Prior getting lit up

[SniperShot]

Well it was only his second appearance.

Still a 18.90 ERA is a joke.

That's too bad. Hopefully he gets things together and it ends up being his confidence. Hopefully a good game could cure things. I wouldn't want him till he proves he can still pitch though.

[mrubino]

i know, its hard to expect anything from the guy except him getting hurt again. if you take away marcus giles running into him and that line drive that caused the arm fracture then it seems that he isnt as injury prone as people would think. those two injuries werent his fault. its like travis hafner. he seems to always get injured too but they arent injuries that he can control (ie. the hbp last year making him miss 33 games).

[BillyHallDisciple]

Um... not injury prone??? Here's a list of his injuries from 2006 alone. If this ain't injury prone, please tell me what is.

3/28/06 Placed on 15-day DL with strained shoulder.

7/14/06 Placed on 15-day DL with strained left oblique (injury occurred while he was taking batting practice).

8/14/06 Placed on DL for remainder of the season with tendinitis.

In the off season, the Chicago Cubs reported that Prior suffers from a "loose shoulder" which leads to injuries and means he has to do more conditioning work.

[mrubino]

thats just one year and carl pavano is injury prone. its obvious that his shoulder was an issue the whole time and the cubs being the cubs were not saying anything about it since they were terrified that they would have another wood on their hands from dusty baker's gross miss handling of the pitching staff.

take out last year and what do you have? 2004 he had an inflammed achillies tendon and didnt make his first start until june 4th and in 2005 he got hit with a line drive. are either of these incidents his fault? absolutely not. plus the marcus giles incident.

people make it seem like he never pitches. he had 21 starts in 2004 and 27 in 2005. yeah, he sucked last year. what can i tell you? everyone keeps measuring him up to 2003 when he was amazing. other than santana, every pitcher goes up and down. all i am saying is when he gets a chance to start every 5th day prior will be fine. no one is going to rely on him until he proves he can stay healthy, including me. if he didnt get hit with a line drive he would have made 30 starts in 2005. i just dont like to label someone as injury prone if some of the injuries arent his fault.

[cool Daddy]

Mark Prior, who reported normal stiffness Friday after throwing four innings the day before, has been scheduled to take Carlos Zambrano's spot in the rotation on Wednesday.

"I think it's more important for Prior to pitch under that circumstance than sending him down to the minor-league club," manager Lou Piniella said. "Obviously, it's more competitive, and there's going to be more scrutiny to perform." It sounds like Wade Miller has a slight edge for the No. 5 starter job at this time.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times

[cool Daddy]

After allowing one run in four innings Thursday, Mark Prior pronounced himself ready for a spot in the Opening Day rotation.

Despite what Prior thinks, it seems likely that the Cubs will stick with Wade Miller as fifth starter to begin the season. "We have about a week left to go," Prior said. "I'm ready to rock 'n' roll and get out of this place and move on. There was never any doubt."

[mrubino]

yeah. until he can get his velocity back to normal he shouldnt start. but i think that will come in a few weeks.

[mrubino]

from rotowire-

Although Prior has suffered through a variety of injuries over the last few years (tendinitis, fractured elbow after being hit by a pitch), his struggles of late have revolved around his throwing shoulder. Last year Cubs trainer Mark O'Neal was quoted on the Cubs' website as stating that Prior had "laxity," which he further defined as genetic looseness, in Prior's shoulder. This set off a bit of a media buzz about this "laxity" condition that Prior was battling. The fact is that many successful pitchers have laxity in their throwing shoulders. Laxity, which basically means extra motion or "play" in a joint, often develops in the thrower's shoulder as a result of the repeated extreme (and unnatural) ranges of motion induced by pitching.

Every joint in the body has two interfacing bony surfaces that move relative to one another to allow for normal motion. The two bony ends are encased by fibrous tissue, the joint capsule, which helps stabilize them. The capsule can be overstretched – either traumatically (which is what happens when a joint dislocates, often tearing the capsule) or gradually, over time, as a result of repeated stretching (which is usually the scenario for the thrower). So in essence, the presence of laxity in a pitcher, especially at the pro level, is not uncommon, and may even be beneficial in terms of allowing more wind-up to produce greater forces when pitching.

So why is it a problem for Prior? The less inherently stable a joint is, the more that joint relies on the support of the muscles around it. In the case of the shoulder, several muscle groups, most notably the rotator cuff, must provide that extra support. Additionally the scapular muscles (muscles that control the movement of the shoulder blade) must provide a strong base of support for the cuff. If these muscles are not all working synchronously, the joint can feel like it is slipping or sliding and can become painful. If this goes on for long enough, abnormal forces at the shoulder cause further tissue breakdown, and this is how a pitcher can find himself going under the knife. The take-away message here is that the key to a healthy shoulder is excellent muscular support. In the absence of a gross defect in the shoulder that would clearly respond to surgical repair, the first choice for this type of problem is rehab. This helps explain why the three orthopedic surgeons who evaluated Prior last year all recommended intensive rehab as the best course of action.

It remains to be seen how effective Prior can be in his return. The glass half-full observer can celebrate the fact that Prior is pitching without pain. If he can continue to do so while rediscovering his command and adding some speed, he could be a force. It is a big "if," but it's an "if" with upside, and so we, along with the Cubs, must wait and see.