
Ryan Dempster
Dempster "Blindsided" by Trade, Confused by Baseball's News Cycle
So the latest on the Dempster saga is that Ryan Dempster was "blindsided" by the trade yesterday and because of this, he's going to take the full week to decide. Rumors are that he strongly prefers to go the Dodgers and seems to be trying to push the Cubs into accepting a deal from them, although it certainly won't be as good as getting Randall Delgado from the Braves.
Other things Dempster has been blindsided by (a few I'm stealing from Twitter):
- His Birthday
- the birth of his chidren
- the start of the season
- spring training
- warmer temperatures in the summer
Yeah, it would have been great if the Cubs got to him before the news leaked out, but you work in a multi-billion dollar business with reporters that are good at their job, throwing a temper tantrum over it isn't particularly professional.
Braves Appear to Win the Ryan Dempster Lotto
David O'Brien started it all with a tweet saying that the Braves were close to finalizing a deal for a starting pitcher and then Jon Heyman, Jerry Crasnick and Jason Stark said it was Ryan Dempster.
Metaphorically Speaking, What 2012 Represents: Rebuilding vs Deconstruction
From the previous thread, I came upon Old and Blue's complaint that he hates the phrase, "rebuilding year".
Gordon Triple Ignites Dodgers at HoHoKam
Dee Gordon smacked a two-run triple to spark a three-run 7th, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-3 victory over the Cubs in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park this afternnon in sunny Mesa, AZ.
Gordon is the son of former MLB RHP (and one-time Cub closer) "Flash" Gordon.
NOTE: UPDATED MINOR LEAGUE CAMP ROSTERS IN COMMENTS SECTION
- Read more about Gordon Triple Ignites Dodgers at HoHoKam
- 51 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Ryan Dempster Day at Fitch Park
Greg Rohan singled, doubled, clubbed a three-run homer, and walked with the bases loaded, leading the Daytona Cubs to a 10-6 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers (Los Angeles Angels Hi-A affiliate) on Field #3, and Wes Darvill smacked an RBI triple to give the Chiefs the lead and then scored on a Sergio Burruel RBI single to key a two-run 4th, as Peoria defeated the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels “A” affiliate) 4-2 on Field #2, in Cactus League Minor League game action this afternoon at Fitch Park in Mesa, AZ.
Named the Cubs Opening Day starter last week by Manager Dale Sveum, veteran RHP Ryan Dempster made the short trip to Fitch Park (instead of the long bus ride to Goodyear) and got the start for Daytona.
He was supposed to throw six innings or 90 pitches (whichever came first).
- Read more about Ryan Dempster Day at Fitch Park
- 50 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Dempster Strong Outing the One Bright Spot at HoHoKam
Ryan Dempster allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in six innings of work (72 pitches - 50 strikes, 5/8 GO/FO, 3 K), but the Texas Rangers rallied for two in the 8th off Lendy Castillo and two more in the 9th off Alberto Cabrera (two-run HR by 23-year old Cuban defector Leonys Martin) to defeat a Cubs split squad 6-2 in Spring Training Cactus League action this afternoon at Dwight Paterson Field at HoHoKam Park in cool & sunny Mesa, AZ.
Solid Goldschmidt Slam Helps D'backs Demolish Cubs at HoHoKam
Paul Goldschmidt blasted a grand slam home run, Henry Blanco and Alfredo Marte slugged solo shots, and Ian Kennedy threw four shutout innings, as the Arizona Diamondbacks coasted to an 12-2 victory over a split squad of Cubs in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in warm & sunny Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.
A's Scratch Zych for Winning Run in 9th
Yordy Cabrera hit Tony Zych’s first pitch over the LF fence for what turned-out to be the game-winning run, as the Oakland A’s rallied from a five-run deficit to edge the Cubs 8-7 in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in warm & cloudy Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.
- Read more about A's Scratch Zych for Winning Run in 9th
- 37 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Do the Cubs Have a White Flag in Their Future?
"It's just disappointing, I guess, to think you have a team where everybody in here thinks you can still do it and you can't. You'll never know what could have happened."
So said White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura to Phil Rogers of the Tribune on August 1, 1997, the day after Ventura's bosses completed the so-called "White Flag Trade," in which the Sox shipped three of Ventura's veteran teammates to San Francisco for six minor leaguers, all while Ventura's team—52-53 at the time—sat just 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Cleveland Indians.
"This team had a chance, and it didn't seize it. It was hard to look at this team and feel very confident. I wasn't interested in finishing second in a poker hand."
Dempster Decides He's Rich Enough
UPDATE: Apparently this was old news, or at least in that the Dempster agreed to this awhile back according to Levine and the money was already used to sign Xavier Nady.
- Read more about Dempster Decides He's Rich Enough
- 15 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Recent comments
crunch (view)
i know it's still very early, but i'd like to go into the xmas-to-newyears part of the off-season with something more than...*checks list*...patrick wisdom avoids arbitration with a 1-year deal
also, steven brault retired and was spotted at the winter meetings with a demo reel and making contacts trying to break into broadcasting (not a joke). unless he's more optimistic than talented (we already know he can sing) he should make it one day because he seems to be very serious about it.
Cubster (view)
I blame Jason Schmidt’s 3/44
Craig A. (view)
Was all that stuff with the Blue Jays just to squeeze an extra $10 million/yr out of the Dodgers? It's more than enough to cover his California income taxes!
crunch (view)
unless he pitches into his late-30 that is gonna sting. a 70m DH...ow.
it's great to take care of 2 roster spots in 1 player, and i'm sure the team will cut into the pay with the amount of merch/etc he can sell just by being attached to the team....but yeah, i'm not mad the cubs didn't go that extreme.
WebAdmin (view)
Shohei Ohtani to join Dodgers according to ESPN. 10 years for $700 mCubster (view)
I'm getting the feeling that Todd Walker might be a Shaw comp. A valuable hit first player but limited albeit not awful on defense. Hopefully, he has more upside. Not a bad floor if Steve Garvey is his ceiling.
Wrigley Rat (view)
AZ Phil - If that's the level of return, I would want NO part of that trade to Cleveland for Clase and Bieber. I have some faith that the Cubs have a strong plan for which prospects they will keep (even if they dangle them in trade talks) and which they will move, because they have plenty of solid prospects they can trade but they shouldn't be trading any of the ones they hope will be future core players. Some guys are redundant, so I hope they choose the right players to keep and the right players to move. It's always important for a team to know its own minor league players better than scouts from other teams (obviously), but I don't think that's always been the case for the Cubs and many other clubs.
Cubster - I watched an interview with Carter Hawkins a couple days ago where he said that although Morel hasn't gotten into any Dominican games at 1B, the Cubs did send coaches down with Morel to work on first base skills during practice. So he is developing those skills, whether the Cubs end up using him there or not will probably be dependent on a lot of factors including how those coaches think he looks at the position while training.
tim815 (view)
He could still play SS at Double-A, but Vazquez, Hoerner, and Swanson are much better defensively, arm strength or not. I'd be good leaving Shaw at SS with McGeary and Ballesteros around, but by the first of June (?), 1B might make sense in DM.
crunch (view)
i have no reason to see a problem, it just seems like it's his most obvious reason to give pause on him at 1st.
the cubs situation dictates 2nd/SS isn't an option. his arm dictates 3rd isn't an option. 1st or CF seems to be his best path and he's only played CF in summer ball back in highschool/college...and of course PCA is a better + closer to the bigs CF.
it's a lot safer to say he's made for 1st than it is he's made for 3rd. even as a SS his arm is weak, and it's not like his glove is so great he needs to stay in the middle-IF.
Arizona Phil (view)
CRUNCH: Steve Garvey (one of Shaw's comps as a hitter) was a 5'10 right-handed throwing first-baseman with a rag arm. Jeff Bagwell (another Shaw comp) was a 6'0 right-handed throwing first-baseman with a rag arm. Carlos Santana (who played 1B for Counsell in Milwaukee last season and is an above-average defensive first-baseman) is 5'11. It's not like Shaw is 5'7 or 5'8. I don't really see the problem.