Dale Sveum may want to say that the Ryan Dempster-to-Atlanta trade was a “fabrication” and an invention of “the Twitters,” and Dempster himself may want to say “THERE IS NO TRADE,” but Jerry Crasnick of ESPN is reporting that (a) the trade was very real; (b) Dempster initially suggested that he would approve of it; but (c) got mad when, before being told it was done by the Cubs, word leaked out to the media:
Sources say Ryan Dempster had given preliminary indications that he would accept a trade to the #braves from #cubs
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 24, 2012
But when trade leaked out in media Monday before #cubs informed him, Dempster was not happy. Felt blindsided, said a source.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 24, 2012
Dempster deal yet another example of what GMs now have to deal with in the Twitter age.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 24, 2012
Actually, sounds more like something players should learn to deal with. Because this kind of thing is going to happen from time to time, especially when you have two teams, a player, an agent and possibly more people in the loop.
It’s one thing if a player’s first whiff of news that he may be traded comes from the media. But if what Crasnick says is true, and Dempster was approached about going to the Braves initially and suggested it was acceptable, he’s just having a temper tantrum.