By now, you've read the details of Houston's 7-5 loss to the Rockies Wednesday night in cold, rainy Coors Field. While there is much to be proud of in the Astros' late comeback in the ninth inning, the game as a whole was a depressing affair, with Ron Villone being constantly harrassed with baserunners--either by his own wildness or his teammates' inability to field the ball--and the offense not really hitting the ball hard at all until the ninth inning, when Jeff Kent doubled over the head of Preston Wilson and Richard Hidalgo singled to CF, scoring Kent when Wilson didn't catch the ball and stood there without excuse while the ball rolled to the wall.

The heart of the order failed miserably in the game. I said nothing about Jeff Bagwell after Tuesday's 14-4 win, principally because everyone else in the lineup did so well, and secondarily because 0x8 does not a slump make. But it does seem to me that Bagwell is pressing at the plate in this series. He knows he should be able to hit in Coors, but the swings he's taken--most of 'em, anyway--the last two nights have been dead pull swings, and that's not typical Bagwell. The strikeout he had in the eighth with the bases loaded represented the peak of Astro frustration. I could feel the K coming, even as Dame Fortune appeared ready to him a profitable second chance when Charles Johnson dropped his popup at the plate.But Bags has plenty of company. Both Berkman and Kent were disappointments, too. Berkman let two pitches go for strikes in the ninth inning when he should have been up there swinging away, and his eventual strikeout effectively ended any chance at the large inning the Astros needed.

About Villone (6-5) I cannot say much other than he fulfilled the expectations I had of him. He walked only three, but when one combines that with the truly bizarre inability of Morgan Ensberg to field the ball in this game, Villone's troubles were too much even for eight strikeouts to overcome.

I have no explanation for this next comment except to say it was what I felt at the time: I don't understand why Brad Lidge was used in the eighth. I know why--to hold the Astros close--but I didn't understand the move. In part, my objection was based on the desire to protect Lidge's elbow. Cold and rainy conditions are not what I want the man to be exposed to, and I should say I'd have felt the same way even if Lidge had had a perfect inning rather than giving up two big runs.

In some measure, Colorado bounced back from the lethargic effort it put forth on Tuesday. Todd Helton's homer leading off the fifth that broke the 2-2 tie was upsetting--a bad pitch, both in selection and location--but it was in perfect keeping with the greatness Helton displays as a hitter. I remain convinced, however, that the Astros can do well Thursday afternoon, score another bunch of runs, and make things easier for Wade Miller in his attempt to give Houston (82-69) the series, if the weather will cooperate, which it may or may not do. That the Cubs closed to within half a game Wednesday is not surprising, either, but I find myself being rather insular about the pennant race. Chicago's pitching is very good and the Cubs just might overtake the Astros by the end of the season. But it hasn't happened yet, and it might not. The utterly shameless rooting for the Cubs going on over at ESPN is enough to make my stomach turn, and it has compelled me to become even more Astrocentric than I usually am. I don't care about Sammy or Kerry Wood or Dusty Baker or anything that Chicago has. I think Houston is better, a more fun club to watch, and I hope with all my soul the Astros can hang on to first place so that the twits in the media who do nothing but devalue the Astros' accomplishments every chance they get have to eat their words.

I'll be back with a more formal, focused column late this afternoon or evening after Thursday's game.