You never quite know how to feel when you face a team that is going as badly as the Diamondbacks are going right now. Are you glad you're catching them at a bad time, or do you worry they have just hit rock bottom and will get well at your expense? Arizona comes in with a 3-20 record to show for its last 23 efforts--that, my friends, is a serious slump.
Because he didn't have to pitch the 17th inning yesterday, Kirk Saarloos will pitch the 1st inning tonight. The A's hope Kirk can go a whole lot beyond that, as only Justin Duchscherer was spared bullpen duty in Thursday's extravaganza. That being said, it is quite possible that only Ron Flores is, in fact, not available to pitch at all tonight, so the situation may be far from dire.
As for the opposing pitcher, I have narrowed it down to these five possibilities:
- Claudey O'Vargas
- Claude E. O. Vargas
- Claw Diovargas
- Claudiovar, Gus
- Claudio Vargas
Counsell
Byrnes
Tracy
Jackson
Gonzalez
Estrada
Green
Hudson
DeVanon
The A's lineup features the welcome returns of Mark Ellis and Frank Thomas, but no Chavy:
Kotsay
Swisher
Crosby
Thomas
Johnson
Payton
Ellis
Melhuse
Perez
