Ryan Dempster opts not to pitch in 2014

[JohnBriggs12]

Apparently not "retiring", but doesn't feel physically up to pitching and wants to spend time with family. Is foregoing $12.5 million in salary.

 

Now that's a truly classy move. Even healthy, he might not have made Boston's rotation, but he's taken them off the hook for his contract. Some of us thought Suppan should have done that back in 2010. Guess Suppan felt healthy.

[RockCoCougars]

It is a classy move, kind of like when Meche retired. It would have actually been nice if Suppan had sat out even if he had still gotten paid... say after his first 10 starts as a Brewer. He was positively brutal after that.

[JimH5]

I was disappointed last year when the Brewers signed Lohse instead of Dempster.

 

Shows how much I know.

 

It's really unusual for a guy to walk away from that much money. I can't say that I would do it.

[Matt Breen]

I was disappointed last year when the Brewers signed Lohse instead of Dempster.

 

Shows how much I know.

 

It's really unusual for a guy to walk away from that much money. I can't say that I would do it.

I argued that a two-year deal for Dempster was the best choice last year (over Lohse). Especially with the draft pick loss associated with Lohse. Hopefully, Lohse keeps it up and proves a lot of us wrong.

 

On the flip side, I was right about Jeffrey Hammonds and Franklin Stubbs.

[Invader3K]

I don't know the exact rules for this sort of thing, but I wonder if they worked out some sort of undisclosed buyout on his contract? Either way, it is a classy move by Dempster.

[jerichoholicninja]

I had read that he has a daughter who is very ill. If true, this was probably an easy decision for him to make.

[bani1717]

Now that's a truly classy move. Even healthy, he might not have made Boston's rotation, but he's taken them off the hook for his contract.

 

I don't think it means he's "classy" in the sense you described it. I think it means that he is putting his family's and his own long-term well-being over his career and over money. Which I guess you could argue that is a "classy" move because that is generally not what people in our society would do, especially for as much as $12M+. But I am guessing that wanting to take Boston off the hook for the contract played about 0.1% into the decision.

[Patrick425]

On the flip side, I was right about Jeffrey Hammonds and Franklin Stubbs.

 

I'm guessing you were not active on the brewerfan site when Hammonds was signed (brownish color site...not even sure if it was called brewerfan at that time). I swear I was the only person on the site that was not happy about the Hammonds signing on that site when it happened. I remember taking a lot of bashing for being so negative about it.

[RockCoCougars]

I will admit that I loved the Hammonds signing. I thought that the Brewers were putting together a new version of the Wallbangers with Burnitz, Jenkins, Sexson and Hammonds.