Yardbarker: Ryan Dempster

Reds at Cubs open game thread

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:07:21 -0500

B-REF PREVIEW | GAMEDAY | WEATHER | ACB CHAT ROOM Aaron Harang vs. Cubs hitters: .264/.309/.506 in 265 at-bats Ryan Dempster vs. Reds hitters: .260/.373/.394 in 127 at-bats When and Where: 7:05 pm on CSN Lee, Ramirez, Edmonds and Murton have combined to hit 14 home runs off of Aaron Harang. Adam Dunn has reached base in 13 of the 18 plate appearances he's had against Ryan Dempster (9 by walks). Tonight's weather: 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms, wind blowing out to right field at 12 mph.

2008 All-Star Snubs and Flubs: NL Edition

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:44:12 -0500

Yesterday, Major League Baseball announced its rosters for the 2008 All-Star Game to be played on July 15 at Yankee Stadium. Now, we take a look at the National League roster, to see who doesn't deserve to go and who got shafted. We don't have quite as many problems with the NL Roster as we did with the AL roster; that likely has something - if not everything - to do with the fact that the Yankees and Red Sox aren't in the NL. But the biggest question is, where are all the New York Mets?!?!?.......

Cubs at Giants open game thread

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:44:24 -0500

B-REF PREVIEW | GAMEDAY | WEATHER | ACB CHAT ROOM Kevin Correia vs. Cubs hitters: 6-17 Ryan Dempster vs. Giants hitters: .282/.407/.380 in 71 at-bats When and Where: 9:15 pm, CSN Tonight is kind of a big game considering Tim Lincecum is pitching tomorrow evening. Win tonight and you've at least split the series and you give yourself a small chance to win the series 3-1 tomorrow. Lose tonight and you're probably losing 3 of 4 against the Giants.

Red Sox and Cubs Each to Send 7 Players to All-Star Game

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:46:07 -0500

The Red Sox and Cubs are the only two teams to send 7 players to the All-Star game. Cubs catcher Geovany Soto is the first rookie catcher ever in the NL and Kosuke Fukodome is the first rookie outfielder since Frank Robinson in 1956. The other NL teams each have two players named to the team. Other Cubs named are Alfonso Soriano, who is soon to come off the DL after a hand injury, Aramis Ramirez and pitchers, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood. Wood is in rare company, along with Rich Goassage, Dennis Eckersley and John Smoltz to be named to the squad as a starter and a closer.
The Red Sox had four starters voted in by fans: Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Added reserves are Jonathan Papelbon, Jason Varitek and J.D. Drew.

Who has the most All0stars

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:15:30 -0500

There has been debate about who should vote for the All-star teams but in the end, the teams usually end up equally, even if the AL team always wins. This year's voting has been filled with late overtakings including the young wiz kid Ryan Braun overtaking Ken Griffey Jr. This year there are two teams tied for most All-stars at seven, one team having a great season and the other having a somewhat disappointing season currently in second place.

Who has the most All0stars

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:15:30 -0500

Record 7 Cubs Make NL All-Star Squad

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:01:25 -0500

As a Cubs fan, I am actually looking forward to the MLB All-Star game. After years and years of caring less and less about this game, I have never been so optimistic about the game. Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Geovany Soto were all voted onto the starting team while Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Kerry Wood, and Aramis Ramirez will begin the game on the bench. It's hard to argue that any of the players shouldn't have made the team. Soriano is probably the most unworthy of playing due to a slow start and injury. Fukudome has cooled off dramatically since his monster start but it's not far-fetched for him to be on the team. And for once, the Cubs could be playing for home field advantage in the World Series. Things are looking up for the Cubs.

MLB Busts of the Week - Week 13

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:34:45 -0500

Which fantasy studs dropped the ball last week? And which "sleepers" fell short of their hyped billing? Screaming Sports' Andrew Thibodeau runs down a seven-player list of fantasy bombs.

Cubs at White Sox open game thread

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:37:17 -0500

B-REF PREVIEW | GAMEDAY | WEATHER | ACB CHAT ROOM Jose Contreras vs. Cubs hitters: .329/.368/.707 in 82 at-bats Ryan Dempster vs. White Sox hitters: .267/.320/.356 in 90 at-bats When and Where: 3:05 pm, WGN if you want to suffer through Hawk and DJ and CSN if you want to suffer through Len and Bob.

Blown out again

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:37:16 -0500

Ryan Dempster didn't have a very good day as he gave up 8 runs in less than 3 innings. Lieber managed to slow the Sox offense down as he only gave up 1 run in over 3 innings of work. At the moment, the score is 9-3 going to the bottom of the 8th. The Cubs got 3 solo home runs today. Soto and Fontenot went back to back and then Edmonds hit one out later on.

2008 Fantasy All Stars

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:23:03 -0500

While the AL is trouncing the NL in interleague play yet again, the NL has emerged as the Talent League, with the majority of elite fantasy players residing in the Senior of the two circuits. The Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame takes a step back at the virtual midpoint of the season to construct All Star rosters in each league and to ask where are all the great players dead, in the heart or in the head?

4.5 games up

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:30:56 -0500

The Cubs completed the 3-game sweep of the White Sox tonight by beating them 7-1. When this series began we heard so much about how good the White Sox pitching was. The Cubs outscored the Sox 22-11. The Cubs did pretty well against baseball's best pitching. The Cardinals lost a 13-inning game in Boston earlier today as they failed to sweep the Red Sox, but did win 2 of 3. They lost a game to the Cubs who are now 4.5 games up in the NL Central at 48-28, which is baseball's best record. I may be wrong, but I think this is the Cubs largest lead in the division since either 2001 or 1989. For some reason I think the Cubs had a 4 or 5 games lead in 2001 at one point, but I may be wrong. If not, it has to be 1989 as I can't imagine any other team holding a 4.5 game advantage. UPDATE: The Cubs had a 5.5 game lead on June 29th, 2001. The Cubs have now won 14 straight games at Wrigley Field; their longest streak in over 70 years. They took 7 walks tonight, Eric Patterson hit his first big league home run and went 2-3 with 2 walks. That man is fast. Real fast. Ryan Dempster pitched 8+ innings, allowed 10 hits, got several double play balls, but was never really in trouble either. He walked only one and allowed only 1 run as he improved to 9-2 on the season with an ERA below 2.65. He also improved to 9-0 at home. Despite not winning a game on the road, he's pitched quite well. Another good start or two from Dempster and he's going to the All-Star Game. I never thought that possible. I was wrong.

Cubs at White Sox open game thread

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:30:56 -0500

B-REF PREVIEW | GAMEDAY | WEATHER | ACB CHAT ROOM Javier Vazquez vs. Cubs hitters: .296/.330/.573 in 206 at-bats Ryan Dempster vs. White Sox hitters: .237/.308/.339 in 59 at-bats When and Where: 7:10 pm, ESPN Scattered showers, 67, wind blowing across towards the right field at 8 mph. Several Cubs have hit Vazquez quite well. The Cubs roster as a whole has hit 13 home runs and 14 doubles off of him. Only one White Sox player has more than 9 at bats against Dempster. Orlando Cabrera is 9-28, Thome is 2-9 and AJ Pierzynski is 3-4 with the only home run the Sox have against Dempster.

MLB World Series Predictions

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:01:07 -0500

So who do you think will be contenders for the World Series this year? I know mine. For the N.L. right now the Cubs are doing awesome with a 47-28 record as of right now and Ryan Dempster with an 8-2 pitching record. Derrek Lee has been doing good with 15 homers also. But that is not my pick. You might not agree but my pick is the Philadelphia Phillies. They might have a lower record from the Cubs (42-33) but there doing fine. They have three very good pitchers. Ace Cole Hamels coming in a 7-4 record same record with Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick 6-3 record. The Phillies are known for there explosive offense. Chase Utley you may say that he is in a 0 for 20 Slump but he'll work his way out of it. Look at the biggining of the year. Utley Blasted 12 Homers for the month of April and has 22 Homers right now. Ryan Howard yes I know he strikes out a lot. But he been hittin homers to with 19 on the year. Pat Burrell is doing remarkable same with Brad Lidge having 18 Saves already. Now on to A.L. Three teams have doing to great Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels. Out of those three I think the Red Sox will repeat back to the World Series. I'm not an A.L. fan and I watch N.L. more then A.L. so I don't know much about A.L. But that's what I'm predicting because they have the best record in A.L. 46-30. So here is what I think the World Series will be Red Sox Vs. Phillies. I think this will go down to game 7 the last game in the series. But I think the Phillies will take it in the end barely with a 5-3 victory in game 7. That's my prediction. Tell me what's yours in a comment below.

Top 15 reasons the Cubs won't win this year

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:45:43 -0500

by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool

Despite a three-game sweep at the hands of those Amazin' Rays, the Cubs still have the best record in the National League, and appear to have their best chance since the 1908 team to win a World Series. Why won't it happen for them?

15. 90% of their fan base is comprised of people who are either going to agree with everything on this list, or question my sexual orientation for writing it

14. When your biggest celebrity fan (Bill Murray) is alleged to be in a borderline OJ Simpson situation with his soon to be ex-wife, the karma is not right for a championship

13. It would be too close to the White Sox championship (note: yes, the White Sox did win a championship, even though the Chicago and national media more or less ignored it)

12. Kerry Wood is the closer, which means that a Hittable and Tragic Figure needs to come through in the clutch

11. When your fans treat your beloved stadium as an open-air urinal, it just doesn't exactly inspire championships

10. Carlos Zambrano's strikeout rate is at his lowest rate since his rookie year and he's about to miss a start, which means he's incredibly due to have his heart-breaking Prior/Wood-style injury

9. God isn't cruel enough to subject the world to another long-suffering fanbase that becomes utterly and relentlessly intolerable

8. The starting pitching has copious amounts of Jason Marquis, Ted Lilly and Ryan Dempster, which means the bullpen is going to get burned out any minute now

7. Cubs players can never resist, over the course of the year, getting as hammered as their fans

6. Geovany Soto probably can't maintain a +.900 OPS and his status as arguably the best hitting catcher in MLB, especially with a lot of day games and limited playing time for back-ups (mostly, that's Henry Blanco, so you see why)

5. One suspects that they really aren't the second-best offensive and fourth-best pitching staff in all of MLB

4. The last 700 at-bats before changing the laundry says that Jim Edmonds really isn't a good offensive player anymore

3. Eventually, they'll remember that they play in Comedy Central and "relax"

2. Despite their better record this year, getting swept by the Rays is still getting swept by the Rays

1. They are the Cubs