There was a time not so long ago that the Cardinals’ 4-year, $41 million deal on Kyle Lohse looked like an albatross. This year, he’s earning every bit of that $12ish million he’s being paid, and he showed it again last night against the Cubs. He’s a free agent after this year, but buyer beware: unless you’ve got voodoo magic in your dugout, he won’t keep doing it …
On his weak start last night, Ryan Dempster assured the media after the game that it wasn’t a matter of his mind being on his scoreless streak or on the trade rumors. It was just Cardinals hitters being aggressive early, and within just a handful of pitches, it was already 3-0.
Dale Sveum says, if and when Ryan Dempster is traded, it’s going to hurt the Cubs off the field, in addition to on the field. “You can’t deny it’s only going to take away from the clubhouse atmosphere,” he said, according to Paul Sullivan. “The leadership role, the work ethic …. You don’t replace the whole package he has- a guy that makes that much money, a guy that’s had the career he has and still, to watch him work, the professional he is, you don’t replace those things.”
In the same article, new Cubs Justin Germano, whom many believe will take Dempster’s spot in the rotation when he’s dealt, makes me like him already: “We read stuff,” German said of trade rumor stuff about Dempster. “We know that there’s interest out there. [Dempster] is one of the best pitchers in the game right now. He’s definitely going to be sought after. Whether or not that had any impact on me [being here] I have no idea. I’m not really anybody compared to him, so ….” You’re somebody, Justin. You’re somebody!
A little more on Germano coming to the Cubs. It sounds like he doesn’t quite know where he fits in yet, but he’s happy enough to be with the Cubs. For now, he’ll pitch in relief, but I’m quite sure he’s high on the list of candidates to take a rotation spot when one opens up. In case you missed the Germano deal during Thursday’s flurry of activity, here you go.
Dale Sveum’s goal for the Cubs in the second half: go .500. Not in just the second half; he wants the Cubs to finish the season at .500. Obviously that would require the Cubs to be pretty much the best team in baseball over the next two months.
The Daily Big Ten looks at the best Major League players from each of the Big Ten’s schools, and obviously there are a handful of Cubs peppered throughout. Somehow, Rich Hill didn’t make the Michigan list.
Our one-day fantasy contest ran last night on DraftStreet, and – once again – I did not do well. I really liked my lineup, too. Congrats to, in order, the top ten: G0cubsg010, bspinner, schmidt28, aprahl, pjboy9, coopr1248, rshamberg, Peaceknuckle, Jwesterhouse33, and crawlers12. Keep your eyes peeled next month – we’ll do it again.
I’ll be on 101 ESPN Radio in St. Louis today at 11:30 am CT to discuss Cubs/Cardinals, Ryan Dempster, and other things, I’m sure. You can listen there at that link if you want to hear my purdy voice.
BN’er ProfessorCub send along a beautiful picture of Wrigley from right field, made far more beautiful by his Bleacher Nation shirt (which, hey, what do you know, you can buy right here):
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
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