BOSTON - Despite the usual buildup between the Red Sox and Yankees, it wasn't the best weekend of baseball witnessed in these parts, but it had its entertaining moments.

Does it matter if your team could have or should have been swept, but instead wins two games out three?

Whatever the case, we learned a few things about both teams as the Red Sox closed the first third of their season.

Here are 10 things we took home from a weekend at Fenway:

1. The Yankees aren't dead ... yet.

There is some pride in this team. They were one bad inning on Saturday night (the 7th) and one bad inning last night (5th) away from being the best team on the field this weekend. But honestly, it doesn't look good.

Alex Rodriguez's home run in the ninth inning off Jonathan Papelbon gave the Yankees the series and, even better, a good feeling as they hit the road.

2. Red Sox survive despite struggle.

This has to be scary for the rest of baseball. Even when they aren't good, they are good.

If they had won two games this weekend, it would have been considered a monumental success, because they really should have been swept. Instead, they send the Yankees "outta" here 121/2 games behind.

With Julio Lugo (more on him later), J.D. Drew and Coco Crisp far from a groove, and none of the starters standing out this weekend, it'll be interesting to see how good the Sox are when all cylinders are clicking.

3. Johnny Damon looks old.

Maybe it was the injuries, maybe it was the fact that he was the designated hitter, whatever it was, Damon looked like the typical Yankee (old and overpaid). Joe Torre's announcement that Damon would move to first base was almost admitting to that fact.

The guess is he still will be around .300 by the end of the season, but will the Yankees be eating some of the last two years of his contract ($26 million).

4. Andy Pettitte has caught the disease.

Pettitte was awesome for four innings, about three fewer than he's supposed to be awesome.

It's not easy being the ace of this staff, and despite looking good for most of this season (his ERA is 2.96), he has nothing to show for it (3-5 record). Last night, he officially fell victim to being a 2007 Yankee. He owned the Sox for four innings (two hits), but fell apart

5. Julio Lugo doesn't great plays.

The Yankees first run of the game was all Lugo's. It was a play a good major league shortstop should make, diving to his left, but he only slowed the ball down.

Lugo isn't a bad shortstop. He makes the plays hit near him. He just doesn't make the jaw-droppers we took for granted last year with Alex Gonzalez.

If Lugo was hitting .300, and getting on base more often for David Ortiz, this might not be an issue. But it is.

6. Josh Beckett is still the man.

So Beckett probably won't go 30-0. But that's OK.

Beckett, who remained 8-0 after last night's no-decision, epitomizes the Sox season thus far. When he's good, he's very good. When he's not, he usually still good enough. At least two of the runs he allowed had questionable defense related to it (Lugo and Mike Lowell).

He also worked nicely out of jams in the second and fourth innings. Overall, it wasn't his best stuff, but he was good enough to win.

7. A-Rod simply isn't a Yankee.

A month ago, he was breaking home run records for April and talking about retiring as a Yankee. By the time he left here for Chicago after last night's game, A-Rod appears to have a better chance of retiring as a member of the Red Sox.

Derek Jeter's appears shadow is simply too big. The personal issue he has and the fact that the New York tabloids are now part of the story, his baseball marriage will end at the end of 2007.

His homer will get him some positive press, but it's probably too late.

8. Wily Mo Pena looking comfortable.

Grant you, I'm not making any predictions here, but Wily Mo is starting to grow on me. He only had two at-bats in 10 at bats, but he was robbed twice of extra bases to center by Melky Cabrera, and he made almost as good of a play on a Jeter in the seventh inning.

I hate to bring this up, but the guy the Red Sox traded for Pena, pitcher Bronson Arroyo, is 2-6 this season and 16-17 since the trade. Interesting?

9. Roger Clemens was missed.

It was a tie for the best fans' input this weekend between them shouting "I got it!" to A-Rod on a popup in the first inning on Friday night and "Where is Roger?"

After a month of buildup, the Clemens' no-show was a big disappointment. It no doubt would have taken pressure off A-Rod's on- and off-the-field issues, especially if the Rocket pitched well.

Probably because the Yankees were so far behind in the standings, and the fact that most of the games weren't well played by either team, this didn't have the normal electricity that Clemens would have brought.

10. Dustin Pedroia is a player.

About six weeks ago, we wondered if he was overrated. A month we wondered if he should be demoted. Today, we wonder no more.

Pedroia finished off a career weekend against the Yankees with eight hits in 13 at-bats, almost adding a game-winning ninth hit that was robbed by Bobby Abreu in the eighth inning. Pedroia also had 5 RBIs and appeared to have the Sox' key hit last night, a bases-clearing double to deep center.

He changes everything in the lineup, giving Terry Francona the ability to mix and match Kevin Youkilis and Crisp.

10a. The meteorologists blew this one.

We were told every game this weekend was in jeopardy. I don't want to say we were lied to, but basically this was a slump of J.D. Drew proportions.

Bill Burt is executive sports editor of Eagle-Tribune Publishing. E-mail him at bburt@eagletribune.com.