Rotation: To and From the DL

It's hard to remember that just a couple of weeks ago, the Astros were poised to surge to the top. Recently it's just been one-step-forward, two-steps-back, as Houston has dropped several series in a row. Part of the reason is the competition: They've been playing better teams - the Cubs, the Cards, and the Giants, all contenders. But the real killer is the DL, which has become a more popular place to be than the active roster, especially for the pitching staff.

Consider our starting rotation from just a few weeks back: Oswalt, Wandy, Moehler, Hampton, Ortiz. Ortiz is gone, released. Oswalt's on the DL. Wandy's coming off the DL today, ready or not. Hampton came out with a sprained knee in the second inning last night - who wants to bet on whether he's back this season? The bullpen's not much better off. Brocail made it back from the DL (hamstring) for 3 games, before a new injury (shoulder strain) overtook him. Hawkins is out with shingles.

The Astros have filled in with a couple of young pitchers from Round Rock: Bud Norris is doing what we all had hoped. His first two starts have been excellent, both resulting in wins, with a 1.69 ERA. Yoman Bazardo, on the other hand, had a dreadful first appearance for the Astros last night. Relieving the ailing Hampton, he pitched one inning, giving up 5 runs (3 earned) on 3 hits and 3 walks, and making a fielding error. To be fair: He wasn't supposed to pitch 3 days after his last start, so we can add this to the long list of things to blame Coop for. ("He sucked it up," said Cooper - but should he have had to?) Bazardo did well in Round Rock this year (9-6 record, 3.20 ERA, 1.13 WHIP). Still, he is not a hot prospect like Norris, so expectations are less.

All in all, to turn around from the slippery slope that is quickly putting post-season chances out of reach, the Astros need to get their pitching staff glued back together. Wandy's coming back for today's rubber match with the Brewers, claiming that he's all better and ready to go. Oswalt's probably starting on Tuesday against the Marlins, if all goes well. Hampton's being evaluated, and who knows the outcome. You have to love the Bulldog's desire to keep pitching, but frankly, he's been pretty awful. When was the last time he didn't give up at least one run in the first inning? He's been better as a batter (.286 BA, 1 HR, 6 RBIs) than as a pitcher (5.30 ERA, 1.57 WHIP). Sadly, it's hard to make the case that we're better off with him than without him - the old Ann Landers rule of thumb for breaking up. We got 107 innings out of him - that's the most that he's reached in any season since 2004.

So heading to Miami, assuming all the glue holds, we sort of have a rotation: Oswalt, Wandy, Moehler, Norris, and... well, TBD. (Probably bring up Paulino again? Give a start to Bazardo or Sampson?)

Now we just need some hitting to back it up. That brings us to the subject of our other guy coming off the DL, Lance Berkman. The Puma claims that he's better. Actually, according to Alyson Footer, Berkman answered more colorfully: "If a grizzly ran out of that room right there, I could beat all you guys up the stairs." The trainers are less optimistic, not wanting him to return prematurely, re-injure himself, and end up with him out for the rest of the year. But we could really use his bat back, especially if we can't depend on the pitching to keep the score down.

We really can't blame the batters for yesterday's loss - it wasn't as if we were shut out. With 5 runs on 11 hits, the game was winnable - just not against the 12 runs on 14 hits and 8 walks that the pitchers gave up. And 2 errors to boot. The memorable moment from last night's game: Carlos Lee's 300th career homer. Lee's the third Astro to reach this milestone this year, along with Puma and Pudge.

Enough random ramblings and gratuitous grumbling... Let's all look forward to a great start from Wandy this afternoon! We need a series win to get back on track!