Goodbye Glendon

Hey, do you think Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild sucks? So does everyone else who doesn't directly work for the Cubs. Rothschild couldn't generate more injuries in his pitchers if he was taking a practice bat to their knees. But I can think of one guy he got really really right. Glendon Rusch.

I remember the moment I heard the Cubs were letting Rusch pitch in 2004. I thought the management had finally flown off the handle (it actually took them 2 more years). In 2002, Rusch had the most losses in baseball. The year before we signed him, he was one and twelve with an ERA of 6.42. Milwaukee was so bad they just let him pitch a whole season anyway.

I couldn't believe we offered him even a minor league contract. I wrote posts to all my friends about how the whole season was going to crash and burn because we let this loser pitch. But then...he was good. No, not good, great. I saw a lot of games that year, and he was masterful. He could pitch and pitch and pitch and never get tired, and his breaking stuff was fantastic. He was also a really nice guy.

This guy was done with baseball, and he turned it around and pitched really well for a couple years. And then all of a sudden it's all over. He was suddenly diagnosed with a blood clot in the middle of the 2006 season. And now, presumably, he'll never pitch again. What a shame.

Goodbye, Glendon.