The Yankees lost three players to the disabled list, three games to the Red Sox and an aspirin-popping amount of leads this weekend in Boston.

From Mariano Rivera's blown save Friday night to the six-run lead squandered Saturday and the infirmary setting for Sunday's 4-1 series-capping loss, the Yankees had about as disastrous a weekend as you can have in April.

The good news, of course, is that it is only April and the lost weekend left the Yankees at 9-9 and awaiting the return of Alex Rodriguez, who lucks into the perfect scenario -- a chance to return as a conquering rescuer in a week or two.

That said, there were plenty of things to make the Yankees fret for the long haul here, from an ineffective bullpen to an aging roster full of aches and moans and devoid of a ton of flexibility or depth.

After placing Chien-Ming Wang, Brian Bruney and Cody Ransom on the disabled list in the first two days, the Yankees had to rest Johnny Damon, who's basically sore all over. Considering the Yankees already have a current DH-only (Hideki Matsui) and an eventual one (Xavier Nady), that was just one more sign the Yankees' age could be increasing even higher than their vaunted payroll.

Couple that with the concerns over the bullpen and the Yankees might have more than cosmetic flaws that can't be covered up by their sparkling new ballpark or star-studded list of names.

It's still too early to get completely overwhelmed by such concerns, of course. For now, it was just one long weekend that offered some sobering moments.

RED SOX 4, YANKEES 1: Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury stole home in the fifth inning and the Sox walked away with a series sweep on Sunday. Starting pitcher Justin Masterson and three Sox relievers held the Yankees' offense to only one run.