May 15th, 2008
Let’s put it this way: Ryan Dempster didn’t think Ryan Dempster would be on pace for 20 victories at this point of the season. But he is after Thursday’s 4-0 shutout over the San Diego Padres.
If the former Cubs closer wants to race Carlos Zambrano to become the team’s first 20-game winner since 2001, I’m for it.
But Dempster, who was born in Sechelt, British Columbia, will have to pick up the pace if he wants to set the Cubs single-season record for victories by a Canadian hurler. Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins went 24-13 in his Cy Young Award-winning 1971 campaign.
May 15th, 2008
Tribune Cubs beat reporter Paul Sullivan, in his missive about the Jim Edmonds signing, actually thinks fans are against the move is because Edmonds was part of the great Cardinals-Cubs rivalry.
For a city that welcomed Dennis Rodman, Bob Probert and A.J. Pierzynski into the fold, Chicago is more than capable of opening the door for an enemy-turned-friend.
No, I’m mad because this is such a TYPICAL Cubs move to retard the progress of a prospect in the hopes that a player whose career started falling apart the minute Major League Baseball began its crackdown on performance-enhancing drugs … and was hitting .178 for the last-place Padres … and who couldn’t beat out Scott Hairston and Jody Gerut in the aforementioned San Diego outfield, will deliver shots onto Sheffield with regularity.
I hope I’m wrong about Edmonds. Then again, I hope for a lot of things.
