed to be in development mode but roared to the best record in the major leagues entering Tuesday.

Before the Yankees completed a sweep of the Cubs, the defending champions, on Sunday night, Maddon made it clear that he was impressed by what he had seen.

“Well, they’re playing as good as they can right now,” said Maddon, who is a master in the art of the sly dig. “They have a lot of guys having a career year right now for the first month, guys that the back of the bubble-gum card does not necessarily match up with what they’re doing right now.

“But that doesn’t say they can’t sustain it,” he continued. “There’s some real interesting players.”