MLB Trade Rumors (Free subscription) | 11/30/2008
Lots to cover in the latest from Ken Rosenthal: Jake Peavy to the Cubs is still being explored despite complications: The Cubs are being sold. Ryan Dempster was re-signed for 4 years, $52MM. The Padres are trying to include a third party to net the package GM Kevin Towers is seeking. If this happened then the Cubs would need to move Jason Marquis. Rosenthal suggests the Padres could take him if the...
The LoHud Yankees Blog (Free subscription) | 11/30/2008
The hot stove season has been pretty uneventful so far beyond a few trades and Ryan Dempster re-upping with the Cubs. There are several reasons for this: 1. Scott Boras represents 14 free agents including Manny Ramirez, Mark Teixeira and Derek Lowe. Scott tends to wait before making deals, believing (quite correctly) that prices rise as [...]
Hot Stove News Tracker (Free subscription) | 11/28/2008
The Hot Stove is still fairly cool, as you may have noticed. So far, there has been one major trade ( Matt Holliday going to the surprising A's) and only one major signing ( Ryan Dempster predictably going back to the Cubs for $52 million over four years) and not too many minor signings, either ( Jeremy Affeldt was one good one; he went to the Giants for $8 million over two years) since the beginning...
Red Sox Reality Check (Free subscription) | 11/27/2008
The economic backdrop has resulted in a glacial start to the free agent market...unless one considers Damaso Marte and Jeremy Affeldt as an avalanche. Ryan Dempster obviously is the exception, and nobody doubts that the premium class of Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, and Manny Ramirez will get paid. But how many major corporations, lining up at the public trough in Bailout Nation will be plunking down...
The Sports Economist (Free subscription) | 11/26/2008
Has the free agent market seized up ? Since Nov. 14, when teams were permitted to discuss contract terms with free agents, only 2 of the 171 players who filed for free agency have signed: Jeremy Affeldt, who went to San Francisco, and Ryan Dempster, whose decision to re-sign with the Chicago Cubs hardly came as a surprise. ...A review of baseball’s transaction history since 2001 showed that the only...
MSNBC.com: Baseball (Free subscription) | 11/26/2008
The Chicago Cubs are done chasing Jake Peavy, according to comments by manager Lou Piniella to a Chicago newspaper. He said the signing of Ryan Dempster was a key moment.
Top Ten Chicago Sports (Free subscription) | 11/24/2008
With Ryan Dempster signed for the next four years, there are not a whole lot more questions that need to be asked regarding the current lineup. Unlike most teams, the Cubs are in great shape. The majority problem might be the fact that of stars are putting another season on their odometer. There are a few gaps that could be mended however and according to MLB Trade Rumors, they are planning on increasing...
A Hundred Next Years (Free subscription) | 11/22/2008
Less than 12 months ago, along with most Cubs fans, I could think of two or three dozen things I was more excited to see than Ryan Dempster's return to the starting rotation in 2008. After a 17-6 season in which Dempster had a career best 2.96 ERA, earned a trip to the All-Star Game, merited the Game One start in the NLDS, and finished 6th in Cy Young balloting, Dempster not only had the last laugh,...
SI.com (Free subscription) | 11/20/2008
It's hard to figure exactly whether Ryan Dempster's still-fresh $52 million contract -- the first big free-agent signing of the winter -- is a good move for the Cubs or a bad one. It's hard to say whether it's just baseball business as usual or the first step toward that long-rumored economic Armageddon in the game.
Can't Stop the Bleeding (Free subscription) | 11/20/2008
[via AP’s Jeff Roberson: Piniella, about to pull his press secretary, Ryan Dempster] Lou Piniella took to the airwaves of WMVP-AM 1000’s Waddle and Silvy Show (see the podcast section) to refute Ryan Dempster’s comments, as amplified here by frequent CSTB commenter Andrew, that the Cubs were “unprepared” for the 2008 play-offs. Dempster finally spoke about [...]
The Final Score (Free subscription) | 11/20/2008
Ryan Dempster, who recently signed a four-year deal with the Cubs for too much money, told the Chicago Tribune that the Cubs were not "prepared" for the best-of-five series against the Dodgers, despite being swept by Arizona one year earlier....
Chicago Tribune (Free subscription) | 11/20/2008
Cubs manager Lou Piniella refuted Ryan Dempster's comment that the team "underestimated how prepared you have to be" entering its best-of-five playoff series against the Dodgers. Hardball: Teahen the answer to RF vacancy? Phil Rogers: GM fine-tuning
Raise the Jolly Roger! (Free subscription) | 11/19/2008
Plenty of stuff going on across the MLB hot-stove: [ Mike Mussina is retiring ], [ the Royals acquired Coco Crisp from Boston for Ramon Ramirez ], the [ Cubs re-signed Ryan Dempster ] and the [ Mariners named a new manager ]. Somehow, some way, Tim Dierkes at [ MLBTradeRumors.com ] manages to keep up with all this stuff. ---- Here's a transcript of [ Nyjer Morgan's live chat with fans ] on Tuesday....
Ballbug (Free subscription) | 11/19/2008
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN : Prominent hitters who may swing it in '09 or call it a career … The Hot Stove season is off to a fine start for Ryan Dempster, Jeremy Affeldt and Eri Yoshida, the 16-year-old female knuckleballer who was drafted by a Japanese League club this week. And life is good if your name happens to be CC Sabathia …
Cubscast - Chicago Cubs Podcast (Free subscription) | 11/19/2008
Broadcast: 463 Hosts: Lou & Sheps Airdate: 2008-11-19 Length: 16:30:00 File Size: 11.3 MB
