ARLINGTON, Texas — New Texas Rangers pitcher Ryan Dempster had no problem Wednesday saying that his preferred destination when trade talks picked up was the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"I thought it would have been a great place, a good fit for me," he said. "I'm from the West Coast. There's a lot of different reasons. It didn't mean I would say no to every other place. I actually never said no to a single trade."
Including the Rangers.
In fact, once Dempster found out the Rangers were interested, so was he.
"As soon as they said they had something, I said 'Yes, absolutely," and I was excited to come down here and play," he said.
Now he's in Arlington preparing to make his first start for the Rangers Thursday.
Dempster got to Rangers Ballpark Wednesday afternoon and worked out, getting used to the heat he'll encounter Thursday night and the rest of the season.
The heat of a pennant race is something Dempster is looking forward to and something that didn't exist in Chicago, where the Cubs are in fifth place in the National League Central and 18 1/2 games out of first place.
"To go from fifth place to first place doesn't get to happen very often," Dempster said. "I'm really excited at the opportunity and a chance to get back to the playoffs and try to win the World Series."
The Rangers cleared a roster spot for Dempster by sending left-hander Martin Perez to Triple A Round Rock.
Dempster immediately becomes the veteran of the staff. And while he doesn't know many of his new teammates, he said he'll help them wherever he can. He said the best way to help the team is to eat up innings and give the Rangers a chance to win his starts.
A career National Leaguer, Dempster also didn't think he'd have to do too much cramming because of all the video available.
"At the end of the day, if you just make good quality pitches and put the ball in the right spot I think that's going to get any major-league hitter out," Dempster said. "That's going to be kind of my focus, do that as much as possible. It works the other way, too. All the hitters in the American League haven't faced me also so hopefully that's something that plays to my advantage as well."
