The Cubs played a game yesterday and lost. It doesn’t really matter because Theo Epstein spoke to the press yesterday. First we’ll look at his comments on the Dempster saga.
“I don’t think Ryan deserves any criticism,’’ Epstein said before Wednesday’s game against Pittsburgh. “It’s not fair for anyone to criticize Ryan unless they’ve been in that spot. It’s a right he’s earned.’’
But we want to criticize him! Is there any way you can make him look bad?
“Also, the day before the deal, I told Ryan, `OK, it looks like tomorrow morning, we’re going to have to [make a final decision] with the Braves,’’ Epstein said. “So [then] it was time to make a final decision. So we consummated a deal with Atlanta quietly, and I told Ryan, `We have a deal, so now, you don’t have to decide right away, but I know you’ve been thinking about it for a couple days, keep thinking about it.’
“And that was a good conversation. And then an hour later, the story leaked and with the nature of technology and social media these things obviously spread quickly like wildfire. So Ryan never got the opportunity for more than I’d say an hour to fully contemplate Atlanta with a deal actually in place.
“I feel for him, because then all of a sudden instead of having time to contemplate it privately, he had everyone telling him what to do, everyone asking questions about it, and it became a nuisance for him.
“I think it’s really hard to criticize Ryan. I think it’s unfortunate. But he clearly wasn’t blindsided because we’d been telling him for days that Atlanta was a very likely destination. …’’
Boooooooooo!
Anything else Theo wanted to chat about yesterday? Maybe Josh Vitters and Brett Jackson?
“He’s working hard at (his defense) and making strides,” Theo Epstein said of Vitters. “He’s doing a great job with the bat, I’d like to see him get on base as much as possible. I think he’ll soon turn that corner and start walking more as well because he’s become a bit of a feared hitter.”
(snip)
“Everyone talks about (Jackson’s) strikeouts, contact is something we continue to address with him, try to put the ball in play more often,” Epstein said. “But it’s important not to overlook the things that he is doing well down there, playing good defense, running the bases well and when he is making contact he’s hitting the ball hard and for extra bases.”
So what exact date should we expect to see them in Chicago?
“It’s not an exact science, the primary rule we have is that every player has a development plan,” Epstein said. “Once they check all the boxes in that player development plan, then it’s time for them to be considered to be called up. There are other instances where you’re actually looking for a change of scenery or some sort of change to trigger their development as a player. So there’s no hard and fast rule for every players’ promotion.”
I wonder if they can post a chart on the website that shows which boxes have been checked and those yet to be checked.
I love that Theo says not to criticize Dempster but then basically confirms that he was a jerk and screwed up all their plans. And I think it’s hilarious that Dempster had to hear for himself that he wasn’t worth much to the Dodgers.
This story does nothing to change my opinion of him.
>> I wonder if they can post a chart on the website that shows which boxes have been checked and those yet to be checked.
[X] – Hendry hold-overs with very limited upside
[X] – hyped by the big league beat writers to distract from the horrendous MLB teams that were being fielded.
[X] – We’re sure Corey Patterson still has more potential to be a superstar than either of these guys.
Yep, sounds like we’re ripe for Vitters mid-august call up and BJax to be up as soon as LaHair or Soriano leaves.
This is where my afternoon “Meeting” is.
http://www.seadogcruises.com/Chicago/extreme-thrill-ride
and someone just offered me 4 free passes to Chicago Comic Con. This day is looking up.
Hey! Who gave me a thumbs down?
I gave you this one for having fun, while we work.
Me, too!! One of the pleasures of this blog is reading about your harried, put-upon work life!
And don’t forget her hairy legs
me too.
Dempster is still an idiot…
Agree.
He definitely isn’t as smart as I thought he was…and I didn’t think he was all that smart to begin with.
If anyone is in Evansville Wisconsin tomorrow and in desperate need of baby/young kids clothes or toys, then stop by the Evansville City-wide Garage Sale tomorrow and/or Saturday.
My garage is literally full to the ceiling with kids clothes right now and I have directed our sales staff to move this inventory at any price.
You have a sales staff in your garage?
Wife, kid and dog?
I’m paying $5.50 an hour to a bunch of employees from the Janesville Wal-Mart to come and help.
Perhaps some ex-cubs might be availible to act as temp sales staff?
I heard Fontenot is available at the cheap…
I’ve brought him on to serve as a mannequin to model the kids clothes.
Please,someone create a photo for that….
this off-day is especially bad. I was looking forward to kicking Dodger ass but we don’t look too hot right now. And Dodger fans are on the phone big time betting brewery beer or money or both. I hate losing to Dodger fans. It’s like losing to Dallas Cowboy fans.
I was looking forward to having Ryan Dempster pitch against us and having Jeff Baker hit two grand slams against him in the same inning.
Oh well.
Did I mention I’m having a garage sale? We’ve got a nice rocking chair and some book shelves available…you can’t beat our prices.
Did you post some pics of your garage sale on Craigslist?
No…that will probably happen after the garage sale.
I would like tickets for the Cubs-Dodgers game,but a. they are expensive, and b. I will probably be killed there for rooting for the Cubs/mocking the Dodgers…
As long as you don’t root for the Giants, you should be able to stay out of the hospital.
And speaking of hospitals, if you are a nurse or a certified nursing assistant or just work in the medical field, we have loads of scrubs available for very cheap at our garage sale. All are in very good condition.
You should go on Stub hub plenty of cheep tickets.
We are going on Sat.
We have gone every year and had no problem. Last year the police presence at Dodger stadium was crazy.
And like anywhere a lot of Cubs fans will be there
And I will definitely be mocking the Dodgers
A little off-day Chicago non-Cub item. NBC-Chicago reports Chicago is the deadliest Alpha city in the world. Based on number of murders/100,000 people:
Chicago-19.4
Sao Paolo-15.6
Moscow-9.6
Mexico City-8.0
Los Angeles-7.5
New York-6.0
Paris-4.4
Amsterdam-1.8
Toronto-1.7
London-1.4
There were more cities but I just did the top 10
We kill more people than Sao Paolo? Kick ass.
And a thumbs up for being bad asses.
Um…
I’m pretty sure Damascus is the deadliest city in the world. I’m pretty sure I’d be at a much high risk of being killed if I was there.
And speaking killing…you should check out the killer prices of our items at our garage sale this weekend. Our prices are so low, they’ll knock you dead!
As Monty Python would point out. It’s almost a shame for that .4 person
There is a band outside playing very,very,very bad covers of Beach Boys,Santana,etc. Would it be wrong to throw something at them? They are the musical entertainment for the “appreciation day,” which consists of pre-made In-and-Out burgers,potato chips in bags, and soda that hs been sitting out in the 90+degree sun for 45 minutes now. Again, is it wrong to want them to stop?
A few tomatoes upside the head and they’ll get the point.
At the end of every song yell “LESS!! LESS!!”
I’d be more concerned about the pre-made burgers sitting in the sun for over 45 minutes.
If you want some cheap items to throw at them, you should stop by our garage sale. We’ve got Barney and Blues Clues VHS tapes going for $.05 a piece. They’re guaranteed to stop any crappy band from playing they are thrown at.
When is it again?
You’re only paying people 5 cents apiece to take them off your hands??
Believe it or not, VHS tapes sell pretty well up here in Bumblefuck Wisconsin.
Watching the Angels/Texas game, and guess who’s pitching? Dempster! And he is about to blow 6 run lead…
And you know what doesn’t blow?
The low low prices are our garage sale tomorrow.
Annd thenAngels channeled the Cubs and are still behind. 6-3….
You know what else is 6-3?
Our garage sale. We open at 6am and go until 3pm both Saturday and Sunday.
Guess who got tickets to tomorrow nights game?MEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! First base side,field box, going towards the foul pole. I don’t care- I will go and mock all I want, and if some jerk wants to deck a girl,well I’ve faced that before…