Ryan Dempster impresses in first spring outing

Ryan Dempster took the mound for the Red Sox for the first time yesterday against the St. Louis Cardinals. He shined in his Sox debut, pitching two scoreless innings, and allowing only one base runner thanks to an error by 2B Jonathan Diaz. The righty threw 33 pitches, 24 for strikes, and struck out two.

According to Dempster, everything was...good:

Things went well...My body felt good, my arm felt good. I was able to attack the strike zone for the most part. [It was a] good first day.

Some veterans don't like spring training -- especially if they have to go through basic drills, right Bobby? -- but Dempster seems to appreciate the time he has to prepare for a 30-plus start season.

Our job during the season is to get outs, so why not practice that as much as we can? I've always taken that approach in spring training, whether I'm a young guy trying to work my way in, or a veteran guy. I practice trying to get outs. Those are guys you might face during the year; that's an opportunity to learn.

Dempster joins the Red Sox with little excitement from fans; his 5.09 ERA in 12 starts for the Rangers in 2012 seem to unfairly overshadow his 2.25 ERA with the Cubs in 16 starts, and 3.81 ERA the previous four seasons. As a back of the rotation innings eater, a 4.00 ERA should be enough to make fans appreciate what Dempster can bring to the team.

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