Come to Think of It...Ryan Dempster's Remarkable Journey

Look, I admit I was one the many calling for Ryan Dempster's head when he was the closer for the Cubs.

Yes, I used the moniker "Dumpster" to describe him and I always let out a groan to go along with a pained expression and a sense of doom whenever he entered with the game on the line.

But fair is fair, and the time has come to give him kudos for the journey from closer to starter thus far in 2008.

Dempster began his career as a starter with the Florida Marlins in 1998. He underwent reconstructive elbow surgery in 2003  with Cincinnati. The Cubs converted him to a closer in 2005.

Now, Dempster has returned to the rotation. He enters tonight's game against the White Sox with an impressive 8-2 record, along with a nifty 2.76 ERA. He has given up just 66 hits in his 94.2 innings of work.

Ryan Dempster has long been a sort of clubhouse prankster and all-around good guy. That he took his craft more seriously this off-season was either a move of desperation or one of sheer genius. 

Either way, his hard work has paid off. He came bounding into the clubhouse this spring with a bold prediction.

"I think we're going to win the World Series," Dempster said. "I really do. I wouldn't have worked as hard as I did and everybody worked as hard as they did to not believe that."

He devoted the offseason to a stringent workout routine, one that enabled him to lose 40 pounds.

Not that he's lost his sense of humor.  When asked if he'd like to remain a starter for the rest of his career, Dempster said, “It’s tough. I wanted to go to first base, but we had Derrek Lee over there, just another challenge I was trying to overcome.

“That probably looks like it’s not going to happen, so I’d like to be a starting pitcher the rest of my career and hopefully I can do that.”

Good idea, Demp. Come to think of it, pitching in to help us complete a sweep of the White Sox tonight would go a long way toward that end.