Don't bother Nostradamus about the outlook for the front-end of the White Sox rotation. The addition of Bartolo Colon alongside Mark Buehrle gives the Sox a 1-2 combination that has more wins over the last two years than any other except Randy Johnson-Curt Schilling and Barry Zito-Mark Mulder.

Impressive.

But what about 3-4-5? What kind of shape are the Sox in at the back-end of their rotation?

	Dan Wright was 9-4 with a 4.61 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break last year.

Simple. The answer: Better than most people realize.

After ranking eighth in the American League in ERA in both 2001 and '02, this is a pitching staff with something to prove. But the addition of Colon could prove huge because it does two things -- it gives manager Jerry Manuel a two-headed monster on the front end and also strengthens the rear of the rotation.

Jon Garland and Dan Wright can be penciled in at 3-4 instead of 2-3, leaving one (not two) vacancies to be filled in spring training. That job is Jon Rauch's to lose.

But the upward mobility of this young group lies in its talent, not just how it is arranged. Because they could not keep 2002 from spinning out of control when Todd Ritchie unraveled (2-13 with a 7.58 ERA after May 4), the major steps taken by Wright and Garland toward establishing themselves as winners went largely unnoticed.

Along with Buehrle, Garland and Wright went wire-to-wire in the rotation in 2002. This is never an easy task, especially for a young starter.

Fifty-five big-leaguers worked 190-plus innings over at least 30 starts last season. Buehrle, Garland and Wright were among only eight of those guys who handled that workload before turning 25.

A list of those who did (players listed youngest to oldest):

Name	Team	Age in 2002	W-L	ERA
C.C. Sabathia	Indians	22	13-11	4.37
Jon Garland	White Sox	22	12-12	4.58
Mark Buehrle	White Sox	23	19-12	3.58
Joe Kennedy	Devil Rays	23	8-11	4.53
Ben Sheets	Brewers	24	11-16	4.15
Barry Zito	A's	24	23-5	2.75
Dan Wright	White Sox	24	14-12	5.18
Vicente Padilla	Phillies	25	14-11	3.28

Garland, who would be working alongside Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Matt Clement had the Cubs not badly overpaid for reliever Matt Karchner in a trade en route to the playoffs in 1998, has long been deemed to have front-of-the-rotation stuff. The natural sink on his low-90s fastball made him the second high school pitcher selected in the 1997 draft. He was only 20 when he got his first taste of the big leagues, after being named the top pitching prospect in the Triple-A International League, but took some lumps before establishing himself.

Garland allowed fewer hits (188) than innings pitched (192.2) in 2002, cutting his opponents' batting average from .277 in 2001 to .258 last season. He was third in the AL in walks, but his ratio of 3.9 per nine innings wasn't overly alarming. He's poised for a 15-win, 200-inning season.

Wright, whose stuff can be overpowering, is a tribute to the White Sox's scouts and minor-league pitching coaches. The Sox took him in the second round of the 1999 draft despite his having gone 2-15 in his last two years at the University of Arkansas. But he advanced to Double-A in his first full season as a pro and has been on the move ever since. He skipped Triple-A and paid a price, having to continue his education at the big-league level.

Wright threw in the mid-90s in the minors, but now more often uses a two-seam sinker to set up a knuckle-curve, which is his best pitch. He has had a tendency toward giving up big innings -- as his ERA indicates -- but is learning how to escape trouble. Both Wright and Garland worked through the fifth inning in 27 of 33 starts last season.

	Jon Garland Starting pitcher Chicago White Sox Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM IP W-L BB SO ERA 33 192.2 12-12 83 112 4.58

Don Cooper, the Sox's minor league pitching coordinator since 1997, knows Garland and Wright as well as anyone. Both of the young right-handers took major steps forward after Cooper replaced Nardi Contreras as Manuel's pitching coach in late July of last year. It will be interesting to see what Cooper can get out of them over a full season.

Rauch, 24, already holds one distinction. At 6-foot-11, he has replaced Johnson as the tallest player in big-league history. He was more highly decorated as a prospect than Garland or Wright, being named Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year in 2000, but had his development slowed by surgery to repair his rotator cuff and labrum in 2001.

There was nothing pretty about Rauch's comeback season. He was 9-9 with a 4.76 ERA between Triple-A Charlotte and Chicago last year. But, in fairness to him, those numbers don't tell the whole story.

The White Sox mishandled Rauch, giving him the No. 5 starter's job in spring training rather than allowing him to work his way into shape. He didn't regain his velocity until late in the year and his confidence suffered. He closed strong, however, including two promising starts against Minnesota. Rauch will have an excellent chance to establish himself in 2003.

Everybody loves All-Star pitchers like Colon and Buehrle. But whether they are celebrated or unsung, starters who combine talent with durability are building blocks for winning teams. When those starters are also young, they can become the foundation for an extended run of success.

Barring additions by others, the White Sox will go to spring training as the only major league team with more than three 30 starts/190-plus innings starters from last season. All eight teams who entered 2002 with at least three starters coming off 30/190 seasons reached the playoffs. Anaheim's winning formula included five such assets.

These are just numbers, of course. They don't prove anything. But they suggest staying power for the White Sox.

Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com.