Ryan Dempster solid, but Cubs lose 3-2 to Pirates as trade speculation continues

The Cubs lost 3-2 to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the last game of the three-game series today at PNC Park.  But the Cubs did win the series, which is a bonus, although a sweep would have been even better.

Ryan Dempster made a solid start for the Cubs and allowed three runs on five hits and struck out six batters and walked none over six innings pitched.  However, Dempster wasn't happy when manager Dale Sveum sent Scott Maine out to pitch in the seventh inning and said, "I'm fine.  I'm allowed to be upset.  I respect (Sveum) a lot.  That's his decision.  It doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.  At the end of the day, he's just trying to do what's best for the ballclub.  I have nothing but respect for that.  Just the competitor in me wants to get out there and keep trying to pitch."

Ryan Dempster made a solid start for the Cubs against the Pirates (photo from Chicago Tribune)

“I had a job to do today and that’s really important to me,” Dempster also said. “I had to try and separate the two things, make sure I’m getting my rest and we had a day game today.  I wanted to make sure my focus was on going out there pitching and doing my job.  Now I will have tonight, obviously, and the off day tomorrow to try and look at a couple of different things and see what the possibilities are and go from there to make the best possible decision for me.”

I'm sure all the trade talk these past couple of weeks has got to be weighing down on him.  Especially when some people on Twitter and certain reporters are bad-mouthing him just because the trade with the Atlanta Braves didn't happen.  Cub fans need to relax instead of insulting players because they're not happy with what is or isn't happening with their team.  How can you be such a fan of a player and then turn your back on them so quickly?  That's the part I don't get.  But maybe that's just me... I understand why fans might be upset that Demp didn't approve the deal with the Braves - so the Cubs didn't get a major-league ready pitcher in the trade, but come on, these kinds of things happen and it's no excuse to bad-mouth and insult players on social media.

On a higher note, Anthony Rizzo also hit his fifth home run of the season and also had an RBI single in today's game.

Anthony Rizzo is congratulated by third base coach Pat Listach after his home run against the Pirates (photo from Chicago Tribune)

The Cubs have an off-day tomorrow before they start a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on Friday at 1:20pm CT.  Travis Wood will make the start for the Cubs and try for his fifth win of the season.  Let's hope we can pay the Redbirds back for the series earlier this week in St. Louis!