Three breathless games between the Spartan Red Sox and the Persian Yankees and what have we learned?
We learned on Friday that Alex Rodriguez still has otherworldly talent … that emerges in innings one through eight in games from April through September.
OK, I hear you all out there.
It was only two games.
He's done so much already.
But the not-so-quiet voice in the back of all Yankees' fans minds is telling them that Rodriguez, with two chances to give the Yankees the lead, trailing 7-6 in the ninth inning on Friday and Sunday with a runner on, could not come through.
We learned that Jason Varitek has a pulse.
Varitek, who had no homers, a batting average slightly over .200, and a lot of bad swings coming into the series with the Yankees went six-for-12 with two home runs and four RBIs against the Bronx Bombers.
We tried to learn the names of the new faces Yankees rotation.
Jeff Karstens? Chase Wright? Who are these guys? We saw the future of the Yankees this weekend, and it wasn't all that promising.
We learned that Manny Ramirez, is … well, Manny Ramirez.
Tell me this: Is there anyone else in major league baseball today that can make a routine play in the outfield as scary and/or hilarious at the same time. The fade away throws and the step over soccer move playing a ball hit in the gap on Saturday are all part of Manny's schtick on full display this weekend.
I don't know if he's fully figured it out at the plate yet, but Red Sox fans give him a free pass because he is worth the price of admission every night.
We learned that Mariano Rivera is becoming more human with every passing day.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman is looking better every day with his decision not to offer Rivera a contract extension after this season. The velocity is just not there for the formerly dominant closer.
Eighty-eight mile per hour fastballs? "Cutters" left right over the heart of the plate? We may be seeing the end of an era in baseball with Rivera now another name on the list of closers on the "back nine" of their career.
We learned that Jonathan Papelbon is the best closer in baseball.
You probably didn't need this weekend to figure that one out.
Papelbon embraced his return to the closer's role after the starter's experiment lasted all of a few weeks in spring training. Papelbon has that natural closer's mentality.
When ESPN zoomed into Papelbon's mug in the ninth inning on Sunday night, I was scared.
The expressions on the faces of Yankee hitters said the same thing.
We learned that ESPN's Johnny Miller and Joe Morgan are only slightly better than Fox's Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.
Does Buck feel the need to fill all dead air with his voice?
Does McCarver have to explain every nuance of the game of baseball?
Is he trying to make us laugh when he falls awfully short in his attempts at humor, or what he must think is candor, with his sidekick Mr. Buck?
Miller and Morgan are only better because they have great announcer's voices that seem to blend in with the game.
We learned that the Red Sox are better than the Yankees.
With a three-game sweep of their rivals, we can say this comfortably.
At least, for now, in April.
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