April 25, 200719 yr ouch, what hard luck for this kid. he nearly put the cubs in the world series and they never made it back since. if there are such things as curses, the cubs are cursed. Prior out for season after shoulder surgery Associated Press CHICAGO -- Oft-injured Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior will miss the entire 2007 season after surgery on his right shoulder, the biggest setback yet in his once-promising career. The 26-year-old Prior had surgery Tuesday by noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. Andrews also worked on Prior's rotator cuff. Prior has been beset by injuries since his first full season in the majors in 2003, when he almost pitched Chicago into its first World Series since 1945. Prior was not on the Cubs' active roster to start the year and was optioned to Triple-A Iowa after a poor spring training. He instead went to extended spring training in Arizona, but pitched only two innings there April 12 before reporting discomfort in his shoulder. The right-hander went to Dr. Lewis Yocum in California before going to see Andrews, who told Prior last October he had genetic looseness in his shoulder joints. Prior is 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA in the majors. He made just nine starts last year for the Cubs after three trips to the disabled list and took a slight pay cut this season, from $3.65 million to $3.575 million. Prior finished third in NL Cy Young voting in 2003, when he 18-6 with a 4.24 ERA and struck out 245 in 211 1/3 innings. He was the overall No. 2 pick in the 2001 draft by the Cubs. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2849094
April 25, 200719 yr He got overworked while at USC as well...not saying Dusty isnt to blame, but he isnt the only one to blame.
April 25, 200719 yr i feel bad for this guy...hes got amazing stuff, but jeez we may never see this kid reach his potential. Maybe he should try becoming a closer?
April 26, 200719 yr DAMN YOU TO HELL DUSTY 211 innings pitched in 2003 regular season......... 23 years old it's a shame
April 26, 200719 yr DAMN YOU TO HELL DUSTY 211 innings pitched in 2003 regular season......... 23 years old it's a shame And that doesn't include the playoffs.
April 26, 200719 yr I hate to say this, but I'd say there's a good chance his career is over. Effectively, it was over 2 years ago, but he'll still bounce around for another 4.
April 26, 200719 yr Been really all downhill for the guy since game 6. I don't like the Cubs and I feel for the guy. He easily could be the top pitcher in the NL right now if he was healthy.
April 26, 200719 yr Ouch, you gotta feel bad for the guy. He had a great career ahead of him and the billy goat took it from him.
April 26, 200719 yr there have been numerous scouts that have said it was only a matter of time when the arm injury would occur. did dusty expedite it? maybe. but you dont really ever know. If Prior's arm had been conditioned for a high workload, then the 211 innings isnt a huge issue. I dont know his workload history and dont feel like looking it up right now. But I do know that a number of scouts have said he had very flawed mechanics and it was only a matter of time before he would develop a major arm injury. Wood's mechanics were worse and we see what has happened to both of them. Overworking them may have played a role, but it was going to happen eventually.
April 26, 200719 yr I thought Mark Prior was said to have the most pure mechanics of anyone They were called "perfect" by more then one expert.
April 26, 200719 yr Ouch, you gotta feel bad for the guy. He had a great career ahead of him and the billy goat took it from him. I would say that Bartman reached out and took it from him.
April 27, 200719 yr I thought Mark Prior was said to have the most pure mechanics of anyone i think it was a split. there were those that said that, not sure if they wanted him simply to be the savior of the cubs or what. i have heard from a few folks that he had flawed mechanics from the start. Here is an analysis of his mechanics: http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseba...s_MarkPrior.pdf Supposedly this guy has become somewhat of an expert on mechanics and the analysis of mechanics. I know there were some scouts who raised them same concerns when he first came into the game, not sure whom, dont think they have ever been named to the general public, just something I have heard.
April 27, 200719 yr Steroids? I thought he was on roids at USC. My wife went there when he was there and they were recruiting Ricky Nolasco at the time as well, saw Prior and was just amazed. His calves are the size of my thighs. All trivialities aside, sucks that such a genuinely nice person had such a promising career go down the drain.
April 27, 200719 yr I thought Mark Prior was said to have the most pure mechanics of anyone They were called "perfect" by more then one expert. Yeah, I think it was pretty much consensus that Prior's injuries were directly related to a tremendous IP bump. FWIW, Verlander's career, almost to a tee, is eerily reminiscent of Prior through 2003.
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