Ryan Dempster said there was no significance to the T-shirt he was wearing after Monday’s 1-0 victory over the Brewers at Wrigley Field.
The front had a drawing of a cartoon goat with the international “no” symbol over it, while the back simply read, “(Blank) the goat.”
It’s been 66 years since the so-called “Curse of the Billy Goat” was placed on the Cubs, and they haven’t been to a World Series since. With a 26-39 record, the Cubs are unlikely to change that this season, though Dempster vowed that the players are looking ahead, not behind.
“It was a good day, and when we’re in the position we’re in, we’re just going to enjoy playing each game that day,” Dempster said. “And what happened in the past is irrelevant. Who cares? We can’t do anything about it. We can sit there and drag our heads or we can come every day and play as hard as we can, and that’s what we’re going to try and do, and go out there and expect to win every day.”
Dempster and Brewers left-hander Randy Wolf engaged in a scoreless duel through seven innings on a cool night at Wrigley. The Cubs broke through off Kameron Loe in the eighth on a Darwin Barney single, a pinch-hit double by Carlos Pena and an RBI grounder by Aramis Ramirez.
Barney’s headfirst slide beat shortstop Rickie Weeks’ throw, and Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless ninth to nail down the win for Jeff Samardzija.
“It feels good to be home,” Barney said. “That’s just one. Feels good to get the ‘W.’ Demp was unbelievable the way he battled tonight. That’s a good club and they’re hot, and Demp held them down. It’s all about Demp tonight.”
Manager Mike Quade joked: “I’m a hell of a manager when we throw a shutout at ’em.”
Some have been blaming Quade for the Cubs’ free fall, which general manager Jim Hendry called “unfortunate,” citing the rash of injuries.
“I don’t know how Mike could’ve managed any differently,” Hendry said. “Nobody has got eight starting pitchers in the system that have come up. Nobody has got four right-handed hitters to come up and replace the guys you just lost. … It’s unfortunate, but I certainly wouldn’t dump any of that on Mike Quade. He’s certainly going to do a fine job here.”
Many of the fingers pointed at Quade are the same ones that have been pointed at Hendry, who has been the primary target of disgruntled fans since the Milton Bradley signing in 2009. Hendry took responsibility for the team’s performance and said he doesn’t “blame people” calling for his dismissal.
“I don’t mind that,” he said. “This is professional baseball in a big market and with a great fan base. We should’ve done better the last year and a half. So that comes with the territory, and that is my responsibility.”
psullivan@tribune.com Twitter @PWSullivan
