Back when the Cubs signed Glendon Rusch after he was released by Texas of all teams, I wrote a lengthy piece here on Goat Riders about how Rusch was sure to do well (or better, anyway). The reasoning was that he had been painfully unlucky in the previous year and was sure to improve on his miserable luck. It was a very stat-oriented article and interesting to about 4 people. Since then I've decided to stick to poo jokes and leave DIPS to the experts.

Anyway, I was right. Rusch performed very well in his first year with the Cubs, including getting off to an excellent start when Prior went down with a flukey injury (not that that was a harbinger of things to come or anything). He carried the Cubs through much of the early going in 2004 before being sent to the bullpen and struggling a bit. It was a career year for Rusch and a great pull off the scrap heap by Hendry.

The Cubs then brought Rusch back as a swing man and he was not nearly as good. He was okay, but he was definitely below average. And what do we do with below average pitchers with a fairly poor track record? That's right, we sign them to two year contracts (obviously). Well, that overly extravagant contract bit Hendry in the ass a bit as Rusch battled through a terrible 2006 season. Hell, between being overweight, bad, and finally badly injured, he was the embodiment of the 2006 season. And, to continue the analogy, his release heading into 2007 symbolizes the new attitude of 2007. No longer will mediocrity be tolerated (or overpaid...wait, scratch that last bit).

So, so long Glendon. I can't honestly say that you'll be missed, but you were a good find once upon a time. If only things could have turned out better.