Dempster

[Big Fan]

As a LONG TIME Cubs fan, I have watched this guy really closely for years.

 

Couldn't ask for a better Clubhouse guy, great for the community, total veteran player, knows how to pitch....but I warn you, when all the Marbles are on the table, his giggy will shrink to the size of a pea! (A small frozen one at that!)

 

Some of the biggest games he pitched in, he was terrible!

 

Playoffs games v The Dodgers, huge inner city rivalries v White Sox, games down the stretch in 2007 when we made the playoffs.

 

I am by no means a Red Sox hater. Always felt a little kinship and when the BoSox came to Wrigley a few years ago, enjoyed hanging with many Bostonians (If that is what you like being called)

 

I hope I am wrong, as Demp was nothing but a really nice guy to me when I met him a few times, but when the money was on the table man. He flopped!

 

Now you guys can tell me....should I be buying into the Theo and Jed plan of rebuilding,or is this smoke being blown up my giggy?

[reYoukilis]

Im all about waiting and seeing and giving everybody the benefit of the doubt. Since I really cant do anything about it I might as well stay positive, maybe my positive vibrations will help in some way.

 

Dempster was the one guy, of all the new acquisitions, that I wanted to do well.

[italstallianion]

I just really hate the glove wag that he does when winding up. But other than that I think he's fine and I support him. Then again I root for any Sox player, but Dempster seems legit likeable.

[a700hitter]

I just really hate the glove wag that he does when winding up. But other than that I think he's fine and I support him. Then again I root for any Sox player, but Dempster seems legit likeable.

The glove wag is annoying.

[Dojji]

The glove wag was an adaptation to a problem he was having with tipping his pitches earlier in his career. You may not like it but it's necessary.

[kapsis21]

Theo and Jed are trying to build the Cubs from the ground up. however you will have a lot of arguement on the 2004 team that it wasnt Theo's team that pulled it of. 2007 he might be responsible for some players but the core was still from 2004.

as far as prospects for the Cubs except for Rizzo and Samardzija there arent too many decent ones but I am not so familiar with their farm system either, funny I stay in Gurnee, and still follow and know more about Sox farm systems..

you have to see what Theo and Jed can string together in the next 2-3 years.

 

as far as Demp though he has been the opposite of what everyone else predicted. and I hope he stays that way.

[User Name]

Theo and Jed are trying to build the Cubs from the ground up. however you will have a lot of arguement on the 2004 team that it wasnt Theo's team that pulled it of. 2007 he might be responsible for some players but the core was still from 2004.

as far as prospects for the Cubs except for Rizzo and Samardzija there arent too many decent ones but I am not so familiar with their farm system either, funny I stay in Gurnee, and still follow and know more about Sox farm systems..

you have to see what Theo and Jed can string together in the next 2-3 years.

 

as far as Demp though he has been the opposite of what everyone else predicted. and I hope he stays that way.

 

What's this "core" from 2004 that was still in the 2007 team?

[mvp 78]

Ortiz, Manny, Schill, Tek? Theo still brought in 2 of those guys.

[User Name]

Ortiz, Manny, Schill, Tek? Theo still brought in 2 of those guys.

 

That's pretty much what i was getting at. That team was essentially Theo-built.

[mvp 78]

That's pretty much what i was getting at. That team was essentially Theo-built.

 

And excluding the Lowell/Beckett trade.

[User Name]

And excluding the Lowell/Beckett trade.

 

I have my doubts that the groundwork for that trade wasn't already laid, so i tend not to opine on that one.

[mvp 78]

Everything I've read has stated that Theo would have never traded Hanley as he was his prized prospect. Have you heard otherwise?

[User Name]

Yeah i remember reading a couple years ago a column regarding that particular trade that said that Theo actually did entertain the Hanley-for-Beckett trade because of Hanley's well-publicized attitude problems. I may even be able to dig it up.

[Dojji]

It's still wrong to say Theo didn't build the 2007 team.

 

He'd lost his way by 2011, but what he did for this franchise includes some pretty impressive accomplishments.

[kapsis21]

What's this "core" from 2004 that was still in the 2007 team?

 

i liked what Theo did for us in 2007.

 

but we are still not clear if he pulled the trigger on Beckett/Lowell trade or not. who clearly were responsible for getting us the crucial wins against cleveland.

he did get DiceK but his money was probably the worst investment we have done so far.

 

again not complaining, maybe i stretched it saying that the core was still from 04, i should have worded it differently. the bigger pieces were still from 2004, but the rookies Ells/Pedey/Lester did fantastic and Papelbon were lights out. so most of the player development if Theo was incharge would be all on him for getting 2007 ring.

[Behindenemylines]

Let him pitch a couple times against each of the teams in the AL East and then we will see if he is the real deal or a National League pitcher.

[Big Fan]

Got to see Mr. Dempster today. Still lives here on the Northside of Chicago. I said hello to him, he has met me a few times. Dont know if he remembers me or not, whichever the case, now you see how bad he can be! I know he started well, he always has, but when the games mean more, this guys performance just falls off the table.

 

couldnt meet a nicer guy, a guy you wish nothing but good stuff for, but man when the tough get going, Dempster is not one of the guys you want in that foxhole.

 

So my question is, do you have a minor leaguer we can take here in chicago, if we take back $10 mill of his salary this year?

 

Theo and Jed have broken this thing down to nothing. We dont even owe Zambrano and Soriano money anymore. We could be like an NBA team this absorbing salary.

 

See you guys in the 2017 World Series.

[jacksonianmarch]

The Cubs are paying $13 mil of Soriano's $18 mil salary in 2014

[SoxSport]

Epstein was in his gorilla suit when the Beckett deal was made. He would have never traded Hanley. Beckett and Lowell got them to the world series, and so it was worth it. The guy who made that deal came from the Detroit organization to take Epstein's place. Older guy now deceased. Forget his name.

 

Theo made a few good deals--notably, Ortiz. But he made a lot of bad ones. One decision they made after '07 may have been their downfall: getting rid of James and other consultants. Not sure who was behind that-Epstein or Lucchino.

 

You have to keep in mind that Epstein is a mover from square one. Worked his way up in the PR dept of San Diego where Lucchino was his mentor. Came over to Boston with Lucchino. Got pushed into the GM position by Lucchino. A lot of GMs in baseball got there that way. Not much in baseball qualifications. More connections. It isn't like manager.

 

Henry is the type of owner who likes to distribute authority. Maybe the anti-Steinbrenner. At times I suspect he has allowed his management to do things he wouldn't have done. Paying Adgon and Crawford are examples. He's gotten burned for it.

[a700hitter]

Epstein was in his gorilla suit when the Beckett deal was made. He would have never traded Hanley. Beckett and Lowell got them to the world series, and so it was worth it. The guy who made that deal came from the Detroit organization to take Epstein's place. Older guy now deceased. Forget his name.

 

Theo made a few good deals--notably, Ortiz. But he made a lot of bad ones. One decision they made after '07 may have been their downfall: getting rid of James and other consultants. Not sure who was behind that-Epstein or Lucchino.

 

You have to keep in mind that Epstein is a mover from square one. Worked his way up in the PR dept of San Diego where Lucchino was his mentor. Came over to Boston with Lucchino. Got pushed into the GM position by Lucchino. A lot of GMs in baseball got there that way. Not much in baseball qualifications. More connections. It isn't like manager.

 

Henry is the type of owner who likes to distribute authority. Maybe the anti-Steinbrenner. At times I suspect he has allowed his management to do things he wouldn't have done. Paying Adgon and Crawford are examples. He's gotten burned for it.

Bill Lajoie was the Assistant GM that made the trade for Beckett and Lowell.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Got to see Mr. Dempster today. Still lives here on the Northside of Chicago. I said hello to him, he has met me a few times. Dont know if he remembers me or not, whichever the case, now you see how bad he can be! I know he started well, he always has, but when the games mean more, this guys performance just falls off the table.

 

couldnt meet a nicer guy, a guy you wish nothing but good stuff for, but man when the tough get going, Dempster is not one of the guys you want in that foxhole.

 

So my question is, do you have a minor leaguer we can take here in chicago, if we take back $10 mill of his salary this year?

 

Theo and Jed have broken this thing down to nothing. We dont even owe Zambrano and Soriano money anymore. We could be like an NBA team this absorbing salary.

 

See you guys in the 2017 World Series.

 

I look forward to the ceremonial first pitch from the Easter Bunny and the pregame speech by Bigfoot.

[Palodios]

I look forward to the ceremonial first pitch from the Easter Bunny and the pregame speech by Bigfoot.

 

I sincerely thank you for leaving the big man from up north from this skeptical post, especially this time of year.

[DirtDog]

So my question is, do you have a minor leaguer we can take here in chicago, if we take back $10 mill of his salary this year?

 

Theo and Jed have broken this thing down to nothing. We dont even owe Zambrano and Soriano money anymore. We could be like an NBA team this absorbing salary.

[/QUote]

 

Red Sox aren't shipping out a prospect so Cubs will pay Dempster... lol. Pretty sure Sox would give him up for peanuts if someone was willing to pay him, but as a big market team they can afford to keep him as an overpaid swingman for a year. But give up a prospect just so someone can take him off their hands? Pretty sure those are the types of deals that comissioner's office vetoes anyway.

[seabeachfred]

i liked what Theo did for us in 2007.

 

but we are still not clear if he pulled the trigger on Beckett/Lowell trade or not. who clearly were responsible for getting us the crucial wins against cleveland.

he did get DiceK but his money was probably the worst investment we have done so far.

 

again not complaining, maybe i stretched it saying that the core was still from 04, i should have worded it differently. the bigger pieces were still from 2004, but the rookies Ells/Pedey/Lester did fantastic and Papelbon were lights out. so most of the player development if Theo was incharge would be all on him for getting 2007 ring.

 

Kap, Theo said himself he would NOT have made that trade for Beckett and Lowell because he wanted to hold onto Hanley Ramirez and Annibel Sanchez at all costs, and that means if he had been in charge at the time that trade was talked about instead on hiatus we WOULD NOT HAVE WON THE WORLD SERIES IN 2007. No way we win that year without Beckett and Lowell. Therefore, even with his skillful handling of our youth brigade that year, it would have been an empty season for us. Thank God he was not the GM those two months when we made that trade.

[Behindenemylines]

Kap, Theo said himself he would NOT have made that trade for Beckett and Lowell because he wanted to hold onto Hanley Ramirez and Annibel Sanchez at all costs, and that means if he had been in charge at the time that trade was talked about instead on hiatus we WOULD NOT HAVE WON THE WORLD SERIES IN 2007. No way we win that year without Beckett and Lowell. Therefore, even with his skillful handling of our youth brigade that year, it would have been an empty season for us. Thank God he was not the GM those two months when we made that trade.

 

I agree that the Sox don't win in 2007 if the Lowell / Beckett trade is not made, but you can also argue that Theo pulled the trigger on the Nomar trade in 2004 that seem to spark the Sox who went on a strong run in August and September that led to a playoff birth as a wildcard and the rest is history. I didn't agree with everything Theo did, but there were some positive moves he made.

[SoxSport]

I agree that the Sox don't win in 2007 if the Lowell / Beckett trade is not made, but you can also argue that Theo pulled the trigger on the Nomar trade in 2004 that seem to spark the Sox who went on a strong run in August and September that led to a playoff birth as a wildcard and the rest is history. I didn't agree with everything Theo did, but there were some positive moves he made.

 

Yeah, that's a good point about trading Nomar. But he got a good replacement SS (forget his name) who sparked them in the playoffs--then let him go to free agency the next year-- which I view as a mistake. That's when they got Renteria. An example of a GM finding the right chemistry, winning a WS, and then moving away from that chemistry the next year.

 

Nomar had some heavy hitting years in Boston, then went into a decline with leg ailments. That was a common symptom of steroid use, though nobody recognized how widespread steroid use was in those days. Canseco's accusations were laughed at, but turned out to be largely true--if you read the Mitchell report--going far beyond what the media has been willing to do on the subject.

[User Name]

They let Cabrera go because of a bunch of drama between him and other players because he was supposedly he was hitting on other player's wives. You read enough Cafardo to know this, so don't ignore it in order to make your "hard-hitting" judgments and criticisms.

[reYoukilis]

Yeah, that's a good point about trading Nomar. But he got a good replacement SS (forget his name) who sparked them in the playoffs--then let him go to free agency the next year-- which I view as a mistake. That's when they got Renteria. An example of a GM finding the right chemistry, winning a WS, and then moving away from that chemistry the next year.

Yeah I remember good ol whats-his-name. I thought it was a mistake too. He reminded me of another Victorino, small but tough.

[seabeachfred]

Yeah I remember good ol whats-his-name. I thought it was a mistake too. He reminded me of another Victorino, small but tough.

 

Orlando Cabrera----and letting him go and signing Renteria instead was a colossal blunder on Epstein's part. Tony LaRussa, Renteria's manager in St. Louis in 2004, told the press and Red Sox personnel that Edgar did not have the personality or physical and mental makeup to thrive in Boston. Boy, he was never more right in his life.

[mvp 78]

Orlando Cabrera----and letting him go and signing Renteria instead was a colossal blunder on Epstein's part. Tony LaRussa, Renteria's manager in St. Louis in 2004, told the press and Red Sox personnel that Edgar did not have the personality or physical and mental makeup to thrive in Boston. Boy, he was never more right in his life.

That move set them back two whe years before they could win another WS. What a blunder!