Will Carroll reported that Prior has the same shoulder injury Woody had going into this season (via Cubs sources). I don't know about that source, but Carroll has a great track record as far as Prior is concerned. If it's true, we shouldn't count on Prior at all. Trading him is stupid as his value is rock bottom, but we should fill out the rotation w/o taking him into account. MacPhail said earlier today that the Cubs should take health into account from now on (DUH!!!) when making player acquisitions. There's hope. Take it for what it's worth but I have a friend of mine that knows Prior's cousin really well. She told my friend that if Dusty is gone next year Prior will be healthy. She told him that while Prior was feeling discomfort in his shoulder he could have pitched through it. According to her, Prior and his father made the decision that he wasn't going to be abused by Dusty any longer. I absolutely got this info 3rd hand but my friend is a huge cub fan and I believe him. Not unbelievable by any stretch. No disrespect intended to anyone but I find this extremely implausible, on multiple levels. Sweet, I'm one level closer to Prior via another cousin of his. Went to high school with the guy. I haven't called him to get his take, but maybe I should