Dempster worth much more than 17 wins to Hendry, Cubs

Ryan Dempster knows what some might be thinking after he got a four-year contract extension fresh off a career year (17 wins) in his return to the starting rotation.

"I think a lot of people still wonder, 'Oh, did he just have a good year in a contract year?' " Dempster said Tuesday after the deal, estimated to be worth $52 million, was announced.

His boss, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, sees the equation differently.

"One year didn't get him four," Hendry said. "Five years of being around Ryan Dempster got him four.

"There's way more than just 17 wins on the board involved here. This is a special guy that is totally into trying to bring the Chicago Cubs a world championship. You win a lot of baseball games with this guy on your ballclub."

The Cubs sure did this season with the 31-year-old right-hander, who went 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 33 starts. Dempster set a career high and tied for third in the National League in wins, ranked fourth in the league in ERA, and earned himself a trip to the All-Star Game.

"It's huge for us; it was such a priority," Hendry said. "Ryan did a terrific job - just a phenomenal season that he had. He's all about winning. It was imperative that we kept him in house."

And they did it for less than the market would have produced had Dempster actively searched out a better deal.

"No doubt in any of our minds that Ryan would have exceeded this deal three or four weeks from now with the way the market is for starting pitching," Hendry said. "From Day One he told us that he wanted to stay."

"Was there more money on the open market? I'm sure there probably was," said Dempster, who got feelers from both New York teams in addition to Atlanta, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto. "Truthfully, I don't even care to know. I'm happy with what I have. It's more money than I ever dreamed of getting as a kid growing up playing baseball."

Hendry said, with the signing of Dempster, "now our pitching is starting to line up in quality shape."

Does that mean he's done pursuing starting pitchers?

"I don't think that we ever think we're done," Hendry said.

As good as Dempster's dream season was, it ended on a nightmarish note in October when he allowed 7 walks in just 42/3 innings during a 7-2 loss to Los Angeles in Game 1 of the NLDS.

"It (stunk)," Dempster said of being swept in three straight. "It (stunk) for everybody that were at the games or watched the games or listened on the radio or read about them in the papers.

"It felt just as bad for us as players as it did for them. It felt embarrassing to go out there for the second year in a row and lose three straight games."

So now it's time for a little revenge from Dempster and Co.

"We'll figure out a way to get it done - do what we're all trying to do - and that's to go out there and win a championship."