If You Thought ... - Devil Rays 8, Yankees 2

... that the Yankees would sweep Boston then lose two of three to Tampa Bay, please stand up. And if you thought Ian Kennedy would be the Yanks' best starter over the weekend, stand up too.

Weekends like these are why I love Tampa Bay. Even though they got thoroughly trounced last time they played the Yanks, this time they showed up, taking two of three.

They beat up on Phil Hughes, whose ERA is up to 5.65. At this rate, he's not looking much better than Jeff Johnson, who had a 5.95 mark as a rookie in '91. I can give the guy a bit of a pass for being young, but if he turns out to be the next Bobby Munoz, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

- Kennedy pitched well in his debut, but so did Tyler Clippard and Chase Wright, both of whom have become afterthoughts. When Mussina was taken out of the rotation, I was surprised that their names weren't mentioned. After all, they weren't great, but they weren't horrible, either. They weren't nearly as awful as Kei Igawa. And for all the talk you hear about Joba and Kennedy, you hear nothing about Wright or Clippard. Those four homers in a row against Boston probably doomed Wright, and both guys will probably get traded sooner or later.

- Highlight of the weekend was Buchholz's no-hitter. For all I know, the guy might fade into mediocrity like Wilson Alvarez, the last guy to pull off the feat in his second ML start. But it's always great to see baseball history be made at Fenway, and steal some thunder from the Yanks. More importantly, it got Boston back on track after four straight losses.

- And speaking of teams that need to get back on track, I have no idea what to expect from the Yanks vs. Seattle this week. The Yanks who played Boston so well might show up, and put the wild card race to rest. Or the Yanks who played the Rays might show up, and Seattle might be able to turn things around. Gonna be one of the best series of the year.