Mike Celizic

The Yankees have to tell themselves that the reason they got swept in Fenway for the first time in 17 years wasn’t because the Red Sox are that much superior to them, but because their starting pitching has been decimated.

The observation about the starters is true, but it wasn’t starting pitching that beat the Yankees in two of the three losses. It was total chaos in the bullpen that did in the Yankees. And even when Carl Pavano, Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina come back, it’s not going to get better.

New York had a lead on Friday and twice held leads on Sunday. On Friday, Mariano Rivera, who is to the Yankees what Martin Brodeur is to the NHL Devils, helped blow a 6-2 lead. By Sunday, manager Joe Torre’s confidence in his pen had worn so thin he called on Friday’s starter, Andy Pettitte, to hold a lead. Pettitte did his part, but Scott Proctor soon enough gave it back.

Boston, by contrast, closed out the Yankees once they got their leads.

Rivera has been the state-of-the-art in closers for a decade, but he’s no longer the best in the game. That title is being usurped by Jonathan Papelbon, who in seven appearances has given up one hit, four walks, and nothing else. With Hideki Okajima on board as the set-up man, the Boston pen is a strength, not a weakness.

A few Yankees — Derek Jeter, Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Rivera — should have seen something familiar across the field from them this weekend. The Red Sox are built like the Yankees were a decade ago. Good starters, a great closer, a reliable set-up man, and a line-up with several legitimate superstars and a lot of very good players.

The Yankees now are nearly all superstars in the lineup, a rotation that never looked like it would be championship caliber, and a shaky bullpen that Torre would be sure to abuse. In just three weeks, Torre’s already done that. He’s carrying 12 pitchers, which is why the team had no room for Bernie Williams, whose bat would be a significant weapon off the bench. And it’s still not enough.

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He used 16 pitchers to lose three games, and darned few of them did what they’re paid to do. A lot of fans have long questioned Torre’s ability to manage his bullpen, and this weekend did nothing to change their opinion.

Worse, though, was Torre’s management of the games, particularly Friday’s loss, when Torre took DH Jason Giambi out of the game for a pinch runner with a four-run lead. Normally, you put in a runner for one of your best hitters if you need to score a run right now. If not, you leave him in just in case you need to score one later.

The Yankees needed to score one later, but  Giambi wasn’t there to help them do it.

That was the same game in which Torre, who had sworn to use Rivera only in the ninth inning of games, brought his closer in during the eighth inning, only to watch him blow the lead and the game.

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Afterwards, Torre said sarcastically, “I lied.”

It’s early in a long season, and a lot of things can and will happen before this is done. One thing that’s certain about the Yankees is that even if they keep giving up seven runs a game, they’ll win a lot simply because their offense is so great. But it’s also clear that unless they get some productive work out of their bullpen, they are going to have trouble against the best teams in the league.

Last year, Boston and New York opened the season against each other. It was most unsatisfying, like starting a great meal with the entrée and going back for the appetizer and salad.

This series was far better. The season is still young, but the teams had three weeks under their belts. That’s three starts for the starters — four for some — and at least 50 at-bats for the hitters. No one’s in mid-season form, but nobody looked as if they’d just awoke from a long winter’s nap, either.

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The Yankees welcome Boston to Yankee Stadium for a return engagement this weekend, and they’ll be healthier. For one thing, Jorge Posada, their catcher, should be back in the line-up. They may have more pitching by then, too. But center fielder Johnny Damon is battling back and leg injuries and Hideki Matsui sill isn’t back in the lineup.

In Boston, the Yankees wanted to win. Now, they feel they have to win.

Boston, meanwhile, can be forgiven for thinking they can’t lose — just like the Yankees have always felt, just like they’re telling themselves right now they still do.

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