Ryan Dempster...Baseball's Rich Little?

Former Chicago Cubs pitcher and Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins has more wins (284) than any other Canadian-born pitcher.

In case you were wondering, the team's 2011 Opening Day starter Ryan Dempster starts the new season fourth on that list with 102.  That said, he could very well be sitting second all-time pretty quick given the two guys ahead of him on the career list are Kirk McCaskill and Reggie Cleveland with 106.

He's got a long way to go to match Jenkins...but it is still a pretty cool accomplishment.

Now, I only mention all that so I can bring you this.

Recently, the hurler sat down with good friend of The Hall George Castle. The twist...he did the entire thing as longtime announcer Harry Caray.

A big thanks to Bleed Cubbie Blue and Rant Sports for making this clip available.

You can catch more of George Castle and his show "Diamond Gems" over at WNFL 1440 and FOXSports1340.com.

A Year of Talkin' Baseball

'tis the season for plenty of things...returning Christmas presents, going back to work and, of course, year-enders!

The Hall of Very Good is no different.

Next week, following the Hall of Fame announcement (read as: I'm too busy/lazy to do it now), come on back for the Top Ten Stories of the Year.

Today...it's a year of "Talkin' Baseball".  That's right, the best of what has become my favorite part of doing this site...talkin' baseball with whoever will respond to the request.  Click the BOLD text to read the entire piece!

GAR RYNESS, aka "Batting Stance Guy" (February)

Manny (Ramirez) is great to me. I’ve done pre-game shows for visiting teams at Dodgers Stadium and Manny will always scream and whistle across the field while I’m filming. “Do Ethier! Do Ethier!” I’ll then hold up a finger, as if to say, “Hold on Manny, I’ll come over there after this.” The first time that happened the Cardinals TV staff said, “wait, do you know Manny?” That’s when it hit me how weird the last two years have been.

"Diamond King" DICK PEREZ (February)

As far back as I can remember, I had a desire to draw. On the margins around my school notebooks there were caricatures of school mates and images from my imagination. After I realized that there was no way I would ever achieve my real dream of becoming a professional baseball player, I concluded that I had to choose a real life career. I chose art.

Hall of Famer GARY CARTER (May)

The loss of my Mom was a huge impact on my life as we were a very loving family that went to church regularly. I didn’t understand why a loving God would take someone away as dear as her. It helped me to understand how fragile life is.

Author GEORGE CASTLE (May), Talkin' Andre Dawson (July) and Lou Piniella (September)

Sammy (Sosa) is still too raw for Cubs fans. Worse than alleged steroid use, he walked out on the team on the last day of the 2004 season. However, I don’t feel Sammy will be regarded in the same breath as Banks, Williams, Santo, Jenkins, Sandberg. His ego exploded as he got successful, and that will stain him forever.

Talkin' Ken Griffey Jr. with KEN GRIFFEY SR., JEFF MONTGOMERY and C.J. WILSON (June)

After announcing that I would retire at the end of the 1999 season, Junior asked me if I would give him a signed jersey…which I did. The next day in our clubhouse was an autographed Griffey jersey.

Competitive Eater PAT BERTOLETTI (July)

I usually spend most of the game wandering around trying to eat at all the food stands. I think the White Sox have the best food in the league. I would only go to a Cubs game if there were free tickets and Old Style involved.

Reality Show "All Stars" JONNY FAIRPLAY (September), ROB CESTERNINO (September) and RUSSELL KOOK (December)

If I were going to start an alliance with any past Mets, first on the list would be former (and hopefully future) manager Bobby Valentine. I also am very partial to both Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez and think they do a great job calling the game and are both really interesting guys and have great baseball IQ.. And Keith, on day one, would have the greatest mustache in "Survivor" history. Unquestioned.

Outspoken Pitcher JEFF JUDEN (October)

I would still like (a 1999 Yankees World Series ring) if they have any spare change left. I have room on my middle finger for it.

Former O.J. Simpson, nevermind...it's KATO KAELIN (November)

Airline ticket to Milwaukee…$450.00. Car rental…$150.00. Tickets to game…$55.00. Sitting next to Shawn from The Hall of Very Good…PRICELESS.

San Francisco Giants' Biggest Fan ASHKON DAVARAN (December)

I had a chance to meet Steve (Perry) before the World Series Parade, and he seemed to be pretty cool with it. I thanked him for writing one of the best songs of all time…he said thanks and that I did a good job with it.

All in all...a great year for talkin' baseball.  Sure, I'm biased and I wish I could add more of my favorites (for example DANIEL NAVA, GARRETT WITTELS and MATHER ZICKEL from "The Bronx is Burning"), but since most lists are "Top Ten" lists...I decided to keep it at ten.

Which was your favorite?  Please let me know below!

Win Your Own "Sweet Lou" Bobblehead

Alright...enough about Lou Piniella (for now) and on to how YOU can win your very own Lou Piniella bobblehead courtesy of The Hall of Very Good.

It's simple. You have three ways of becoming a winner and all it takes is spreading the good word of The Hall of Very Good!

On Facebook: Change your current status to "I won a Lou Piniella bobblehead courtesy of @The Hall of Very Good and you can too! http://ow.ly/2FDwb"

On Twitter: Tweet "I won a Lou Piniella bobblehead courtesy of @HOVG and you can too! http://ow.ly/2FDwb"

Or...re-tweet the messages that I sent out during the day on Friday.

After it is all said and done (we'll say late Friday night or Saturday morning), I'll randomly draw the winner, contact them and send them the bobblehead...all on my dime.

Sound like fun? Then get to your social media-ing...or whatever you call it. You can enter as many times as you wish.

Check out some other Piniella news from the last couple of days.

Talkin' Lou Piniella with George Castle: Author of Sweet Lou and the Cubs: A Year Inside the Dugout shares his thoughts on the former skipper.

Friday 5: Lou Piniella: Three former big leaguers who played for Piniella weigh in on his Hall of Fame chances.

Talkin' Lou Piniella with George Castle

Shortly after the All-Star break, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella announced that he would retire following the 2010 season.

On August 22…he decided to call it quits so he could tend to his ailing mother.

One man who got to know Piniella on a level that few did is sportswriter (and good friend of The Hall of Very Good) George Castle. I recently had a chance to catch up with the author of Sweet Lou and the Cubs: A Year Inside the Dugout.

HOVG: What was your relationship like with Piniella?

CASTLE: My relationship with Lou was interesting. A master needler in his Yankees days, he used that quality on me when I'd ask sometimes garden-variety questions. But, look out, if I asked a "cerebral" (he pronounced it "celebal") question, Lou was agitated. "Where do you come up with those profound questions?” he’d ask. Anything that asked him to conceptualize an issue, he did not care for. Meat-and-potatoes questions were preferred.

HOVG: From throwing bases in Cincinnati to his fiery antics with umpires, Piniella conjures up plenty of memories…what is your favorite?

CASTLE: My favorite Lou memory? Anytime he tried to answer something where he wasn't sure of the answer, and a malaprop resulted. He was second only to ol' Mayor Richard J. Daley as a Chicago public figure with malaprops. At least he was better than Harry Caray on names...he usually got the writers' names right.

HOVG: Any good stories you can share?

CASTLE: Yeah, I was the recipient of 2 of Lou's biggest post-game rants, in 2007 ("You saw the damn game!") and 2010 ("What kind of baseball do you play?"). But I never took offense as Lou's old-school, managers always yelled at reporters and the only difference was there were cameras present compared to times when it was just writers, as Lou with the Reds.

HOVG: Any regrets?

CASTLE: I wish I got to know Lou better, but one on one access to him was restricted. You just could not walk into his office and shoot the bull as I did with past Cubs managers. That's the regret of his tenure in Chicago. Some questions are best asked one on one, without the confrontational or stage-fright setting of a press conference. And you get to know each other better this way.

HOVG: And lastly...should Piniella be considering for enshrinement in Cooperstown?

CASTLE: I do think Lou, on the basis of his total baseball achievements, will one day be in the Hall of Fame.

George Castle is a lifelong Chicagoan and has been covering baseball for a variety of newspapers and magazines since 1980. In 1994, Castle began “Diamond Gems” and four years later, he penned his first book.

His latest effort, When the Game Changed: An Oral History of Baseball's True Golden Age: 1969-1979, hits the shelves October 5. In the book, Castle recreates the sport’s most revolutionary decade via the memories of those who played, managed, and covered baseball from 1969 to 1979.

You can pre-order your copy over at Amazon.

I’ve had the privilege to talk with Castle on a few different occasions. You can read them here:

Talkin' Baseball with George Castle

Talkin' Hall of Fame Baseball with George Castle

So what do you think…is Lou Piniella is Hall of Famer? Let’s hear your thoughts!

Talkin' Hall of Fame Baseball with George Castle

Earlier in the season, I had the opportunity to talk baseball with baseball writer and "Diamond Gems" host George Castle and given we're both passionate about the Hall of Fame...some of our conversion had to do with just that.

This past week, I caught back up with Castle and got him to share with me his favorite Andre Dawson story.

CASTLE: My favorite Dawson story was from the end of the '85 season...September 24th to be exact. Anyway, I'm doing work for Larry King's segment on NBC's pro football pre-game show. Mostly football, but some other sports news where warranted. I approach Dawson after Expos batting practice. I ask if he'd ever want to play for the Cubs. He said in fact he did if he became a free agent (which he did a year later), and that bleacher fans were constantly encouraging hm to come to the Cubs. That day, as if to emphasize his desire to play in Wrigley, Dawson slugged three homers and drove in eight runs. His best day in the majors. I had a nice scoop on Larry King's segment, as Dawson was famed for stalking the Cubs in spring training 1987 to sign that blank contract.

HOVG: How do you feel about Dawson going in as an Expo rather than a Cub?

CASTLE: It’s no big deal. He’s in the Hall, period, after waiting a bit too long. Any way you get in, in any hat, is fine. But he ID’s as a Cub, those were the best years of his life. The Hall probably played a little politics, yet recognizing a dead franchise is a little strange.

HOVG: Baseball’s former all-time saves leader and the all-time leader in saves for the Cubs, Lee Smith.

CASTLE: Lee Arthur deserves enshrinement due to durability and production. I think he lost out not appearing in a World Series and starring for the New York teams, where there is a big concentration of Hall voters.

HOVG: White Sox legend and one of the game’s best designated hitters, Harold Baines.

CASTLE: Hall of the Very Good indeed with Harold. Consistent hitter, but not a superstar.

HOVG: Current Cubs broadcaster Ron Santo.

CASTLE: Flat-out deserves enshrinement. Better hitter than Brooks Robinson and 90 percent of the fielder. Some petty politics involved in not getting Ronnie the 75 percent of the vote, which is a tough threshold to reach.

HOVG: In 2005, Ryne Sandberg made his way through the doors of the Hall of Fame. However, he doesn’t seem to get the respect that he probably deserves. Where do you think he ranks all-time among Cubs greats?

CASTLE: Probably in the Top Five or Six. Great all-around player, fundamentally sound and totally dedicated.

George Castle is a lifelong Chicagoan and has been following the Cubs since he began drawing breath. Since 1980, he’s been covering baseball for a variety of newspapers and magazines. In 1994, Castle began “Diamond Gems” and four years later, he penned his first book.

Castle lives in the northern Chicago suburbs with wife, Nina, their two dogs and an African grey parrot that mimics him perfectly.

Talkin' Baseball with George Castle

It’s safe to say that Cubs fans are the longest suffering bunch of humans on the face of the planet.

They haven’t won a World Series since 1908 and haven’t played in one since 1945. Then, there’s that black cat incident in 1969, the annual “June Swoon” and, of course, Steve Bartman.

Now…imagine it’s your profession to follow the “Loveable Losers” for a living. That’s what self-proclaimed “media junkie” George Castle has been doing for more than 30 years. Castle is the host of the syndicated radio show “Diamond Gems”, has authored ten books and, most recently, can be found spreading the word over at True/Slant.

Recently, I had the honor to catch up with Castle and talk some Windy City baseball.

HOVG: I’ve read where you’ve called yourself a “media junkie”…when did your fascination with the media begin and, ultimately, how did “Diamond Gems” come about?

CASTLE: My mom, Vera Castle, used to bring home the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Daily News when I was young. I started reading them, then added the other two papers, the Tribune and Chicago’s American. I was really popular with girls in high school, I had a copy of the Sun-Times, which ran Ann Landers, and they liked to borrow the copy to read Ann’s “good girls don’t” advice. I loved pulling in out-of-town radio and TV stations. I knew all the call letters. So, yeah, I was self-inundated by media at a time long before cable and the internet. Moving into the media, I was taught to come up with fresh angles and do something different. The Chicago sports-talk radio stations seemed to be Bears-oriented and treated baseball like a stepchild in the early 1990s, so I began Diamond Gems in 1994 on a local FM station. Someone had to do baseball talk and nostalgia.

HOVG: And how about your book ideas? I mean, there are plenty of writers out there banging away…writing pretty much the same thing, but your tomes seem to have a different slant to them.

CASTLE: Again, it’s my training to go away from the crowd. Everyone does Cubs history books with the same vignettes on the same players and games. I looked at management’s failings and other aspects of history that were not covered. Remember the “Wizard of Oz?,” where the Wizard says “pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” Well, that’s exactly my style, to look at the men behind the curtain and why they do what they do.

HOVG: Obviously you’re a Chicago guy and most of your life has been consumed by the Cubs. As with any franchise, they’ve been defined by the players that have worn the pinstripes and the various trials and tribulations that have gone on on and off the field. Let’s talk legacy and two of the (statistically) greatest players that have set foot in Wrigley Field in the last 20 years…Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa. How will Sammy Sosa be remembered in Chicago by future generations of Cubs fans?

CASTLE: Time cools all bad feelings. Sammy is still too raw for Cubs fans. Worse than alleged steroid use, he walked out on the team on the last day of the 2004 season. However, I don’t feel Sammy will be regarded in the same breath as Banks, Williams, Santo, Jenkins, Sandberg. His ego exploded as he got successful, and that will stain him forever.

HOVG: Later this year, the BBWAA will be sending in their ballots for the 2011 Hall of Fame and one name will prove to be, with all apologies to Mark McGwire, the true litmus test for how Cooperstown handles steroids. What kind of chance does Rafael Palmeiro have to make his way into the Hall of Fame?

CASTLE: Not much. Before steroids he had a chance. But even under normal circumstances, Raffy wasn’t considered a dominant hitter.

HOVG: And speaking of the Hall of Fame…let me throw some names at you and you tell me the first thing that pops into your head. Let’s start with 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Andre Dawson.

CASTLE: Absolute class, a man of his word and laser intensity. I wrote about Dawson being a future Hall of Famer 20 years ago while he was still playing.

HOVG: How do you feel about Dawson going in as an Expo rather than a Cub?

CASTLE: It’s no big deal. He’s in the Hall, period, after waiting a bit too long. Any way you get in, in any hat, is fine. But he ID’s as a Cub, those were the best years of his life. The Hall probably played a little politics, yet recognizing a dead franchise is a little strange.

HOVG: Baseball’s former all-time saves leader and the all-time leader in saves for the Cubs, Lee Smith.

CASTLE: Lee Arthur deserves enshrinement due to durability and production. I think he lost out not appearing in a World Series and starring for the New York teams, where there is a big concentration of Hall voters.

HOVG: White Sox legend and one of the game’s best designated hitters, Harold Baines.

CASTLE: Hall of the Very Good indeed with Harold. Consistent hitter, but not a superstar.

HOVG: Current Cubs broadcaster Ron Santo.

CASTLE: Flat-out deserves enshrinement. Better hitter than Brooks Robinson and 90 percent of the fielder. Some petty politics involved in not getting Ronnie the 75 percent of the vote, which is a tough threshold to reach.

HOVG: In 2005, Ryne Sandberg made his way through the doors of the Hall of Fame. However, he doesn’t seem to get the respect that he probably deserves. Where do you think he ranks all-time among Cubs greats?

CASTLE: Probably in the Top 5 or 6. Great all-around player, fundamentally sound and totally dedicated.

HOVG: Is there a chance we see him as the successor to Lou Pinella in the Cubs dugout? If not, why?

CASTLE: Decent chance if the Ricketts family wants to craft a popular move. Ryno has worked hard at developing his manager’s skills. He has a tight schedule pre-game to get his work in with players. His experience would be the only reason why they don’t name him manager. A good bench coach would help if he gets the job. Would be very motivated managing his old team.

HOVG: Lastly, I want to talk Steve Bartman since I brought him up earlier. Let’s cut to the chase…is he to blame for the Cubs not advancing to the World Series in 2003?

CASTLE: No, no, forever no. There wasn’t even fan interference argued on that play. That was the last of a series of falling dominoes started by Jim Hendry not improving his bullpen in mid-season 2003.

HOVG: Have you ever had the chance to talk to Moises Alou about “The Bartman Incident”? If so…what did he have to say?

CASTLE: Only the next day. Moises was pissed the Sun-Times rushed to “out” Bartman to boost newsstand sales.

HOVG: How long until Cubs fans forget the name and face of Steve Bartman? Is it even possible?

CASTLE: When the Cubs win the World Series, Bartman will be relegated to trivia. But at that point, he should be in the victory parade to be exonerated.

George Castle is a lifelong Chicagoan and has been following the Cubs since he began drawing breath. Since 1980, he’s been covering baseball for a variety of newspapers and magazines. In 1994, Castle began “Diamond Gems” and four years later, he penned his first book.
Castle lives in the northern Chicago suburbs with wife, Nina, their two dogs and an African grey parrot that mimics him perfectly.