Dempster Trade on Hold, Garza On Deck

Now this…Dempster Tweets trade to Braves not a done deal, yet. What a headache.

THERE IS NO TRADE dont know where this info came from!

— Dempster Foundation (@RyanDempsterFDN) July 23, 2012

Finally, yes, FINALLY…we have a real Cubs trade to talk about!

WAITING GAME – IF DEAL GOES THROUGH CONTINUE BELOW

Ryan Dempster to the Braves for 22-yr-old RHP Randall Delgado. Nice!

Good deal for Dempster. He rejoins the pennant race on a team hungry to reach October.

Atlanta is playing with urgency. It’s Chipper’s last year and these guys won’t want to repeat the disappointment of last season’s historical September collapse.

The Braves (52-43) trail NL East leading Washington by 3.5 games, but currently hold one of the two NL Wild Card spots.

I couldn’t be happier for Dempster. He’s a winning player who deserves a winning team. This might be his last shot at a ring, not to mention, the city of Atlanta will love Dempster’s southern gentlemanly qualities.

I’ll take a look at how Dempster fits into the Braves rotation a bit later.

GARZA A DODGER BY DAY’S END?

Meanwhile, the Dodgers remain interested in acquiring Matt Garza. The Cubs reportedly want the highly-regarded pitching prospect Zach Lee in return.

It appears any deal will include a package of players being swapped both ways.

Pitchers are headlining the trade reports, but make no mistake, Los Angeles is starved for run producers. My guess says the hold-up is position players being squabbled over.

July 19: Los Angeles ranks 14/16 in runs scored in the National League. They’ve played the most one-runs games in the majors this season (36) and are certain to fall out of the race unless they find offensive help, particularly at first base where James Loney is batting a paltry .245 with 2 HR, 25 RBI.

Bryan LaHair and Darwin Barney could be potential fits in LA, which desperately needs offensive upgrades at first base and shortstop.

Dempster was long expected to be the first Cubs trade domino to fall. A Garza deal could come to fruition by the end of the day. More trades are sure to follow.

At last, the best part of rebuilding is underway. Staying tuned…

Cubs Setting Records And New Season Low

All things considered, the Cubs have played pretty well since I delivered a Cubs tongue lashing one month ago.

I wrote that post after the Cubs rolled over and played dead during a three-game sweep at Arizona.

For me, it was the absolute low point of the season. The Cubs didn’t do much of anything right against the Diamondbacks, and what little they did do correctly was largely done with the games out of hand.

Was it the team’s woeful record that finally caved-in crushing their spirit? Maybe it was the looming trade rumors, or the ‘Anthony Rizzo Wait’ that caused a lack of focus in the desert?

Whatever the case, it wasn’t pretty, or acceptable play.

Naturally, I was curious how the Cubs would respond after such a lackluster series. Would Sveum give the team a piece of his mind, and if he did, were his troops even listening?

THE CUBS REKINDLED SPIRIT

Surprisingly, the Cubs roared back to life after the Arizona series defeating Johan Santana and the Mets at Wrigley Field the following day. It was the start of a (14-5) run marking the major’s best record since that very evening, June 25.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, this weekend happened. A new low point during a dreadful and pathetic three-game sweep at the hands of the rival Cardinals. It was a brutal performance. It was hardly watchable.

What excuse was there this time? No trades have been made and Anthony Rizzo has been well entrenched at first base for weeks.