Ryan Dempster Is a Ninja

Ryan Dempster figures to be a little more dangerous this year, especially after what he started throwing this winter. What is it? A new splittler? A sharper curve? Nope. Throwing stars. He told reporters yesterday that he spent part of his winter in Vancouver training with a sensei to become a ninja. From the Arizona Daily Star:

"You have to (learn) how to throw a throwing star and nunchucks and all those kinds of things," the Chicago Cubs closer says. "Obviously you've got to do martial arts and learn how to be really quiet, which is a tough task for me because I talk a lot."

The little I know about martial arts is that at least half of it is mental, being humble and taking the right approach to the craft. Dempster, though, sounds like he's in it for the costumes:

"It's pretty cool. I wear the outfit around the house and try to sneak up on people," Dempster deadpanned before the Cubs lost to the Colorado Rockies 4-2.

Dempster also explained that his extensive training involved reading books and "watching a lot of the movies." Which, come to think of it, might mean I'm a ninja and didn't know it. Best news all week! Dempster also claims to have lost about 25 pounds this offseason, the result of cutting out sweets, bread and red meat, as well as (I'm guessing) busting up bad guys with his nunchucks (ninjas fight all the time!).

(via Sports By Brooks)