WASHINGTON — The Cubs may not be able to win games these days, but they aren’t moping around the clubhouse in a funk.
Players go about their business, working out, playing Frisbee, surfing on their iPads, watching video and preparing for games the way they always do. The only time the clubhouse is a morgue is after losses.
“I think it’s vital,” Ryan Dempster said. “To sit there and sulk … nobody else is going to feel sorry for you, so why feel sorry for yourself?
“You know, we’ve lost before, as individuals, as a team. We’ve lost games, whether it’s here or somewhere else. I think the easiest way to get through it is to continue to stay upbeat and just focus on today’s game.
“There’s nothing we can do (about the losses). We can file all the appeals we want to the league, but we can’t get those games back. They’re over and done with. So the easiest way is to just worry about focusing on today’s game and not where we’ll be at the All-Star break.
“That’s as simple a formula as you can make. I know it’s sometimes hard for people to understand that. They sometimes want to hang on to what’s happened in the past for a few months. But we can’t. Let’s go out and win today.”
Dempster, who is expected to pitch Saturday in Pittsburgh, said there is “nothing negative … other than the wins and losses.” He doesn’t believe the Cubs are feeling any added pressure.
“Pressure is always just failure to prepare,” he said. “If you’re prepared, you really shouldn’t feel much pressure. … We’ve just got to figure out a way to sometimes, just go out there and not figure out how to lose it, but figure out how to win it. Sometimes you get in those ruts, but you’ve got to keep fighting hard. It’s a lot more fun on the other side.”
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