The Weekend Buzz while you were busy leaping onto the Tampa Bay Rays' bandwagon:

Justin Upton's strong start to '08 has only helped the surging D-Backs. (Getty Images)

Brandon Webb beat Jake Peavy 2-1 in a battle of the National League's past two Cy Young winners in San Diego on Sunday, and now he, Danny Haren and Micah Owings are a combined 13-1 with a 2.74 ERA.

The Diamondbacks lead the majors with a 3.04 ERA and, way over there on the side, slowly emerging from his second back surgery in two years, is Randy Johnson. The Big Unit won Friday night's series opener here, owns a 2.70 ERA after his first three outings -- and all the Diamondbacks really need from him is to be a No. 4 starter.

A No. 5, perhaps, once Doug Davis returns from thyroid cancer surgery -- which, according to doctors, might be anywhere from four-to-six weeks away.

"It's different this year than any year I've been here," says Webb, the NL's 2006 Cy Young winner whose current 6-0 record is baseball's best. "In the past, we've had one-two punches with R.J. and I. And Javier Vazquez, I had him one year.

"But having these guys -- me, Danny, R.J. and Micah -- it's outstanding. We've got four or five guys who are throwing lights out right now."

And that isn't even manager Bob Melvin's favorite part.

"We felt real good about our pitching coming in with Haren (who started last year's All-Star Game for the AL and was acquired from Oakland over the winter) and Chad Qualls (the setup man who was acquired from Houston)," Melvin says. "Last year, we won with pitching and defense. But we couldn't have expected the offense that we've gotten this year.

"I was looking at some offensive numbers today and was shocked at how many runs we've scored. It's us and the Cubs."

Indeed, the Diamondbacks, whom everybody said won the NL West in a fluke last year because opponents outscored them, have outscored their opponents 148-93 this season. The plus-55 margin leads the majors. The Cubs are second at plus-40.

Despite their sluggish offensive season in 2007, the Diamondbacks spent the offseason concentrating on acquiring even more pitching, instead of hitting. General manager Josh Byrnes banked on three things: That a really young team would continue to mature and, in particular, that shortstop Stephen Drew wouldn't hit .238 with only 12 homers again as he did in '07 (so far: .269 with three homers and eight RBI) and that, unlike last season, the Diamondbacks wouldn't have the worst offensive numbers of any right-field combination in baseball.

So far, right fielder Justin Upton, just 20, is rewarding the club's confidence in him: Though he didn't play Sunday because of what's being described as a hamstring cramp, Upton is off to a roaring start at .333 with five homers, 14 RBI and a .376 on-base percentage.

"He's been phenomenal," says Melvin, who thinks he'll be able to put Upton back into the lineup by Tuesday, at home against Houston, at the latest. "Coming to the big leagues last year (on Aug. 2), having unbelievable success where he had been and then having to platoon, and coming into this year with no doubt in his mind that he'd get off to a great start. ...

"If we didn't think he could handle failure last year, we never would have brought him up."

This year, Upton and the Diamondbacks have brought the heat with them everywhere they've gone ... to the point where it's getting ridiculous. Sunday's game-time temperature of 91 degrees made for the hottest contest in San Diego since September, 2004. Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder was battling the flu so hard that, as Melvin noted, he didn't spend one single out in the dugout.

"He was down in the tunnel taking fluids," Melvin says. "It was amazing. He was getting dizzy."

Yet he hung in there, smashed the game-deciding two-run homer against Peavy in the second inning and caught every one of Webb's 97 pitches as the Arizona ace -- well, one of them -- lowered his ERA to 1.98.

"A lot of Gatorade," Snyder says. "Water, cough drops ... a lot of everything, man. It was crazy."

So, too, is Arizona's dizzying 17-5 run in its first 22 games against NL West opponents this year. The Diamondbacks, who now play 16 of their next 19 games at home, lead second-place Los Angeles by six games -- by far the biggest margin in any of baseball's six divisions with April coming to a close.

"I don't think the way we're playing right now is an aberration," left fielder Eric Byrnes says.

It sure doesn't look like it. These guys have power, speed and pitching. They hit, they run, they think. They're a blast to watch.

First baseman Conor Jackson was among the NL's top 10 batting leaders entering Sunday's games (.351), third baseman Mark Reynolds had seven homers and 22 RBI to rank among the top five in each department. Reynolds, Jackson and center fielder Chris Young (21 each) ranked among the top 10 in runs scored and the list goes on.

"We've set the tone early," Webb says. "Our bats are doing great and we've won a bunch of games in our division. That's frickin' huge.

"I'm not saying we'll end the year that way, but at least if you have a bad series or something down the road ..."

Yes, unlikely as that seems given this load of talent, if the Diamondbacks do have a poor series -- say, they all catch Snyder's flu at once or something -- well, they've at least built themselves a nice little cushion to absorb a mini-slump or two.

And to think ... they're all still so young. Upton doesn't even turn 21 until Aug. 25.

"Just imagine what he's going to be when he gets some experience," Webb says. "He was only here last year for two months. I think the playoffs really helped all of our young guys."

2. In Delgado da Vita: Yes, there is life in the old guy! Carlos Delgado smashed two home runs in New York on Sunday, giving the Mets just what they need (especially in light of news that Moises Alou may have a fractured ankle and be gone for a long while).

What that does is buy Delgado at least a little more time before the Mets are forced to go all Frank Thomas and Matt Morris on him, releasing him and eating what's left of the $16 million he's owed this year. Delgado, 35, mostly has looked finished this year, suffering through a 4-for-40 slump through late last week, being dropped to No. 6 in the batting order and reduced to hollow statements such as, "I'm seeing the ball."

Sunday's homers were only the second and third of the season for the guy who hit 38 only two years ago. Things have been so hopeless that the Shea Stadium sound people cranked up Journey's Don't Stop Believin' after Delgado's first homer of the day. Better than Ray Charles' Hit the Road, Jack, I suppose.

3. Tampa Bay sweeps Boston: It was the Rays' first-ever, three-game dusting of the Red Sox. And yes, the sight of the Rays' 6-foot mascot, Raymond, going crazy with a broom following Sunday's game while the beaten Red Sox trudged back toward the showers was the weirdest sight in baseball since those bugs attacked Joba Chamberlain in last year's playoffs.

The Rays own a share of first place in the AL East -- the latest they've ever been in first in any season in their 11-year history -- and better yet, ace Scott Kazmir is due to return to the rotation this weekend. Kazmir, James Shields, Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine, Matt Garza, Jason Hammel ... wait, that's six solid starting pitchers. What in the name of Victor Zambrano is going on?

4. Cleveland gets a jump on the Yankees: The Yankees, losers of two of three so far on the shores of Lake Erie heading into Monday's series finale, are livid. Upon arrival Friday, they learned their scouts had filed reports on the Lake Erie midges instead of the Indians' lineup. So instead of learning where to pitch Grady Sizemore, they were reading tips on whether Off! or Burt's Bees Insect Repellant works better against the midges -- which the Indians never even used over the weekend. And to top it off, catcher Jorge Posada's shoulder is really messed up and he may need season-ending surgery.

5. Second base is dangerous territory: Not the position, the base itself. On Saturday alone, Arizona's hot-hitting pitcher Owings suffered a sprained ankle while running the bases when he stepped wrong on second base in San Diego, and the Indians' Sizemore did the same thing in Cleveland. The Diamondbacks think Owings is doing well enough that he won't have to miss a start, but they do have an off day Thursday and could skip him for one turn through the rotation if need be. Sizemore sat out Sunday's game against the Yankees, ending the majors' longest consecutive-games-played streak at 382.

6. Texas manager Ron Washington dangles: Rangers officials met, and president Nolan Ryan says he will wait before making any moves. Picture the poor Rangers skipper as a pat of butter that's melted only a little on a still-warming skillet.

7. Twins demote Francisco Liriano: The erstwhile ace was 0-3 with an 11.32 ERA in his return from elbow surgery. "He saw where he was at and he's got work to do," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. Where he's at is not throwing that filthy slider as effectively as he did in 2006. Scouts said this spring he appeared afraid to throw it, as if doing so might lead to another injury. On the other hand, not throwing it (or not throwing it well) will lead straight to the bushes.

8. Splash hit in McCovey's Cove: San Francisco's Fred Lewis did it Saturday for San Francisco. Two notable things about it: He was the first Giant to accomplish the feat without having a bigger entourage than Jay-Z. And when it happened fans whipped out their binoculars to watch the replay, hoping Lewis' ball had somehow taken Barry Zito into McCovey Cove with it. Alas, Zito wasn't, so he went out Sunday and gave up another six spot in the first inning. He's 0-6 with a 7.53 ERA.

9. Matt Morris: The Pirates released him on Sunday. It was either that, or force him to attend Zito Anonymous sessions.

10. Elijah Dukes cleans zoo cages: Seriously, at Tampa's Lowry Park zoo, to have his probation reduced. And as someone posted on the website FanIQ.com, in a laugh-out-loud funny moment, "He was seen afterwards sending text messages to the penguins saying, 'You dead, penguin, I ain't even bulls-------. Your chicks, too.' Along with a picture of a polar bear."