Tag: ryan dempster

Slow Starters: NL edition

A couple days ago, I posted my list of slow starters in the AL.  Now itā€™s the NLā€™s turn. 

Stats as of 4/27.

 

Dan Uggla, Atl .188, 8 rbis Those eight rbis come on 5 HR.  Iā€™m not sure if thatā€™s a good thing or bad thing.
Geovany Soto, Chi .227, 1 HR Iā€™m thinking that unless Geo starts shaping up, his time is running out with the Cubs.
Ryan Dempster, Chi 1-2, 7.63 ERA Eight HR in 30 2/3 IP.  Yikes!
Hanley Ramirez, Fla .211, 3 SB hitting the same as John Buck
Carlos Lee, Hou .207 ā€¦but does have 13 rbis
J.A. Happ, Hou 1-3, 6.94 ERA lack of control isnā€™t helping
Jonathon Niese, NY 1-3, 5.10 ERA workhorse is leading Mets in IP, though
Albert Pujols, StL .250, 8 EBH I know heā€™s got 17 rbis but have you noticed?  Heā€™s got more Ks than walks so far.
Madison Bumgarner, SF 0-3, 7.79 ERA I think a lot was expected from this Giant hurler

Cubs’ Quade gets support

I was asked by a fellow Cub fan what I thought of interim manager Mike Quade.  I honestly told him I didnā€™t know a whole lot about him but I sure was impressed by his performance so far.  His 21-11 record is a long time coming.

Now I find out that at least a couple of the Cubs are coming to the plate for him too.  Pitcher Ryan Dempster and outfielder Marlon Byrd both have expressed support for him.

So says Dempster:

"He’s been very upfront, very honest with all of us. He’s been tremendously supportive, he’s given us a lot of confidence to go out there. What he’s done for the bullpen- those guys have really stepped up and he’s believed in them.ā€

Pretty strong words.  As for Byrd:

"The record speaks for itself. The way we’re playing, the way we’re executing, just all-around."

I wonā€™t speculate if theyā€™re just simply backing up their manager or making a statement on who they want for their next permanent manager but those statements (especially Dempsterā€™s) are pretty telling. 

That said. the Cubs could have gone 32-0 under Mike Quade and that wonā€™t change the fact that a certain former Cub second baseman has more star power than a ex-Carolina League/current Coach with a funny name.  Like it not, the Cubs organization knows that and theyā€™ll have tough decision to make.

Or not.

Tater-less

Baseball Referenceā€™s Stat of the Day blog does the numbers work and determines who among active players has the most plate appearances with 0 homers.

Most are pitchers, of course, though #1 on the list is Angel OF Reggie Willits with 785 plate appearances. 

What struck me is the number of Cubs and former Cubs on the list.  Most notably, Ryan Dempster who ranks #6 with 491. 

Thatā€™s ok, thatā€™s not his job.

Cubs at a low point but hey, the Pirates are comin’ to town

Iā€™ll go on record here.  If, god forbid, the Cubs donā€™t win the NL Central in 2009, the 2010 review mags and books will point to their series with the Philadelphia Phillies in mid-August and call it one of turning points of the season.  A ā€œlowlightā€ if you will. 

And there would many reasons to do so.

The Cubs extended their losing streak to five games after getting swept by the Phils.  When they lost 4-3 in a heartbreaking 12-inning affair in which Rich Harden was perfect into the sixth and the Cubs outhit the Phils 10 to 3.  And when they were out-slugged 12-5 on Jeff Samardzijaā€™s first career start. 

And today, when Ryan Dempster saw his August ERA go sky high (Kudos to Jeff Baker, though who went 2 for 2 and has 11 hits in his last 5 games).  Todayā€™s rout of 6-1 puts the Cubs at 4.5 back in the NL Central.

No timing, no patience, no luck, and no clutch.

Oh as if the players werenā€™t having a tough enough time, who invited this fan into the park??

God, this kind of stuff puts me in a bad mood.  Thereā€™s nothing anyone can say  (including ā€œI was drunkā€) that excuses this.kind of behavior.  If you canā€™t treat people with decency, then stay home.  Chicago, the Cubs, and baseball doesnā€™t need need to make the news for this kind of crap.

But all will be fine again.  Word has it Ted Lilly is ready to come back on Monday after his surgery.  He threw five scoreless innings in Peoria A ball. 

And this weekend, the Pirates are coming to town.  This year, theyā€™ve gone 4-2 against them.  The last three years?  Same ratioā€¦ 26-13. 

So say it loud, Cub fans, The Pirates are cominā€™ to town and all will be fine again! 

Rejoice!

Cubs reward Dempster with 4-year contract

Ryan Dempster, who more than anyone, helped the Chicago Cubs to a second straight NL Central championship, was rewarded today with a four-year, $52 million contract by the Cubs.

Terms of the agreement:  $4 million signing bonus; 2009- $8 million; 2010- $12.5 million; 2011- $13.5 million; 2012- option for $14 million

In the last week and a half, I’ve heard rumors bandied about of such a deal mostly in the context of “…in my opinion, Demp isn’t a 4-year, $50 mil kind of pitcher.” 

You didn’t hear that from me, though.  Like I said, Dempster was responsible more than any other pitcher on the Cubs for getting them as far they got.  I admit I was a little dubious when I heard he was being transformed from a starter during the last off-season.  But from the beginning, he took to it like Tony Oliva to Wii Baseball. 

For the year, he was 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA.  He initially had trouble winning on the road and ended up with a 3-3 record away from Wrigley despite a 3.13 ERA. 

Dempster says he has a desire to get the Cubs to the World Series and that played into his decision of staying with the team.  I’m sure the $52 mil didn’t hurt either. 

Money well spent in my opinion.  Now let’s see if there’s any money in the coffers for a leadoff hitter.

Cubs-Dodgers: Dempster was a little "off" tonight

Game 1 of the NLDS started out exciting enough.  Exciting enough that when Mark DeRosa hit his two-run homer in the second inning, I spilled my full plate of nachos on the floor and I didn’t even care. 

But that was about all the excitement I was going to get all evening it would seem. 

Cubs starter Ryan Dempster was one strike away from pitching 5 shutout innings against the Dodgers tonight.  Maybe in the back of his mind, that’s what Lou Piniella was thinking when he kept him out there.  I’m normally the kind of guy who likes to keep a guy out there when he’s pitching a shutout but even I would have considered some bullpen relief before this point.  TBS broadcaster Ron "Mr Obvious" Darling told us "It looks like it’s not Dempster’s night tonight". 

No, it wasn’t.  Four earned in 4 2/3 innings but also 7 walks.  He was lucky he got away with what he did. 

Kudos to Geovany Soto, by the way.  Yes, he was 0 for 3 behind the plate but he had his work cut out for him behind the plate.  He trapped countless balls in the dirt (and a couple high ones).  With our wild pitching tonight, he did a tremendous job. 

The best thing to do is to forget game 1 and  go on to game 2. 

Off-topic:  I have the utmost respect for Tony Gwynn and for the most part he says things that are reasonably intelligent but am I the only person who thinks he doesn’t have a voice for TV broadcasting?