Clemens (9-4, 1.46)
Vargas (4-5, 5.26)
We're merely facing the pitcher with the lowest ERA in the majors. Should be a bit of a laugh. For this is the new age of relentless, impenetrable optimism here; hey, we're facing a man who has his 43rd birthday on Thursday. His cake has been classified as such a fire-risk, he'll have to have his party out-of-state. Good conditioning or not, he's going to hit the wall any time now: why not tonight?
And the last time we faced Clemens, the phrase "he ain't all that" comes to mind, as we won 6-1 at Minute Maid. He's actually been a lot tougher on the road - just two earned runs in 59 innings, which is an extreme statistical freak, and can't possibly last any longer either. Similarly, the Astros have won 13 of 15 games too: the stars are clearly preparing for a realignment in that area as well.
Even the Padres are winning as I write, which almost inevitably translates into a Diamondbacks victory (on the rare occasions when the Padres actually win, I mean). We send up Claudio Vargas, and the entire Astros squad has precisely three hits lifetime against him. And is Houston leading their division? I think not. Frankly, it's hard to see how we can possibly lose this game, with so many omens stacked in our favour...
In the interests of "fair and balanced", however, please go scope out the opposition viewpoint at Crawfish Boxes. Their opinion might just differ. :-)