CHICAGO — Even before the left-hander arrived, there was a rush to judgment. Fifty-five games into this season, the Rockies had been eliminated from contention by all those whose eyes aren’t covered by purple-tinted glasses.
By no fault of his own, Glendon Rusch represented how poorly things have gone. He is their ninth different starter, the number a reflection of how alarmingly unhealthy and inefficient many of their pitchers have been.
Juxtaposed against his Rockie predecessors and his own past, Rusch wasn’t a bust. He just wasn’t good enough – the reoccurring theme this season.
Making his first start since July 9, 2006, and returning to Wrigley Field for the first time since nearly dying from a pulmonary embolism in the Cubs’ weightroom in September 2006, the left-hander surrendered five runs in four innings.
Alfonso Soriano provided a crushing blast, smashing a two-run home run as part of a three-run second inning and the Rockies lost 5-4. The mistake hurt because the Rockies once again squandered a lead – they held a temporary 2-0 advantage on shortstop Omar Quintanilla’s first career home run.
Colorado has lost 11 straight road games and 17 of its last 19, falling into a crevice that seems, by all counts, impossible to extract themselves from.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
