Dempster’s pain creates fear for Cubs fans
Nothing about the Cubs matters these days except which of them won’t be here in six weeks.
Wasn’t it Grantland Rice who wrote, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how many players you can dump on other teams”?
The Cubs aren’t a baseball club right now. They’re a garage sale with merchandise spread all over the driveway.
So the response to Ryan Dempster being placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday drew a predictable reaction: “Oh, no, how are the Cubs going to get rid of him now?”
That sentiment was mentioned to Dempster before the Cubs’ 12-3 victory over the White Sox in Comiskey Park.
“I should have pitched through it then,” Dempster said while snickering with sarcasm. “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about pitching.”
Many fans are worried that the longer Cubs crack baseball honcho Theo Epstein takes to trade Dempster the more chance something Cub-like will render a potential deal impossible.
You know, like Dempster’s next injury might be serious. Even worse, he might get healthy but lose the touch that made him one of the major leagues’ best pitchers this season.
That’s a Cubs fan’s lament, of course. Hope for the best and assume the worst. Situation normal; all Cubbed up.
Think how awful it would be for the Cubs to be unable to subtract an outstanding pitcher, great clubhouse presence and upstanding citizen from their roster. Call it subtraction by subtraction.
“Generally when a player has a minor injury,” Epstein said of trade talks, “it’s typical to wait until he comes back and is healthy.”
Dempster’s injury is tightness under his throwing armpit. The Cubs sound like they expect him back when eligible after the 15 days.
That means that Epstein can lay only a foundation for a Dempster trade, which probably is the way it should be more than a month ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.
However, fans are anxious, and if this drags on much longer Dempster will be joined on the disabled list by myriad people suffering from a severe case of trade fever.
The situation — Dempster’s specifically and the Cubs’ generally — feels odd whenever this team is playing a game.
The feeling is the focus is less on the team improving in the standings than on individuals improving their trade value.
So any time a Cub burps, belches or snorts, the question is whether that makes him more marketable.
The way the Cubs’ offense battered Sox pitching for 15 hits, including 5 home runs, maybe the Sox would ante up big time for Dempster even if his pitching arm were dangling from a tissue.
Bryan LaHair hit a homer and made a great catch in right field, improving his worth to an American League team as a first baseman/outfielder/ designated hitter.
Let’s see, what’s in that cardboard box sitting over there next to the old tires?
Oh, yeah, Matt Garza flashed his occasional brilliance, making him attractive to any team in need of a starting limb.
Scattered around the rest of the yard are the likes of David DeJesus and Geovany Soto, bit players Jeff Baker and Reed Johnson, dare we say the seemingly untradable Alfonso Soriano and reportedly untouchable Starlin Castro.
“Normal chatter,” Epstein said of the current trade climate. “Most talks are preliminary in nature.”
Abnormal chatter is how talk among Cubs fans could be described.
mimrem@dailyherald.com