Wandy Rodriquez Likely To Start

Despite a deep pool of skeptics, lefthander Wandy Rodriguez would have to flop, be injured or traded to not earn a spot in the starting rotation if the Astros' don't acquire a veteran lefthander. With that in mind, righthanders Fernando Nieve, Chris Sampson, Brian Moehler, Dave Borkowski, Matt Albers and Ezequiel Astacio are the top contenders for the other starting spot.

Regardless of the hoopla surrounding Tomball High School graduate Troy Patton, it's unlikely the lefthander will earn a major league spot this spring.

"Those guys have not had more success," manager Phil Garner says in response to fans who believe the righthanded candidates have better major league track records than Rodriguez. "Wandy's won (19) games in the big leagues. ERA can be deceptive. Some of those guys' ERAs are better. The bottom line is, do you win? If you have a 10 ERA and win more games than you lose, to me that's what counts.

"Yeah, it may put a strain, but something should be said for somebody who wins. In two years, he's won ballgames for us here."

Rodriguez was 9-10 with a 5.64 ERA last season over 24 starts and six relief appearances a year after going 10-10 with a 5.53 ERA.
Source: Houston Chronicle

Phil, that's great if Wandy gets you some wins, but his ERA kills me in fantasy baseball. Also, any guy that has a stat line of 1.1 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 5 BB, K in one game (last year, June 2, 06 vs Cincy box score), I am mostly likely staying away from (Wandy got tagged). Maybe this year will be different, but no thanks for me (unless I am plagued with pitching injuries like usual).