Cubs will allow Prior to walk

[HoopsCubs]

The logic behind non-tendering him is this (and only this).

 

A) You absolutely know that he will not be ready to pitch before August

B) You absolutely know that no team will be interested in trading anything of value for him

C) You are unsure of either of the above, but you absolutely need his $3M in another deal to improve the team.

 

C) Seems like the most likely scenario to me

 

So, let's see if Hendry does something in the pitching department, and then let's revert to the name calling.

I am not upset at all by this. I still think Hendry is going to make 2 or 3 more moves.

[mhuber92211]

What does it say for Prior when Hendry gives deals to Dempster & Miller coming off injuries but not to Prior?

[Derwood]

i can't wait until he comes back as a .900 OPSing outfielder for the Cardinals in 2010

[CubColtPacer]

What does it say for Prior when Hendry gives deals to Dempster & Miller coming off injuries but not to Prior?

 

I don't think it really says anything other then he thought he could re-sign Dempster and Miller after their rehab, but he doesn't think he can re-sign Prior.

[ltb]

this is sad.

 

thanks, dusty.

 

that's about all i have to say about this.

[Sweet Swinging Billy]

don_kessinger_was_good wrote: "I can't believe all the hand-wringing over non-tendering Prior. Ridiculous".

 

--- I agree with your assesment in why it is best that the Cubs didn't tender Prior a contract but without question I wish things would have been different. Man, he had the potential to be one of the best! Oh well.

 

At least we're talking about Prior and not Kerry Wood. Can you IMAGINE what it would have been like last year if the Cubs had parted ways with Woody? Man, if that had happened I might have had to gotten violent!

[abuck1220]

“I’m just an employee. The goal now is to go down and help that team win and try to make the Triple-A All-Star team. Maybe I can get invited to the Futures Game or something. I’m still 26.”

Remember that? The guy obviously has a piss poor attitude. After what the Cubs have done for him, if he wasn't willing to do the Cubs a favor by giving them the 2nd year, then screw him. I know it's sad to see him go, it's sad in a way for me too. But at the same time, we're talking about the 2008 season and a guy who hasn't been decent since 2005 and who hasn't even pitched since 2006. Maybe he'll come back and be great, but that's incredibly unlikely. It's pretty foolish to waste three million on a guy and HOPE that you get half of a season of decent starts out of him before he bolts for free agency. The Cubs are obviously sick and tired of waiting on Prior to come around. Can't say I blame them.

 

i'm sorry, what have the cubs done for him exactly? seems to me he's done more for them (ie win them the division in 2003 at a bargain price).

Paid him millions of dollars to do absolutely nothing for the team over the last couple years? After collecting millions for doing nothing, if he's not willing to give the Cubs another year of control (that they lost by paying him to sit on his ass last year), then I'm fine with letting him walk.

 

well, you obviously weren't in the country during 2003, so i'll give you a pass on this one. carry on.

[HoopsCubs]

What does it say for Prior when Hendry gives deals to Dempster & Miller coming off injuries but not to Prior?

 

But what deal did Hendry give to Dempster in 2004? If you go back and look at the facts, you will see that in January 2004, Hendry offered Ryan a $500K salary in 2004 for basically re-habbing in exchange for agreeing to a team option in 2005. It was believed that Ryan would re-hab in the first half and come back some time after the all star break. In fact, he pitched about 2 months (Aug and Sep) in 2004 and did okay. Cubs picked up the 2005 option.

 

That is exactly what Hendry wanted with Prior.

[Guest]

We don't know whether he does charity work.

 

He's involved in LA and San Diego.

[treebird]

We don't know whether he does charity work.

 

He's involved in LA and San Diego.

 

he's probably in a gang or something in chicago

 

builds up one area while tearing down another

[Peoriaman]

Good move by Hendry.

[Guest]

We don't know whether he does charity work.

 

He's involved in LA and San Diego.

 

he's probably in a gang or something in chicago

 

builds up one area while tearing down another

 

Bet he uses all the cash the Cubs give him for doing nothing.

[treebird]

We don't know whether he does charity work.

 

He's involved in LA and San Diego.

 

he's probably in a gang or something in chicago

 

builds up one area while tearing down another

 

Bet he uses all the cash the Cubs give him for doing nothing.

 

buying drugs to give to people at NA

[jiml60]

cya bum!

 

Zero respect for Prior. It seemed as if he acted like a big baby ever since his numerous injuries began. I remember stretches of the past few years of not even hearing his name mentioned, prolly because as mentioned above he wasen't around.

 

Now he can leech off of the Padres who will pay him pennies because they are a terrible cheap franchise.

 

Lol. Yea what a baby he was when he was constantly trying to come back from being hurt, while still being hurt and needing surgery. What a puss.

 

This is a man who was paid over the past 3 years for doing *nothing*

 

He never came back, something always ached, and then when it was time for him to step up as a "good guy" and stay with the franchise that nursed him along over all these years he splits because he wants MORE money.

 

If this was a person at your job that acted in such a manner and wanted a raise after being on medical leave for 3 years, you'd be up in arms.

 

If I spent a lot of money on a project but bailed out on it before realizing if it would work, I would be looking for another job.

[Wilson A2000]

Kaplin made some really good points. He kept pointing to the difference in attitude between Wood and Prior. How Wood (on Sports Central last week) said he wanted to be a Cub his entire career. Prior has never expressed that he was happy being a Cub. Kap said he wasn't a good teammate that he was not liked in the Clubhouse. That when he was rehabbing, he NEVER came by to be with the team. Wood was just the opposite. Prior apparently never got involved in the community, unlike Wood who has his celebrity bowling tournament. Kaplin wished him well but he says he can't blame the Cubs for what they did.

I was always a really big fan of Mark but if he doesn't want to show any loyalty and stay here...then maybe it is better that he leave. I guess if anything, it shows the Cubs mean business

 

Do you want to win, or do you want to have a happy clubhouse? Winning makes a happy clubhouse. I think keeping Prior would have increased the Cubs' chances of winning.

[Hosak8]

“I’m just an employee. The goal now is to go down and help that team win and try to make the Triple-A All-Star team. Maybe I can get invited to the Futures Game or something. I’m still 26.”

Remember that? The guy obviously has a piss poor attitude. After what the Cubs have done for him, if he wasn't willing to do the Cubs a favor by giving them the 2nd year, then screw him. I know it's sad to see him go, it's sad in a way for me too. But at the same time, we're talking about the 2008 season and a guy who hasn't been decent since 2005 and who hasn't even pitched since 2006. Maybe he'll come back and be great, but that's incredibly unlikely. It's pretty foolish to waste three million on a guy and HOPE that you get half of a season of decent starts out of him before he bolts for free agency. The Cubs are obviously sick and tired of waiting on Prior to come around. Can't say I blame them.

 

i'm sorry, what have the cubs done for him exactly? seems to me he's done more for them (ie win them the division in 2003 at a bargain price).

Paid him millions of dollars to do absolutely nothing for the team over the last couple years? After collecting millions for doing nothing, if he's not willing to give the Cubs another year of control (that they lost by paying him to sit on his ass last year), then I'm fine with letting him walk.

 

well, you obviously weren't in the country during 2003, so i'll give you a pass on this one. carry on.

 

Well, that's a pretty condescending comment, especially since you only bolded the words that would prop up your point, and not the pertinent point that was being made. To be helpful, I went back and bolded the actual point behind the original post.

[imb]

I used to love Prior, but now I hate him.

 

Not because of anything he's done or not done, but just because of all the stupid arguments about him.

 

You've ruined Mark Prior for me.

[jiml60]

Kaplin made some really good points. He kept pointing to the difference in attitude between Wood and Prior. How Wood (on Sports Central last week) said he wanted to be a Cub his entire career. Prior has never expressed that he was happy being a Cub. Kap said he wasn't a good teammate that he was not liked in the Clubhouse. That when he was rehabbing, he NEVER came by to be with the team. Wood was just the opposite. Prior apparently never got involved in the community, unlike Wood who has his celebrity bowling tournament. Kaplin wished him well but he says he can't blame the Cubs for what they did.

I was always a really big fan of Mark but if he doesn't want to show any loyalty and stay here...then maybe it is better that he leave. I guess if anything, it shows the Cubs mean business

 

 

Typical Chicago media crap.

 

I don't care whether a player is a good teammate or disrupts the "chemistry", go out and play the game to the best of your abilities.

I don't care what he does for the community, if you want to make your community better, go out and do it yourself, don't wait for "celebrities" to attach their name to a cause and hope that solves the problem.

 

There's not much loyalty in professional sports these days, so it's rare when you have a guy like Kerry Wood express his desire to stay with the Cubs but why should Mark Prior have to come out and say it? Companies like to profess loyalty to their employees but will cut your job at the first sign of financial difficulties. As an athlete you should be loyal to yourself and get as much money as you can because your career can end at any time.

 

This is just another example of the idiocy of Jim Hendry and the ineptitude of the Tribune's running of the Cubs for the last quarter century.

The day can't come fast enough for these pinheads to sell the team and the new owner to clean house from top to bottom.

[jiml60]

What does it say for Prior when Hendry gives deals to Dempster & Miller coming off injuries but not to Prior?

 

It just tells me that Hendry is a moron and the closest he should be to the front office is sweeping the floors and emptying the trash.

[CyHawk_Cub]

:shrug: It seems to have been so long since seeing "good Prior" pitch, I don't feel like we're missing out.......................yet.

[jiml60]

Here's my take...

 

Remember the Corey Patterson debacle? How people said he didn't look like he cared? That it always seemed like he was stubborn, childish, immature, and didn't listen to his coaches? Remember how much some people just hated him around here?

 

This reminds me a lot about that. Frankly, I think few people can fairly criticize the guy because he's not loyal, doesn't do much in the community, isn't a good teammate, or whatever. We're not privy to his thoughts. We don't know what he's like in the clubhouse. He might be incredibly private or keeps to himself. We don't know whether he does charity work. For all we know, the Cubs have been jerking him around in these negotiations and never offered him a fair deal. He could do a ton in his community, yet keep quiet about it because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself in that way. I remember a ton of people ripping on Randy Moss while he was in Minnesota, yet the guy did quite a bit of charity work out there and kept it to himself.

 

It's one thing if you don't think he was valuable to the Cubs any more because of his potential ineffectiveness and injuries. It's another thing when you attack the guy because of the way you perceive his personality. That's just foolish.

 

I'm sad to see the guy go. I really hope the Cubs know what they're doing in letting him go.

 

Very well put.

 

I've watched the Cubs for 40 years and I'm confident that they don't know what they did by releasing Prior.

[Wilson A2000]

The Cubs did offer Prior an incentive-laden contract for 08 and an option for 09 right? If so, when was it offered?

[SouthSideRyan]

Good luck Mark, may you go on to win 200 games with a less stone age franchise.

[cbbryan]

Man, this is too bad. I remember debating drafting Prior or Tex. I was adament about drafting Prior over Tex. I'm not sure what exactly happened that derailed his career in Chicago, but I hope he lands on his feet and does well for himself/family.

 

Can't wish the guy harm. I just hope he goes to the AL and not someone we have to play alot every year. It will be alot less painful to not see him pitch all that often vs the Cubs.

 

 

 

 

Pure speculation here, but could Mark be on the Mitchell Report? It seems like we've had alot of pitchers being outed in the steriod probes............. maybe this is the Cubs letting him go before it all hits the fan?

 

I doubt it, but just a thought.

 

Also, a quick question. Can the Cubs re-sign him after not tendering him? Or is that the rule that he can't sign until late May if he's not tendered?

[SouthSideRyan]

“I’m just an employee. The goal now is to go down and help that team win and try to make the Triple-A All-Star team. Maybe I can get invited to the Futures Game or something. I’m still 26.”

 

 

Hahhahahaha, if somebody gritty and Texan said that he'd be a total team player, but since he's some Cal-eye-forn-eye-aaaaa pretty boy, he's not a team player.