Astros Pitching Rotation: Hoping For A Better Future

It seems not too long ago the Astros had the most feared rotation in all of the majors when they signed Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens to go along with Roy Oswalt. It was a tandem nicknamed the Murderer's Row that had terrific setup men in Qualls and Wheeler to pitch the seventh and eighth innings.

"Lights Out" Lidge was closing ballgames, making opposing offenses wonder why they would even show up to play. And with promising young pitchers on the way in the form of Brandon Backe and Wandy Rodriguez, the future seemed like it was secure.

Even when Pettitte and Clemens eventually did depart us for retirement, more money or, you know, going to jail for lying to the government—all standard baseball reasons—we were filled with such hope for the future.

But since 2006, the Astros have lost Clemens and Pettitte, traded away Lidge (who clearly just needed a change of scenery to be effective again), Qualls, and Wheeler, and have no pitchers on the way who offer any solid promise for the rotation.

There is no hope for the future.

I am a diehard Astros fan and, as such, I expect them to be competitive once August hits, since they refuse to play an entire season of good baseball (that hasn't happened since the Biggio-Bagwell days.) 

As for the hopes of the rotation, things look very, very bleak. The one ray of optimism, the same ray of optimism that's been for the past three years, is Oswalt.

Last year, Oswalt was hampered by nagging little injuries, as well as just pitching outside of his game, which caused his early season struggles. As the year went on, Oswalt had Berkman take a live simulation look with him in the cages where Berkman told him "Don't re-invent the wheel. Stick to throwing the fastball and curveball. It's the other junk I think I can get a handle on."

Obviously it worked, as Oswalt finished the year strong and ended up with 17 wins, which is even more impressive considering he was 8-8 at the end of July.  

Unfortunately, this is the only promise I see out of the Astros rotation for next year.  Oswalt has the potential to win 20 games as long as the bullpen and the offense hold up their ends of the bargain, which they should. 

As for everything else...(sigh of frustration followed by soft weeping until roommate comes home and asks if you're all right.)

For starters (no pun intended), Randy Wolf's departure leaves a huge void that no other pitcher on the big league roster or in the farm system can fill. The Astros have tried to fill it by adding Mike Hampton.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Mike Hampton, and being an Astros fan appreciate everything he did for us, including being a 20-game winner in the days of the 'Dome.  However, we have to hope his health issues don't arise again and hope he's not affected by the fact that he's pitching in the juice box and hope he can build the arm strength necessary to pitch deep into games. 

The ultimate hope is that he returns to form and can win 15 starts. But the reality is that we just hope he makes 15 starts and wins seven of them.

The biggest thing the Astros need to have happen (whether it will happen is another question) is consistency from their starters. Rodriguez and Backe were notorious last year for being terrific one night to abysmal the next. 

This could be Rodriguez's swan song with the organization if he can't put it together. He's already 30 and if he was going to be something special, it would have happened by now. So what we hope for Rodriguez: We need him to eat innings and keep the Astros in ballgames. Seven IP, 3-4 runs allowed would do it. He doesn't have to throw shutouts, just keep the offense within striking distance.

We hope Backe can do the same, but it's a long shot. It's the same kind of hope that the cute girl across the bar is single despite the fact that she's wearing a ring: "Maybe she just likes jewelry," we say. You can delude yourself all you want, but it's a lost cause.

Backe has to prove he can be consistent and work a full season after his Tommy John surgery. The one thing he has going for him is he is a competitor, but he has to control his emotions better and not let games get out of hand. If he can pitch six innings consistently and give up only two to four runs, that's all we can ask of him.

However, if he has several more games like that 3.1 IP 11-ER nine-hit six-BB no K debacle, we will have to look elsewhere for help.

And there lies the problem, considering the Astros farm system is and has been the worst in the majors for a few years now.  

Felipe Paulino could be something great, but injuries and a lack of accuracy with his fastball have retarded his progress to the big leagues. There is no question a guy who can throw nearly 100 mph consistently with secondary pitches that break off in the mid-70s can be great. But he needs to stay healthy, and locate his fastball better to set up his other pitches.

Nieve is also someone who the Astros scouts seem to be high on, though I have never seen him pitch well and am not blown away by his stuff. Add health concerns to that and we're in a no-hope zone for this young player, at least from a rotation standpoint.

Chris Sampson, a poor man's Brandon Webb, may be asked to step into the rotation as well. But as we saw, he's only good as a long reliever. Once teams see him two or three more times in a game, they figure out his stuff, and since he has nothing to blow them away with, he can't finish off hitters in the later innings.

Moehler was a surprise last year and hopefully he can be the anchor at the end of the rotation once again. I actually expect him to do well once more and pick up 13-14 wins, which is pretty lofty for a guy who's not guaranteed a starting spot out of the rotation.

So there you have it, Astros fans. Your rotation. Filled with question marks about health, unproven track records, and little to no consistency. 

Keep hope alive.