It's all going to come down to the starting pitching ( as always ), but I'm somewhat optimistic everything is going to pan out. I'm confident Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez will win a lot of games, I have faith Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz will stay healthy, and Brian Moehler may have some of the same success he had last year. I'm not sure what to expect out of Brandon Backe, but his latest injury setback has to give Russ Ortiz the "leg up" towards making the starting rotation at this point.

I wouldn't be surprised if the starting rotation to start the 2009 regular season for the Astros is going to be something along the lines of this...

1. Roy Oswalt
2. Wandy Rodriguez
3. Russ Ortiz
4. Mike Hampton
5. Brian Moehler ( Brandon Backe? )

For argument's sake, I suppose you can flip flop Ortiz and Moehler but it's unlikely the Astros will go with the two lefties back to back. I'd like to say Brandon Backe will make the starting rotation, but I honestly don't know if he will. He had a good outing yesterday ( two scoreless innings ) even while enduring the injury, but we've seen enough of Brandon Backe to know that we're not going to get great things out of him.

At least with Ortiz and Hampton, you're talking about former all-stars, 20-game winners and established veterans who know how to pitch. You can't say the same about Backe, who has never shown me much of anything during a full 162-game season.

I do believe the Astros have the makings of a solid starting rotation. A lot will depend on Russ Ortiz and Mike Hampton staying healthy ( contributing reasonably well ). If that happens, I'm almost certain this is going to be a team capable of being in the playoff hunt all season long.

Richard Justice wrote a blog the other day, mentioning the same thing. Basically, this is a team capable of making the playoffs if Oswalt, Wandy, Ortiz and Hampton all pitch well this season. I tend to agree with those statements.

I realize it's asking a lot, too many things have to fall into place but I wouldn't deem any of it impossible when you're talking about established, successful veterans who have "been there and done that" before.

It's not like the Astros have a young and inexperienced starting rotation. All five of them know what they have to do, in order to succeed. And three of them have already been labeled "one of the best starting pitchers in the game" at one point in their careers. So it's not like you're asking a nerd to become a stud over night. You're merely asking for former studs to become healthy again!