Ryan Dempster’s disappointing 2012 MLB season ended on a down note with the Cubs 9-2 loss.  Dempster suffered his 14th loss of the season, allowing 9 ER on 8 hits and 4 walks in 5 2/3 innings pitched.  He did strikeout 7 Padres hitters but he gave up 2 home runs.  Dempster finished 10-14 with a 1.45 WHIP and 4.80 ERA – not good numbers for an aging 34-year old starter.  He lost 6 of his last 9 starts on the season and did not win a game since August 11th.  He did make 34 starts and pitch 202 1/3 innings, but he also gave up 211 hits, 82 walks and 23 HR’s.  Dempster has one more year left on his deal and he will likely be the Cubs #2 starter heading into 2012 behind Matt Garza.

The one bright spot – Andrew Cashner tossed another scoreless inning.  He walked one and struck out one and finished the season with a 0.66 WHIP and 1.69 ERA. He made 6 relief appearances for the Cubs down the stretch, pitching 5 1/3 innings and allowing just 1 ER on 1 hit and 3 walks with 6 K’s.  Cashner will likely stay in the bullpen in 2012 in an attempt to show that he can stay healthy for a full MLB season.

Starlin Castro finished his excellent 2012 season without a sophomore slump – he had 1 hit with 1 RBI and finished the season with a .307 batting average.

It should be an interesting off-season for the Cubs…