GatewayRedbirds.com

Garza's left the team to be there for the birth of his child and may not start again before the deadline. That inactivity combined with leaving his last start early with a cramp makes him unlikely to be dealt unless the tide changes.


Really, Rosenthal has the leverage backward in his article. The Cubs do not have a ready made replacement for Dempster's innings, and they have plenty of payroll flexibility. They could very easily make him the qualifying offer to help salvage value in the form of his innings in 2013, as well as try this again at next year's deadline. Furthermore, the qualifying offer pretty much guarantees that he would be back with the team. No one is going to give up their first round pick(and slot money) for the right to pay 36 year old Dempster 3/36 or whatever FA deal he's looking for. That means that Ryan should think very carefully about using his veto power in a trade, since if he gets dealt, his new team can't make a qualifying offer. He can gamble that the Cubs eventually come to an agreement with the Dodgers, but if they can't get proper value for him, he's risking tens of millions of dollars of his last FA deal by saying no to the Braves(or other suitors).

Meh. Dempster holds all the Cards and he should use them. Require any team trading for him to give him a 3/36 or whatever deal or he declines and accepts the Cubs qualifying offer if no solid offers come in.

Worst case; he's back to trying for a 2/24 deal from the team trying to trade for him next year. Wield the hammer Ryan.

*note: we all know injury is worst case scenario, but that's always the case for an aging pitcher.

Somewhere.....Curt Flood is smiling

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Freese Game 6 Home Run
Relive the 2011 World Series

I posted the trailer for that TV series (Revolution) in the TV thread.

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"Loving a cat is like loving baseball. 'It breaks your heart. It’s designed to break your heart.' That’s what late baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti said about the game, and it also applies to cats. Like baseball, loving a cat is unpredictable. Occasionally it’s glorious, but sometimes it’s terrifying and really sad. You live and die with it, think of it as a friend, and then it’s gone. Yet we keep going back." - Keith Bowers, A Love Letter to My Cat

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Freese Game 6 Home Run
Relive the 2011 World Series

rangers get dempster

Good for them. Suck it, Anaheim.

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"This is a heavyweight bout indeed."--John Rooney, Oct. 27, 2011

The corresponding move, suggests MLB Network last night, is that the Rangers will probably let Oswalt and his 6.32 ERA go.

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"You have to be concerned about the future, but you also have to be more concerned about the present. If you have to give up two or three young kids - who may not be able to play for several years - to get help for your team now, you have to do it." - Bing Devine, 1999

"They call baseball a game because it's too screwed up to be a business." - Jim Bouton, 1971.

"Big deal. Anyone can win games when the other team doesn't score any runs." - Curt Flood to Bob Gibson, circa 1968

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Freese Game 6 Home Run
Relive the 2011 World Series

Partying with Brian Fuentes?

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"This is a heavyweight bout indeed."--John Rooney, Oct. 27, 2011