the ticking time bomb that is mark prior's right arm

[sinicalypse]

well, gents, it's 4-3 cubs in the bottom of the 5th.. through 5 innings mark prior has given up 3 runs, 2 earned, with 7k and 2 BB. aka 97 pitches. they've got 2 on, 1 out, and are 3 batters away from prior.

so if you're baker, do you a) pinch hit for prior if his spot gets up this inning? or b) if it doesn't get up, let him pitch the 6th then sub him out afterwards. or c) pull him regardless for next inning. at most, i think he's got one inning left in him, but if he's going to be overworked like many think he has been, you'll see him pitch 7 or 8 innings with a pitch count of 130 tonight.

so you make the call.

[Trojan Pony]

the kid stops pitching like a freakish pitching machine for one inning and people start getting paranoid. please come down. he's give up one earned run and have seven K's over 5 innings. I'll take that.

[jdh]

Well, right now the Cubs are 2 runs ahead and threatening for more, while Prior doesn't seem like he's having the best of nights, especially giving up 3 runs against the lousy Brewers. It would depend on the quality of the bullpen, and since the Cubs have a good pen, you may as well take Prior out and not take the risk this early in the season.

The only problem with that is that you then have to use an extra bench player to pinch hit for the pitcher in the next innning, which is why I have a feeling that Baker will leave him in.

[sinicalypse]

i'm not paranoid about him at all, in fact, i've rather enjoyed his longevity in games thus far. i think he can handle the workload thanks to great mechanics and an intrinsic aptitude... i was being quite sarcastic to the many (likely non-prior-owners) who have showed concern in the inevitable 1-3 posts about how he's going to blow his arm out and how baker is an idiot.

i want him to pitch 6 innings a game. unless he's getting rocked, let him get in there and earn his stripes. he'll be fine.

prior and that 1.88 era are out there for the 6th. go cubs.

[jdh]

Wow, after throwing 105 pitches through 6 innings, they are letting him hit for himself, which means that they are putting him back out there for the 7th inning. I don't know what Dusty Baker is smoking, because pitching another inning will put his pitch count to around 120, and that is flat out idiotic to do to a pitcher as young as Prior. Read Torborg and Burnett last year.

[mtarail]

Yeah, you're paranoid Mark Prior will be fine. And I'll tell you another thing, speaking as a long-time Giants fan who has watched how Dusty Baker manages. He relies heavily on his bullpen, even when its not super-reliable. The only time he'll "overpitch" a guy is when the guys doing great and begging him to complete a game. And the younger you are, the less likely he is to pitch you hard. Jason Schmidt was treated really well by Baker, and allowed to bloom, and I think you'll see the same thing with Prior.

[sinicalypse]

looks like prior's going out there for the 7th.

i think dusty is honed in at about ~120 pitches per game with prior. that did wonders for aj burnett, however, i think prior won't have too many arm injuries throughout his career.

plus, i think the cubs really want this win. it's starting to seem like whenver they trot out prior that they're expecting to win.

[HOOTIE]

Yeah, you're paranoid Mark Prior will be fine. And I'll tell you another thing, speaking as a long-time Giants fan who has watched how Dusty Baker manages. He relies heavily on his bullpen, even when its not super-reliable. The only time he'll "overpitch" a guy is when the guys doing great and begging him to complete a game. And the younger you are, the less likely he is to pitch you hard. Jason Schmidt was treated really well by Baker, and allowed to bloom, and I think you'll see the same thing with Prior.

In 00 and 01, Baker had the most stressed rotation in the nl.

[rjforlife]

damn the cubs. prior will never win 20 with the bullpen they have there, he might as well get traded to boston and that black hole that is there bullpen. 2 outings in a row where he gives up 1 er and he doesnt win either game. this kid should be 5-1 or 6-1 and if he was pitching for an offensive team 7-0 because the game he lost he only gave up 3er in 6 innings. whatever. he is still the best ever. he has another off night with 6 innings 1 er 5 hits and 7 k's. show me someone else who can do that besides maybe pedro.

[Greenrider]

the level of obsession you guys have with mark prior is truly disturbing

get over it and focus on helping your fantasy TEAM, not your fantasy PLAYER.

if you didn't already know that
1) the Cubs are not going to give Prior the best run support and bullpen protection
and that
2) Baker likes to work his pitchers

then you shouldn't have drafted him in the first place. those two facts are here to stay, and no amount of whining will alter them. If you seriously believe that this hurts his fantasy value, go ahead and trade him for a large return now, before he "blows out this arm"