Do the Cubs Hate Ryan Dempster?
Last week, I was worried that Ryan Dempster was developing Jason Marquis Disease. If you’re unfamiliar with JMD, it occurs when you’re a starting pitcher who gives up just enough runs for your team to lose. So, if the Cubs score 8, you’re busy giving up 9. If they score 1, you just allowed a two-run homer. But after Dempster gave the Cubs yet another chance to win in Atlanta last night, I started to worry that everyone on the team just hates him, so I did some digging.
In Dempster’s last five starts, he has given up 3 earned runs once, 2 earned runs once, 1 earned run once, and 0 earned runs twice. He hasn’t pitched fewer than six innings in any of the starts, even in the laborious game against the White Sox, when he walked six batters. His ERA in his last five is 1.65, and batters are hitting .239 against him. Yet his record over that stretch is 1-2, and the team’s record is a stunning 1-4. For the entire season, the Cubs are only 5-10 in Dempster starts.
So, do the Cubs hate Ryan Dempster? Maybe. But apparently not as much as they hate Randy Wells and poor, poor Sean Marshall. Here are the average runs scored per nine innings for the six starters who have seen action for the Cubs this year:
Harden: 5.65
Zambrano: 4.70
Lilly: 4.30
Dempster: 3.97
Wells: 3.45
Marshall: 3.00
The Cubs scored 2 or fewer runs in 5 of Marshall’s 8 starts. That’s a great confidence builder for the still-relatively-young pitcher.
I’m not suggesting Marshall should be given another shot in the rotation, as Randy Wells has been terrific. I’m suggesting that Sean Marshall and Randy Wells should either learn to hit home runs or learn to kick every one of their teammates in the testicles.
And Dempster should stop putting itching powder in everyone’s jocks.
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BigFlax
PenFoe
StPatrick
CT
CactusMcHarris
Not sure why they let Dempster hit in the 7th – it looked pretty damn hot out there and I think it was clear he wasn’t going to make it thru the bottom – why not try to get someone on base and get something going – who knows maybe they could have left 13 or 14 on base instead of just 12.
So Mike Gonzalez is a total douchebag – what are the chances we could get him though?
It takes a big man to admit he was wrong, and I am that big man. Here is how I thought Dempster’s year would go: Having peaked last season, his innings would be way down, and walks/hits would be way up. He’d give up more runs but our offense would be so good he’d still pick up a boatload of wins and I’d have to listen to people talk about how well he’d pitched based solely on “wins.” So far, this season has been the exact opposite. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this completely wrong about everything. Yellonesque.
I don’t like him, does that count for anything?
Taste, perhaps.
Wins are a worthless stat, anyhow. Just like saves. No pitchers paycheck should ever be measured on their Win-Loss record, and especially not on a team with malaise batting like the Cubs.
If you type Ted Lilly in google images it gives you a related search option of Jason Marquis.
“…poor, poor Sean Marshal”. Do I detect a new nickname?
Why? What’s wrong with SeanBearPig?
Ironic that Harden – the only member of that group who has pitched poorly – has gotten the most support. Probably a coincidence, but odd nonetheless.
I’m not sure if the Cubs hate Ryan Dempster or not, but I am pretty damn sure that I hate Ryan Dempster.