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- Ryan Dempster probably won’t get a crack at Ed Reulbach’s Cubs record for consecutive scoreless innings.
Oh, wait, that ironic headline isn’t funny. Because as well as the Cubs have played of late—11-4 since June 25, and an unbeaten 2-0 since the All-Star Break—they just might break up the team for real.
The Cubs won 4-1 Saturday over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field. Yet that only lifted their season record to 35-52, still a distant fifth in the National League Central, although no longer challenging for the worst mark in baseball. With the new Theo Epstein-Jed Hoyer baseball brain trust more eager than ever to put its indelible stamp on the Cubs—and clear out whatever salable materials were left by Jim Hendry—Saturday was widely seen as a showcase for starting pitcher Ryan Dempster, if not left fielder Alfonso Soriano, ahead of the July 31 deadline for unrestricted trades.