The Colorado Rockies came back to Coors Field last night needing a win against the Philadelphia Phillies, and as has been the case lately, they came up just short, with a 12-11 loss. They carried a 7-3 lead into the seventh inning, but the bullpen collapsed—along with realistic playoff hopes (recap via The Associated Press).

“2010’s not completely over, but it’s going to take a different team than the one we’ve seen up to this point to get into the postseason,” Purple Row writes. But The Denver Post isn’t as lenient: “In the end, the scoreboard [at last night’s game] suggested that fans probably expected too much this season.”

The players themselves know they haven’t lived up to their potential or to anyone’s expectations for the team.

“It’s frustrating; that’s all I can say,” says Carlos Gonzalez, who has been the main offensive star all year, blasting his 31st home run yesterday and notching his 10th-straight game with an extra-base hit. “We really needed this game. I can’t believe it.”

First baseman Todd Helton, one of the season’s underperformers, wouldn’t engage the Post in a discussion of the six-and-a-half game deficit in the wild-card chase or the seven-and-a-half game deficit in the division race. “I don’t even want to do the math. We have to just win,” he says. “It’s that simple.”