Re: NYT article on Dempster

[Guest]

Good stuff on how Dempster prepared himself so he won't wear down this year.

 

Link

[BCVM22]

Ryan Dempster, who is partial to card tricks, has become the ace of the Cubs’ pitching staff after spending most of his career as a reliever.

 

Great reporting.

[Skyballer]

Are you telling me he was only 40 minutes away all winter long? I would have loved to take a trip to red rocks to see him, maybe get an autograph when he was done.

[dew1679666265]

“I hope he stays, because his decision will impact other people’s decisions on whether they want to play here — because they enjoy being around him so much,” DeRosa said. “He’s one of the driving forces behind our chemistry. To take him out of the clubhouse would cause a huge rift.”

 

This quote sort of stood out to me. What do we make of this, I wonder?

[Soul]

Dempster’s élan is unmistakable: Last Sunday, after pitching the Cubs to a win at Wrigley Field, Dempster arrived with the Cubs in Atlanta at 3:30 a.m. — but still woke up to run at 7 and was back and showered for a golf game at 9.

 

“And he’d picked up Starbucks for all of us,” second baseman Mark DeRosa said. “He just operates on a different plane.”

 

I love this. The guy obviously really likes being a Cub, working with these guys. How much is it going to cost us to keep him again? I'm not so sure this is a fluke season for him. He's been a good starter before this with Florida. I'd think very long and hard before letting him go.

[EhDubya]

Ryan Dempster, who is partial to card tricks, has become the ace of the Cubs’ pitching staff after spending most of his career as a reliever.

 

Great reporting.

 

I could be wrong, but that quote is from a caption, which I believe is generally done by an editor. What I'm saying is, I don't believe the reporter had anything to do with that quote.

[Brett]

“I hope he stays, because his decision will impact other people’s decisions on whether they want to play here — because they enjoy being around him so much,” DeRosa said. “He’s one of the driving forces behind our chemistry. To take him out of the clubhouse would cause a huge rift.”

 

This quote sort of stood out to me. What do we make of this, I wonder?

 

I find that kind of unnerving, actually. But at the same time, probably just a bit of puffing by DeRosa.

[BCVM22]

I could be wrong, but that quote is from a caption, which I believe is generally done by an editor. What I'm saying is, I don't believe the reporter had anything to do with that quote.

 

Reporter, editor, whomever of the Times personnel wrote it simply did so inaccurately.

[RedFlash]

“I hope he stays, because his decision will impact other people’s decisions on whether they want to play here — because they enjoy being around him so much,” DeRosa said. “He’s one of the driving forces behind our chemistry. To take him out of the clubhouse would cause a huge rift.”

 

This quote sort of stood out to me. What do we make of this, I wonder?

 

I find that kind of unnerving, actually. But at the same time, probably just a bit of puffing by DeRosa.

 

I think DeRosa is trying to act as Dempster's agent here. This is a subtle reminder from the players (ie from DeRosa) to the front office as to how important Ryan Dempster is to the clubhouse.

 

I think the first two order of business this offseason (after the sell becomes final) will be locking up both Dempster and Wood, before they look at free agents.

[Magnetic Curses]

re-sign dempster, his k/9 and g/f ratio suggest to me that this is not a fluke. his babip is perhaps a bit low, but he gets a lot of ground balls, so i dismiss it

[AlwaysaCub]

re-sign dempster, his k/9 and g/f ratio suggest to me that this is not a fluke. his babip is perhaps a bit low, but he gets a lot of ground balls, so i dismiss it

 

Getting ground balls is only good if you have a good IF defense behind him. Brandon Webb and Orlando Hudson are a prime example. Despite some of the comments on the range of the left side of our infield, Dempster's performance is certainly a point in Aram and Theriot's favor.

[sneakypower]

i think he'll probably get Pavano money

[bukie]

re-sign dempster, his k/9 and g/f ratio suggest to me that this is not a fluke. his babip is perhaps a bit low, but he gets a lot of ground balls, so i dismiss it

 

Getting ground balls is only good if you have a good IF defense behind him. Brandon Webb and Orlando Hudson are a prime example. Despite some of the comments on the range of the left side of our infield, Dempster's performance is certainly a point in Aram and Theriot's favor.

 

Err...the Cubs defense is the most efficient in baseball. Theriot has limited range, but Ramirez is very good. DeRosa and Lee aren't too shabby either.

[JeffH]

The guy obviously really likes being a Cub, working with these guys. How much is it going to cost us to keep him again?

 

I imagine that a hometown discount deal for Dempster would be something similar to Kosuke's deal.

[JeffH]

In spring training, a Cubs minor league hitter told Dempster he could detect when a split-finger was coming by how Dempster fiddled with the ball before winding up.

 

I'd love to know which minor leaguer that was.

[Jon]

re-sign dempster, his k/9 and g/f ratio suggest to me that this is not a fluke. his babip is perhaps a bit low, but he gets a lot of ground balls, so i dismiss it

We'll see if he can maintain those rates through the end. He was getting a ton of grounders through the first 6 weeks or so of the season, but until very recently, his GB% was dropping pretty steadily since then. His FB% is relatively consistent, but his LD% is significantly higher than the first 6 weeks or so, as well. Not that those rates early on were sustainable, of course.

 

I don't think any decisions can be made now. If he can avoid tiring out in September and October, then I think Hendry will probably try hard to re-sign him.

[AlwaysaCub]

re-sign dempster, his k/9 and g/f ratio suggest to me that this is not a fluke. his babip is perhaps a bit low, but he gets a lot of ground balls, so i dismiss it

 

Getting ground balls is only good if you have a good IF defense behind him. Brandon Webb and Orlando Hudson are a prime example. Despite some of the comments on the range of the left side of our infield, Dempster's performance is certainly a point in Aram and Theriot's favor.

 

Err...the Cubs defense is the most efficient in baseball. Theriot has limited range, but Ramirez is very good. DeRosa and Lee aren't too shabby either.

 

Going forward, do you think it will remain that way? Our team isn't exactly young.

[bukie]

re-sign dempster, his k/9 and g/f ratio suggest to me that this is not a fluke. his babip is perhaps a bit low, but he gets a lot of ground balls, so i dismiss it

 

Getting ground balls is only good if you have a good IF defense behind him. Brandon Webb and Orlando Hudson are a prime example. Despite some of the comments on the range of the left side of our infield, Dempster's performance is certainly a point in Aram and Theriot's favor.

 

Err...the Cubs defense is the most efficient in baseball. Theriot has limited range, but Ramirez is very good. DeRosa and Lee aren't too shabby either.

 

Going forward, do you think it will remain that way? Our team isn't exactly young.

 

Going forward over the next month? Of course.

 

Over the next year? Most likely.

 

Three years from now? Who knows?

 

What does anything have to do with the defense going forward, though? The question was regarding the Cubs defense behind Dempster to this point, which has been fantastic.

[dew1679666265]

“I hope he stays, because his decision will impact other people’s decisions on whether they want to play here — because they enjoy being around him so much,” DeRosa said. “He’s one of the driving forces behind our chemistry. To take him out of the clubhouse would cause a huge rift.”

 

This quote sort of stood out to me. What do we make of this, I wonder?

 

I find that kind of unnerving, actually. But at the same time, probably just a bit of puffing by DeRosa.

 

I think DeRosa is trying to act as Dempster's agent here. This is a subtle reminder from the players (ie from DeRosa) to the front office as to how important Ryan Dempster is to the clubhouse.

 

I think the first two order of business this offseason (after the sell becomes final) will be locking up both Dempster and Wood, before they look at free agents.

 

I'm debating right now whether that quote - if it's the overall opinion of the team - should persuade me to change my mind.

 

Right now, I don't want to see Demp back. We have cheaper options for the rotation and, with Z, Harden and Lilly locked up, there's little reason to lock up 10-12 million more for Demp. I like him, but our assests simply could be allocated better, I think.

 

If letting him go will cause a huge rift, though, I may tend to lean toward bringing him back.

[Guest]

re-sign dempster, his k/9 and g/f ratio suggest to me that this is not a fluke. his babip is perhaps a bit low, but he gets a lot of ground balls, so i dismiss it

 

Getting ground balls is only good if you have a good IF defense behind him. Brandon Webb and Orlando Hudson are a prime example. Despite some of the comments on the range of the left side of our infield, Dempster's performance is certainly a point in Aram and Theriot's favor.

 

Err...the Cubs defense is the most efficient in baseball. Theriot has limited range, but Ramirez is very good. DeRosa and Lee aren't too shabby either.

 

Going forward, do you think it will remain that way? Our team isn't exactly young.

 

Going forward over the next month? Of course.

 

Over the next year? Most likely.

 

Three years from now? Who knows?

 

What does anything have to do with the defense going forward, though? The question was regarding the Cubs defense behind Dempster to this point, which has been fantastic.

 

I think he's talking about if the Cubs sign Dempster in the offseason (presumably to a three or four year deal) will the Cubs defense continue to be good enough to help Dempster as much as they have this year. Obviously if the Cubs infield defense gets worse, that's going to make Dempster's numbers look worse.

[Peoriaman]

The Yankees free up 88 mil after this year and will go hard after starters. Luckily, Sheets and C.C. are first on their list, but the market for Demp will be very good.

[Abe Frohman]

The Yankees free up 88 mil after this year and will go hard after starters. Luckily, Sheets and C.C. are first on their list, but the market for Demp will be very good.

 

A very good point.

 

Also, where exactly do the Cubs need to upgrade in the offseason? Lock up Dempster and Wood, and that's a good offseason.

[TheDude]

“I hope he stays, because his decision will impact other people’s decisions on whether they want to play here — because they enjoy being around him so much,” DeRosa said. “He’s one of the driving forces behind our chemistry. To take him out of the clubhouse would cause a huge rift.”

 

This quote sort of stood out to me. What do we make of this, I wonder?

 

Fans that think in numbers and talent first, as many around here do, might discount or dismiss the value of team chemistry in baseball. But that doesn't mean the players, coaches, GMs, and owners devalue it. That's what you make of it.

[jersey cubs fan]

re-sign dempster, his k/9 and g/f ratio suggest to me that this is not a fluke. his babip is perhaps a bit low, but he gets a lot of ground balls, so i dismiss it

We'll see if he can maintain those rates through the end. He was getting a ton of grounders through the first 6 weeks or so of the season, but until very recently, his GB% was dropping pretty steadily since then. His FB% is relatively consistent, but his LD% is significantly higher than the first 6 weeks or so, as well. Not that those rates early on were sustainable, of course.

 

I don't think any decisions can be made now. If he can avoid tiring out in September and October, then I think Hendry will probably try hard to re-sign him.

 

That made sense in May and June. But we're nearly done with 80% of the season. If he tires down the stretch, that doesn't tell us much other than an arm that hadn't thrown 100 innings in 5 years struggled as he approached 200. If he stumbles a bit, he's still going to finish with fantastic numbers.

 

 

Dempster is an obvious candidate to be a rich Yankee next year. He looked great pitching in Yankee Stadium and has a chance to shine in October this year. The one thing weighing against him, however, is that the Yankees have had a lot of issues with NL pitchers. Brown, Johnson, Pavano, Wright and Leiter were all guys whose success in the NL was a big reason they became Yankees, and all of them were disappointments to a certain extent.

[sneakypower]

AJ Burnett's probably going to opt out too I'd imagine, which could serve to distract the Yankees away from Dempster