Prior is "just an employee"

[CubColtPacer]

you dont get to this level if youre 'soft'

 

I disagree with that assertion-Ryan Leaf is one example of a player who made it to a similar level in another league and was most definitely soft.

 

Not a good comparison. Leaf didn't have to get promoted through 4 levels of minor league football.

 

Well, technically, neither did Prior (only 2 levels to go through). Leaf also had a lot more media scrutiny/poor performance than Prior did early in his career-Prior didn't really start getting that until 05 (some in 04, but not that much). The loss of confidence due to that poor performance/media scrutiny is what usually people define as "soft", although I question the use of the word for Prior. I don't think we can know ever if he is soft or not-after all the scrutiny he's been through, after all the questions he's had to answer and the injuries he's had to go through, I think most anybody would be a little broken down mentally by now. I don't think that makes him soft at all, although I do think that he does have some mental things to work through along with some physical things.

[UK1679666180]

When did Leaf have a similar amount of success as Prior?

[CubColtPacer]

When did Leaf have a similar amount of success as Prior?

 

I'm really not sure how that's relevant (again, I'm not calling Prior soft :D)

[Mephistopheles]

this argument is embarrassing.

[SouthSideRyan]

Generally, I think comparing across sports is a bad idea. "Soft" in a contact sport like basketball and football is a lot more believable than "soft" in baseball.

 

I see the same comparisons when people are trying to talk about how important chemistry or clutch is in sports, and they reference football or basketball to prove it in baseball.

[UK1679666180]

It's definitely unfort. that some would make pretty harsh comments about him w/out knowing any details.

[imb]

When did Leaf have a similar amount of success as Prior?

 

I'm really not sure how that's relevant (again, I'm not calling Prior soft :D)

 

How could it not be relevant?

 

Leaf was thought to be good enough to hang in the NFL, but he wasnt. That was proven the moment he stepped on the field.

 

Mark dominated AA, AAA and MLB before the injuries started. Maybe he never throws another effective major league inning, but I don't think it has anything to do with him being soft.

[A New Era]

Rather than jump all over the new guy poster for his "soft" comment on Prior, the facts seem to be that Prior is not mentally tough--or do you discount the many whispers to that effect from ball players and executives around the league? I think they have a better feel for it than posters on NSBB.

 

Why is that? Why would someone who's employed for another team have a better handle on Prior's makeup than any Cub fan who follows the team closely?

 

Don't the Cubs deserve a bit more respect from Poor Widdle Mark than his "I'm just an employee" crapola? I mean seriously...you're a shell of your former self, you were 1-6 with a skyhigh ERA last year, and the Cubs are paying you over $3.5MM again this year. How about you go to Iowa, shut the heck up, and show whether you have anything left? Because at this stage, you're closer to Mark Fidrych than Fergie Jenkins, pal. Grow up.

 

This is ridiculous. If anything, Prior's taking the high road in not trying to make himself more important than anyone else who got sent down with the "employee" comment. I can't believe how many people are jumping him for this.

 

I just wish he wouldn't have used the "I'm an employee" line. If he would have said something like "This is what is best for the team right now and I understand, BUT i'm going to do my best to make sure this is not permanent."

 

It is clear he was just trying to be the good soldier, I just think that line shows a lack of desire. I know most people where I work say I'm just an employee there is nothing I can do because they are lazy and don't care.

 

Wow that's a mouthfull. I'm sorry he didn't say EXACTLY what you wanted him to say, to make you feel better about what YOU think he meant.

[CubColtPacer]

When did Leaf have a similar amount of success as Prior?

 

I'm really not sure how that's relevant (again, I'm not calling Prior soft :D)

 

How could it not be relevant?

 

Leaf was thought to be good enough to hang in the NFL, but he wasnt. That was proven the moment he stepped on the field.

 

Mark dominated AA, AAA and MLB before the injuries started. Maybe he never throws another effective major league inning, but I don't think it has anything to do with him being soft.

 

I've always believed that Leaf in the right system could have developed into an NFL QB. I don't think it was his talent that lost it for him-it was his mental makeup. The expectations in San Diego plus the media scrutiny plus the poor performance (which should be expected for a rookie) got to be too much for him). He was coming back a couple of years later and I think could have had a nice career before he got hurt and had to retire.

 

Prior didn't have all the whispers through the minors-he was always the golden child. His confidence was sky-high because wherever he went, he dominated. From NCAA to double A to Triple A to the majors, he was dominant. The injury in 2003 was concerning, but he came right back and dominated again. 2004 he was pretty good, and 2005 he was really good again before the next injury.

 

I do think that at this point Prior has been beaten down by the questions and the fans and the expectations. I do question the timing of it though-if he really was soft, he should have broken down in 2004-2005 when the speculation and pressure was really turned up, not 2006-2007. Instead, because he made it that far before letting it get to him, I just think he is a normal person-anybody under that much stress for that long is going to be thinking about it at least a little bit. So I don't think Mark Prior is soft, but I disagree with the assertion that anybody who has made the majors and has had success is automatically not soft.

[Mephistopheles]

i still cant believe this

[A New Era]

i still cant believe this

 

It all boils down to this.

 

Let Prior pitch in AAA with something to prove. If he stays healthy and improves, he will earn his way back onto the club. I don't care about anything else, concerning prior. .

[CubColtPacer]

i still cant believe this

 

What-the argument that Prior at this point has let some things get to him mentally, and that doesn't make him soft but just human with all the things that have happened to him (he's gone through more scrutiny then most people have their whole careers combined), but there are other people in the majors who are a little soft mentally, and just because they are in the majors doesn't exclude those players from that distinction? I don't see how that is so hard to believe.

[Mephistopheles]

i still cant believe this

 

It all boils down to this.

 

Let Prior pitch in AAA with something to prove. If he stays healthy and improves, he will earn his way back onto the club. I don't care about anything else, concerning prior. .

im not talking about prior in aaa. im not a flippin [expletive].

[A New Era]

i still cant believe this

 

It all boils down to this.

 

Let Prior pitch in AAA with something to prove. If he stays healthy and improves, he will earn his way back onto the club. I don't care about anything else, concerning prior. .

im not talking about prior in aaa. im not a flippin [expletive].

 

I'm tryin to end the arguement by brining some common sense into it, not pointing to anyone in particular. I'm not a [expletive] either. You just read that the wrong way. .

[CaliforniaRaisin]

i still cant believe this

 

What-the argument that Prior at this point has let some things get to him mentally, and that doesn't make him soft but just human with all the things that have happened to him (he's gone through more scrutiny then most people have their whole careers combined), but there are other people in the majors who are a little soft mentally, and just because they are in the majors doesn't exclude those players from that distinction? I don't see how that is so hard to believe.

 

Because the road to the majors is pretty tough - it already weeds out the mentally "soft" players.

[CubColtPacer]

i still cant believe this

 

What-the argument that Prior at this point has let some things get to him mentally, and that doesn't make him soft but just human with all the things that have happened to him (he's gone through more scrutiny then most people have their whole careers combined), but there are other people in the majors who are a little soft mentally, and just because they are in the majors doesn't exclude those players from that distinction? I don't see how that is so hard to believe.

 

Because the road to the majors is pretty tough - it already weeds out the mentally "soft" players.

 

 

I certainly do think it weeds out most of them

Now comparing it to some other sports-is being a star in the minors that much tougher than being a star of say college football or basketball? It's obviously tougher, but the lifestyle of the minor leagues is offset by the media scrutiny that college football and college basketball players are under. If it's not that much harder taking all that into account, why would baseball be able to weed out all the people who can't take the pressure/media scrutiny/ability to recover from adversity but sports like football and basketball cannot?

[CarolinaCubFan]

Rather than jump all over the new guy poster for his "soft" comment on Prior, the facts seem to be that Prior is not mentally tough--or do you discount the many whispers to that effect from ball players and executives around the league? I think they have a better feel for it than posters on NSBB.

 

As for Prior's latest--surprising that it came from him, and not his Daddy--the contrast with Kerry Wood couldn't be any more stark. Prior is being demoted because he looks to be finished. Maybe he comes back strong again, but the history suggests this rarely happens with pitchers. The odds say the fork in Prior's back is large and permastuck there.

 

So what chaps MY hide on Prior is that the Cubs have paid this guy $20MM now for what amounts to one great season--4 long years ago. The Cubs made him a bonus baby, they've handled him with kid gloves since the very beginning. They avoided the temptation to trade him two years ago when fans cried loudly, despite the fact it would have been a brilliant trade after the fact (Prior for Tejada were the principals).

 

Don't the Cubs deserve a bit more respect from Poor Widdle Mark than his "I'm just an employee" crapola? I mean seriously...you're a shell of your former self, you were 1-6 with a skyhigh ERA last year, and the Cubs are paying you over $3.5MM again this year. How about you go to Iowa, shut the heck up, and show whether you have anything left? Because at this stage, you're closer to Mark Fidrych than Fergie Jenkins, pal. Grow up.

 

I agree with the bolded part. I like this move. Lets hope he's back to the Mark Prior we all love very soon, but if not, I'd prefer to just move on.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Does anyone else remember that Prior had/has legitimate injuries? From my tally, he has 1 current problem that is not accident related (loose shoulder, etc) that -- and I'm speaking from experience here -- causes an extreme amount of pain and has an extremely long recovery process when any sort of tweaking, tearing or anything else occurs.

 

Part of the problem with such injuries is that slight adjustments are made to mask the pain. When the proper rehabilitation takes place, there is a lot of both physical and mental work to be done. The physical is building back the strength (and it is grueling), and the mental is trying to forget all of the intense pain and trick your body into going back to the old way of throwing because it's not going to hurt anymore.

 

That doesn't make him soft, it makes him human.

[A New Era]

Does anyone else remember that Prior had/has legitimate injuries? From my tally, he has 1 current problem that is not accident related (loose shoulder, etc) that -- and I'm speaking from experience here -- causes an extreme amount of pain and has an extremely long recovery process when any sort of tweaking, tearing or anything else occurs.

 

Part of the problem with such injuries is that slight adjustments are made to mask the pain. When the proper rehabilitation takes place, there is a lot of both physical and mental work to be done. The physical is building back the strength (and it is grueling), and the mental is trying to forget all of the intense pain and trick your body into going back to the old way of throwing because it's not going to hurt anymore.

 

That doesn't make him soft, it makes him human.

 

Bravo! I have more sympathy for Prior, I've been having shoulder trouble for a few months. And I don't even have to go out there and try to pitch 90 MPH.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

If he has shoulder problems--as has been rumored by Will Carrol amongst others for three YEARS now--why the heck didn't he have surgery to get well? I think the answer that many suspect is related to the whole pampering/softness argument. Meanwhile, as some choose to make apologies for Prior, I take the view that this guy has $20MM of the Cubs' money, and put his team in limbo for three full years. NOW he wants to cry about not getting any respect. Screw that.

 

I'm a Cubs fan, not a Mark Prior fan. So sue me.

[bc2k]

If he has shoulder problems--as has been rumored by Will Carrol amongst others for three YEARS now--why the heck didn't he have surgery to get well? I think the answer that many suspect is related to the whole pampering/softness argument. Meanwhile, as some choose to make apologies for Prior, I take the view that this guy has $20MM of the Cubs' money, and put his team in limbo for three full years. NOW he wants to cry about not getting any respect. Screw that.

 

I'm a Cubs fan, not a Mark Prior fan. So sue me.

 

Shouldn't your signature read "98 years and counting," not "99"?

[CubColtPacer]

If he has shoulder problems--as has been rumored by Will Carrol amongst others for three YEARS now--why the heck didn't he have surgery to get well? I think the answer that many suspect is related to the whole pampering/softness argument. Meanwhile, as some choose to make apologies for Prior, I take the view that this guy has $20MM of the Cubs' money, and put his team in limbo for three full years. NOW he wants to cry about not getting any respect. Screw that.

 

I'm a Cubs fan, not a Mark Prior fan. So sue me.

 

Surgery is not always the best option for shoulder problems-it's not like surgery would automatically fix everything. Prior and his doctors have chosen the treatment they thought would work best each time-I don't think you can say that just because he hasn't had surgery means that he doesn't have shoulder problems-plenty of people have shoulder problems and choose a non-surgical option for treatment.

[abuck1220]

If he has shoulder problems--as has been rumored by Will Carrol amongst others for three YEARS now--why the heck didn't he have surgery to get well? I think the answer that many suspect is related to the whole pampering/softness argument. Meanwhile, as some choose to make apologies for Prior, I take the view that this guy has $20MM of the Cubs' money, and put his team in limbo for three full years. NOW he wants to cry about not getting any respect. Screw that.

 

I'm a Cubs fan, not a Mark Prior fan. So sue me.

 

prior has probably given the cubs their $20 mil worth, by the way. his 2003 alone was probably worth that much.

 

obviously, the rest of your argument sucks, but that part was especially bothering me, and it was one of the few parts of your rant that hadn't already been torn down.

[SouthSideRyan]

If he has shoulder problems--as has been rumored by Will Carrol amongst others for three YEARS now--why the heck didn't he have surgery to get well? I think the answer that many suspect is related to the whole pampering/softness argument. Meanwhile, as some choose to make apologies for Prior, I take the view that this guy has $20MM of the Cubs' money, and put his team in limbo for three full years. NOW he wants to cry about not getting any respect. Screw that.

 

I'm a Cubs fan, not a Mark Prior fan. So sue me.

 

prior has probably given the cubs their $20 mil worth, by the way. his 2003 alone was probably worth that much.

 

obviously, the rest of your argument sucks, but that part was especially bothering me, and it was one of the few parts of your rant that hadn't already been torn down.

 

And if '03 alone didn't do it, adding '04 and '05 to it certainly has.

[Chris]

Funny that this...

 

surprising that it came from him, and not his Daddy

 

Poor Widdle Mark

 

How about you go to Iowa, shut the heck up, and show whether you have anything left?

 

you're closer to Mark Fidrych than Fergie Jenkins, pal.

 

ends with this...

 

Grow up.

 

:lol: