Comments on: Ryan Dempster says he never turned down that deal to the Braves. Um, OK.

By: myedayok

myedayok — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:28:15 +0000

I beleive he might have said “wait” hoping he’d find a team where he’d get a better deal with another team down the road.

By: Craig Calcaterra

Craig Calcaterra — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 02:54:10 +0000

Of course I did. You’re entitled to your view on that. I merely noted that anyone who concludes something about a legal process when the procedures were ruled to not have been followed reveals themselves to be ignorant about what the process entails and why those procedures matter.

By: wlschneider09

wlschneider09 — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 02:51:20 +0000

OK then, so you’re not coming down on anyone for believing Braun was doping. And you never did.

By: Craig Calcaterra

Craig Calcaterra — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 02:48:29 +0000

You can make any conclusions about either case you want. The point in the Braun case is that Occam’s Razor conclusions have no bearing whatsoever on what baseball should have done to him.

By: wlschneider09

wlschneider09 — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 02:47:19 +0000

Dempster’s case: Occam’s razor applies. We’re allowed to make conclusions about veracity.
Braun’s case: Occam’s razor cannot apply. We’re not allowed to make conclusions about veracity.

Am I correct?

By: Craig Calcaterra

Craig Calcaterra — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 02:38:54 +0000

That attempted equivalency would make sense if there was some sort of formal mechanism in place that was first required to be followed before we were permitted to make conclusions about Dempster’s veracity. You know, like there was for Braun, with said formal mechanism being established because everyone involved knew that you had to have such safeguards before concluding certain things about people in his situation.

By: wlschneider09

wlschneider09 — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 02:36:05 +0000

Ok, let’s see if I’ve got this. We shouldn’t take Dempster’s word for the fact that he didn’t turn down the Braves deal, because it just doesn’t make sense on any level. There’s no real evidence but his word, but any logical examination of the most likely scenarios would almost certainly preclude that he is telling the truth when he tries to escape blame for the situation. I can get behind that.

Funny though, apparently we can’t apply the same logic to testosterone doping and NL MVPs.

By: latrops

latrops — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 00:02:19 +0000

“[If] it was the Braves who bailed, it was because Dempster’s delay caused them to rethink. Which, effectively speaking, means that Dempster did scuttle the deal through his actions if not his words.”

So even if Dempster didn’t ever actually reject the trade and, as he suggests, simply wanted time to think about it, he still deserves blame and criticism? Either he did or he did not nix the deal. I don’t know what he did, but he says he never actually said “no”, and I have no reason to assume he is lying…though he may be.

By: Craig Calcaterra

Craig Calcaterra — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 23:41:08 +0000

Dempster (and his agent) knew that the Cubs were going to shop him almost as soon as the season began and speculation in the media about it began no later than mid-May. Potential candidates for trade partners were pretty clear not long after that.

I agree that the Cubs should have brought him into the loop ASAP, but Dempster didn’t need to have the Cubs formally bring him into the loop to consider where he would accept trades to and where he wouldn’t.

But given the experience and acumen of the Cubs front office, I actually am far more inclined to believe that the Cubs did, in fact, bring him into the loop at the time all players with trade approval are brought into the loop and that Dempster wanted to string it out a little longer.

By: American of African Descent

American of African Descent — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 23:35:25 +0000

Craig: You should know better. The only time you accept a job on the spot is when a federal judge asks you to be his law clerk. I have no idea how you equate delay by Dempster with Dempster scuttling the deal.

The Cubs knew Dempster had 5/10 rights. The Cubs knew that they were probably going to trade Dempster. Doesn’t it make sense for the Cubs to bring Dempster into the loop early so that he could have as much time as necessary to make a decision? (Or did they expect Dempster would be a so-called “team player” and ignore his own wants for the good of an organization of which he would no longer be a part?)

By: realgone2

realgone2 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 22:47:56 +0000

I’m a Braves fan and I couldn’t care less if Dempster was on the team. Giving up Randall for probably a “2 monther” is stupid. Maholm and Johnson are fine for what we gave up. To keep harping on this situation is strange.

By: vanmorrissey

vanmorrissey — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:55:00 +0000

So…….he would have waited until 1 minute before the deadline to see if LA Dodgers would cough up a better deal, then decline the Braves, nice job since Wren has a job to do like running a team trying for a playoff berth who last year lost out the last day of the year. Well, the baseball world does not revolve around you Ryan so we guess you’re ‘stuck’ pitching in hot as hell Texas where your ERA will balloon beyond belief, your new contract value will decrease since you sure as heck will not do as well as the team you wanted to go to in LA, and who knows if you’ll really get to the playoffs with the way the Rangers are going right now with the Angels and A’s hot on your tail. Not well played Ryan, not well played.

By: onbucky96

onbucky96 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:13:08 +0000

Uh huh, sure. And Nick Saban won’t be the next head coach @Alabama. Take your 10-5 rights and shove ‘em.

By: Uncle Charlie

Uncle Charlie — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:54:53 +0000

I know right?

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&source=mog&hl=en&gl=us&client=safari&tab=wi&q=plumbers%20ass&sa=N&biw=480&bih=208#i=0

By: Chris Ross

Chris Ross — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:23:21 +0000

You’d think the supposed stand up guy would be more up front and stand up about this.

http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/it-keeps-getting-better/

By: scrot7

scrot7 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:21:52 +0000

Let’s get one thing straight… Dempster is not the stand up guy everyone thinks he is. He cheated on his wife with his nanny. That’s a fact. No one should be suprised that he acted liked a big prima donna during the trade talks. Good riddance to a world class a-hole.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:56:46 +0000

“It’s not like I said “no.” I just didn’t say “yes.” See the difference?”

By: unlost1

unlost1 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:43:18 +0000

“And even after I said no — I never officially said no”. Is his agent Bill Clinton?

By: cameron poe

cameron poe — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:39:03 +0000

As another Braves fan I concur. I don’t think any Braves fans were actually excited about acquiring Dempste, another aging pitcher, who is a coin toss to whether or not he can finish the season strong in the summer heat. In my personal opinion most Braves fans were just excited Wren was making some moves. We as fans got all this talk of how the Braves were going to be very active before the trade deadline. And, we bought it, hook, line, and sinker. Although, most of us should’ve known better after the Livan Hernandez fiasco! So, the rumblings and grumblings coming from Braves fans are more than likely not about Dempster per say. But, more about the fact that in the end we ended up with essentially nothing when there was so much out there.

By: forthand26

forthand26 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:32:41 +0000

Players are primadonnas these days. I wish we went back to the days before free agency…when players made crappy salaries and did roofing jobs on their off days.

By: mgdsquiggy17

mgdsquiggy17 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:57:18 +0000

How many more times can we beat this dead horse

By: ditto65

ditto65 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:56:34 +0000

I was thinking more like thick, but heavy works too.

By: Gobias Industries

Gobias Industries — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:56:26 +0000

Frankly, the truth of the matter is that in all honesty, at the end of the day, I can’t wait to hear even more about what happened.

By: ditto65

ditto65 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:55:35 +0000

Rush. Good call.

By: ditto65

ditto65 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:54:49 +0000

But you are trying to apply reason to a sports fan acenario. In the fan’s eyes, Dempster left the Braves holding their, umm, offer sheet, jilting them. Never mind that the Braves retrackted. That can be covered by the “saving face” maneuver.

By: jamaicanjasta

jamaicanjasta — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:33:53 +0000

I’m sure you like your snark but this comment makes no sense. The Braves had moved on before Dempster was traded and made for their team a better pickup with two players in positions that were needed.

By: eshine76

eshine76 — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:32:58 +0000

Here’s what also could have happened…

“Hey, Ryan. You mentioned that you wanted to be traded to a contender, and the Dodgers and Atlanta are really showing interest. You ok with these guys? I don’t want to waste a lot of time if you aren’t.”

At the very least, his agent should have said “Hey Theo. My favorite blog, HardballTalk, is saying that there are as many as 10 teams interested in my client. That’s a lot of teams. Is there any truth to that? If so, let’s take a closer look at the teams so my client goes to a good one.”

Either way, I call BS on Dempster. I think he was looking at what could happen, locked in on the heavily-rumored Dodgers, and overplayed his hand.

By: bravojawja

bravojawja — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:32:24 +0000

To quote a great philosophizer: “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”

You can also choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill, but I don’t think that’s really relevant here.

By: danrizzle

danrizzle — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:27:23 +0000

Heavy stuff there.

By: mannyicey

mannyicey — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:26:46 +0000

As a Braves fan, if I can speak for all of us in saying that’s it’s all good down here. Dempster, we’re cool with you not joining the Braves. We’re going to be fine, somehow… Lawd willing the creek don’t rise.