Prior not returning until May, maybe?

[David]

Oh my. Kruk just said the Cubs should trade Prior to the Yankees for Cano near the All-Star break. I guess the bigger question is why am I watching Kruk.

 

What's so bad about that deal? It would have sounded insane to give Prior for almost anybody a year or two ago, but I'd have to seriously consider a deal for a guy like Cano at this point. At least Cano plays.

 

 

You cannot be serious.

[srbin84]

If Prior is out till the allstar break this year, I'd trade him for Cano, yes, because if thats the case, he just hurts the payroll at this point in his career. I dunno, maybe I am just frustrated, I just hate players who don't play like him, Nomar, Wood. And they are all paid so much, it cripples the team. He needs to get it together, pitch hurt, whatever it takes because if he cant pitch a whole season, I hope the Yankees or some stupid team signs him to a Burnett like contract because we don't need guys like that.

[SouthSideRyan]

Well if there's one thing this organization needs, it's more Second Basemen and less top shelf starting pitching. John Kruk is one of the biggest reasons I don't watch ESPN anymore except for games.

[USSoccer]

If Prior is out till the allstar break this year, I'd trade him for Cano, yes, because if thats the case, he just hurts the payroll at this point in his career. I dunno, maybe I am just frustrated, I just hate players who don't play like him, Nomar, Wood. And they are all paid so much, it cripples the team. He needs to get it together, pitch hurt, whatever it takes because if he cant pitch a whole season, I hope the Yankees or some stupid team signs him to a Burnett like contract because we don't need guys like that.

 

If you want to deal Prior, ok, fine. I wouldn't, but if you do deal him, you could do light years better than Cano...

 

And for the record, I agree with Goony that Wood comes back in April and makes at least 25 starts, and I agree with whoever said Prior would be out until June. I think Miller comes back before Prior.

[TrueBlueCubFan]

Well if there's one thing this organization needs, it's more Second Basemen and less top shelf starting pitching. John Kruk is one of the biggest reasons I don't watch ESPN anymore except for games.

Joe Morgan & Jon Miller may pursuade you to avoid baseball on ESPN altogether.

[Laura]

Will Carroll in the 3/29 Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) -

 

Wood is a bit ahead of his late April return, while Prior is "well ahead" of the mid-May estimates some writers are giving as his target.

[Soul]

Will Carroll in the 3/29 Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) -

 

Wood is a bit ahead of his late April return, while Prior is "well ahead" of the mid-May estimates some writers are giving as his target.

 

....it's just more rumor and innuendo. When it comes to these two guys, the only thing that matters is when they take the mound in games that count. Everything else is just more words. Words don't make starts.

[srbin84]

What's the best we could get for Prior?

[Illini Iceman]

What's the best we could get for Prior?

 

Bobby Abreu

[srbin84]

What's the best we could get for Prior?

 

Bobby Abreu

 

Then what are we waiting for?

[XZero771679666304]

What's the best we could get for Prior?

 

Bobby Abreu

 

Then what are we waiting for?

Ask Hendry. The Phils reportedly offered Abreu for Prior this offseason.

[Soul]

What's the best we could get for Prior?

 

Bobby Abreu

 

Then what are we waiting for?

Ask Hendry. The Phils reportedly offered Abreu for Prior this offseason.

 

My thoughts exactly. DONE DEAL. What was the problem?

[David]

In other news, Mark Prior has pitched off flat ground the last two days, progressing a bit faster than originally expected.

 

"Even with the 13 days off, he didn't lose a whole lot and might have actually gained some," Rothschild said.

 

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-060331cubsbits,1,2643580.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

 

Not sure if anyone had seen this. I had always thought that there was no way 13 days off would set him that far back. Maybe a little bit, but there was also the chance he'd come back stronger.

 

This might sound stupid, and I'm no major league pitcher (or doctor/trainer for that matter), but when I get lazy and miss a 7-10 days of working out, most of the time I come back stronger than I was. Strength is built during recovery time, after all.

 

I'm gonna go out on a bit of a limb and say Mark will come back in late April/early May, shortly after Wood...possibly/probably before Miller.

[CP_414]

What's the best we could get for Prior?

 

Bobby Abreu

 

Then what are we waiting for?

Ask Hendry. The Phils reportedly offered Abreu for Prior this offseason.

 

My thoughts exactly. DONE DEAL. What was the problem?

 

The problem is maybe Hendry is reluctant to trade a 25 year old ace who is under team control for 3 more seasons, who is one of the most talented pitchers in baseball. I know we are all frustrated by his injuries, but a lot of them have really been unavoidable fluke injuries (hit by line drive, collission with Giles). I like Abreu as much as the next guy, but I'm not trading Prior for him. Abreu makes about 3 times what Prior does and is on the wrong side of 30. Plus he had a rather significan regression last season, especially in the 2nd half. I have faith that Prior will get healthy and stay healthy, and if he does he will compete for many Cy Youngs.

[badger1679666666]

What's the best we could get for Prior?

 

Bobby Abreu

 

Then what are we waiting for?

 

Thank god Hendry isn't stupid enough to trade a 25 year old Prior for a 30+ expensive Abreu.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

What's the best we could get for Prior?

 

Bobby Abreu

 

Then what are we waiting for?

 

Thank god Hendry isn't stupid enough to trade a 25 year old Prior for a 30+ expensive Abreu.

 

i agree.

 

good to hear Prior is coming along ok.

[Soul]

What's the best we could get for Prior?

 

Bobby Abreu

 

Then what are we waiting for?

Ask Hendry. The Phils reportedly offered Abreu for Prior this offseason.

 

My thoughts exactly. DONE DEAL. What was the problem?

 

The problem is maybe Hendry is reluctant to trade a 25 year old ace who is under team control for 3 more seasons, who is one of the most talented pitchers in baseball. I know we are all frustrated by his injuries, but a lot of them have really been unavoidable fluke injuries (hit by line drive, collission with Giles). I like Abreu as much as the next guy, but I'm not trading Prior for him. Abreu makes about 3 times what Prior does and is on the wrong side of 30. Plus he had a rather significan regression last season, especially in the 2nd half. I have faith that Prior will get healthy and stay healthy, and if he does he will compete for many Cy Youngs.

 

Prior regressed last year. You can't just dismiss that because of a "freak" injury. Much as I like Mark and want to see him succeed as a Cub badly, if he doesn't start delivering on his promise we need to get something for him before he's worth nothing. Step 1 would be: making starts instead of trips to the DL.

[srbin84]

What's the best we could get for Prior?

 

Bobby Abreu

 

Then what are we waiting for?

 

Thank god Hendry isn't stupid enough to trade a 25 year old Prior for a 30+ expensive Abreu.

 

I'd be surprised if the Phillies would do that deal right now. I like Prior and when he pitches, he is pretty good. He hasn't been great since 2003 though and has played less and less. The true failure of the Cubs the last few years has not been because of Hawkins, the lack of a leadoff man or anything else other than injuries to Wood and Prior. Because when you average Wood and Prior's stats with guys like Rusch, Koronka, Mitre, etc. what you get is a couple of overpaid No.3's, not two aces. At least Jim Hendry realized this and picked up some depth this year.

[Joe_Cub]

what depth did hendry pick up last year? why is there a 4man rotation with rusch and a rookie (who I hope does well) if there's that depth?

 

cubs.com has a new story on wood/prior/miller. Link --

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060405&content_id=1385091&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc&partnered=rss_chc

 

None of the three are close to a Minor League rehab assignment, but Wood is closest.

 

that doesn't say much of anything.

[Chocolate Milk]

Please hurry.

 

Thanks.

[srbin84]

Well, Williams was supposed to be that now and we didnt have a guy like Miller last year.

[sweetpeteman]

After today, I can't wait until Prior, Wood, and Miller return. Hopefully Marshall can have a good year, and Guzman continues to show he is ready.

[Derwood]

what depth did hendry pick up last year? why is there a 4man rotation with rusch and a rookie (who I hope does well) if there's that depth?

 

yeah....name me the team that can replace 3 all-star pitchers with their great pitching depth...

[David]

what depth did hendry pick up last year? why is there a 4man rotation with rusch and a rookie (who I hope does well) if there's that depth?

 

yeah....name me the team that can replace 2 all-star pitchers with their great pitching depth...

 

Miller was never someone we were counting on or that needed to be replaced. He's a potential replacement, if anything.

 

We certainly could've done better than Glendon Rusch... (Hell, we probably have better in the minors right now)...

[Soul]

Anyone who watched yesterday's game understands how badly Mark Prior and Kerry Wood have let this organization down.