ESPN.com: Prior out for season? Cubs brace for possibility

I just cant get any love for my fantasy teams first Vick and now possibly Prior. But I have to look at the positives and that is the astros should run away with the central if Prior will miss the rest of the season.

 

Yeah, I feel the same. I love the Astros, and they would definitely be well on their way to the postseason if Prior does miss a lot of time which is great. On the other hand, I drafted Prior in the 3rd round in one of my two leagues because I felt he was too good to pass up so late in the draft. Hopefully he can come back and pitch well for a while but after it's too late.

 

in most drafts he went in the first five picks, if you got him in the third in two leagues then you shouldn't be too worried as you should still be able to whip the third graders you're playing with

 

oops looks like I misread, you're only playing in one league with third graders

 

this ought to teach the cubs and dusty baker a lesson for having the kid throw 120+ pitches almost every outing last year. you would have thought that they would have learned something with kerry wood, but apparently not . . .

 

I hate to be happy about a guy having an injury. BUT....this is the cubbies we are talking about.....so good news. Hope he heals well and his life goes well. Just don't do well with the cubbies! Make life easier for my Stros.

 

lol the cubs and prior have a bit of explaining to do about a few missed starts turning into an entire season possibly that prior will be out

 

Oswalt has a clear run at the Cy Young now.

 

I think so too...I mean, there are very few who can beat him.

Beckett - has all the hype with the media right now, but I think hes slightly overrated. Still a great pitcher
Gagne - They wouldn't give it to a reliever 2 years in a row unless he has an incredibly dominating 60 save season. That wont happen.
Schmidt - Maybe, but I dont think he can replicate last year.
Wood - Too inconsistent
Johnson - Too old to consistently put up the numbers he did a few years ago.

Are there any more?

 

Clemens

 

Good ole ESPN

Angry Baker labels report on Prior 'a lie'

April 18, 2004

Media reports Saturday suggesting Cubs pitcher Mark Prior might miss the season because of his Achilles injury drew an angry response from manager Dusty Baker.

''That's a lie,'' Baker said of a report that was picked up by ESPN and ESPN.com. The report implied it was Baker who suggested the scenario of Prior missing the season before Friday's game against the Cincinnati Reds.

''I don't know who's putting that out,'' Baker said. ''I'm tired of people putting words in my mouth that I don't say. He [Prior] didn't feel any soreness today [after throwing Friday]. He said he felt good. It seems like on the Internet now, you can put out anything you want without being accurate. No one's accountable for what they say.''

Prior said Saturday he felt ''fine'' after throwing 35 pitches Friday and taking Saturday off as a scheduled rest day.

On Friday, Baker was giving an update on Prior's latest rehab session, and at one point was asked if the Cubs could win without last year's 18-game winner. ''Can we win over the course of the year? Of course, but the task is more difficult [without Prior],'' he said.

Asked if the team could win in the short term without Prior, Baker said, ''We have no choice at this point. We have to do what we have to do until Mark gets back.''

The Cubs have said continually they are being cautious with Prior's rehab to avoid setbacks. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild said Friday the gradual throwing regimen is intended to prevent Prior from altering his pitching form, which could stress his arm or elbow.

Trainer Dave Groeschner on Saturday said Prior had no discomfort a day after throwing 35 pitches from around the mound. He will throw again today and tomorrow.

''His

Achilles and elbow felt great,'' Groeschner said. ''He has a little mechanical issue with his ankle [in his delivery], and we feel its related to the Achilles. We feel if we take care of the ankle, it will help the Achilles.''

http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-cside18.html​

 

Agreed. 3-0 now with a .87 era.

 

Dontrelle Willis

2-0, 0,00 ERA and has the stuff to be as good or better than Beckett

 

I pretty much agree and I am not an Astros fan. As long as Prior is out long enough to keep him from geting enough starts to get 20 wins Oswalt is the early favorite. However its a really long season especially for pitchers and its hard to predict this early out. There is also the possiblilty of a random guy to put up a great year.

 

Some more stuff on Dusty Baker's pitching usage.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/n...418&content_id=720250&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp

Wood nearing next level

Baker willing to have pitcher close his own games
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com Tickets Scoreboard Fantasy


CHICAGO -- If a starting pitcher throws 100-plus pitches after eight innings and has a lead, most managers would say thank you very much and call on their closer to finish the game. But Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker wanted Kerry Wood to finish what he started.
"Woody's approaching the threshhold of the great pitchers who don't really need a closer in the ninth," Baker said Sunday. "It'd been hell taking Ferguson Jenkins out of that game (Saturday) or Bob Gibson or (Sandy) Koufax or Curt Schilling or Randy Johnson or Dave Stewart or Roger Clemens back in his day.

"That's a situation where you're trying to have Woody get to another point in his career where he can close his own games," Baker said. "He was still throwing 97, 98 miles an hour."

Wood had reached 112 pitches after eight innings against Cincinnati on Saturday and had a 2-1 lead. The Reds rallied in the ninth, and won the game, 3-2. Wood took the loss and was ejected after arguing balls and strikes.


"When I start every game, I expect to finish it," Wood said. "If I have 125 going into the eighth or ninth, obviously I'm not going to finish the game. If I'm at 100, 110 (pitches) going into the ninth then I feel like I should physically be able to finish the game."

Baker's non-move Saturday was no reflection on Cubs closer Joe Borowski.

"Everybody takes it as a slight on Joe. It has nothing to do with Joe," Baker said. "Joe's not even in this equation. I'm trying to get Woody to the point of greatness where he can close his own game out.

"It would be different if he wasn't throwing the ball well but Woody was throwing great," Baker said of Wood, who was reaching 97 mph on the radar fun in the ninth. "It'd be different if he was walking people. He had (Sean) Casey 0-2. He had (Adam) Dunn 1-2. He had (Wily Mo) Pena 1-2. He was one pitch, one strike away from obtaining it.

"It was frustration that happened at the end there where hopefuly soon Woody will make that close-out pitch. That's what I'm trying to get him to."

Last year, Baker did the same with young Carlos Zambrano in an attempt to help him achieve that next step. Remember, Wood is 26.

"I'm trying to get these guys to a point where they've never been before," Baker said. "It was going to be hard to bring in anybody else who was throwing better than Woody.

"Rick Sutcliffe, when he was here, he would've killed you if you took him out that game," Baker said.

Wood was unaware his pitch count was as high as it was.

"I came in after the eighth and went out for the ninth," Wood said. "I was expecting to go back out and expecting to finish the game."

The Cubs coaches don't give Wood an update on his pitch count after each inning. He doesn't want to know.

"They let you know when you're done," Wood said. "You never want to tell a pitcher, 'Hey, you're at 100 so you need to have a quick inning next inning,' because then you try to make the perfect pitch and can't get out of that inning."

He also doesn't like new stadiums that post pitch counts on the scoreboards.

"I hate that more than anything because I'm up there looking," Wood said. "I don't ask. I don't need to know."

Baker is willing to gamble on the outcome of a game, as he did Saturday, to help Wood get to that next level.

"If you don't do it, he'll never get there," Baker said. "You have no chance of him ever knowing what it's like to be there unless you give him the opportunity. Are you risking the game? Yes. But you're risking the game no matter who you bring in anyway. You've got to give the young man a chance, especially the way he was throwing."

--------------------------

As an Astros fan, I'm quite encouraged by this. There were signs last year that the Cubs pitchers, especially Wood and Prior, were slowing down at the end. If Wood continues to throw tons of pitches in his outings, this could easily come bite the Cubs come September. If this can translate into Wood also suffer from arm problems, the Astros will have a clear path to the division title.

 

meh,

I seem to recall that Baker left Wood out there over 130 pitched a few times last year too. I dont care how hard the guy is throwing thats too much for a young guy(maby anyone) early in the year.

 

I also think that the Cubs are not telling the whole truth about Prior's health. If he only has the minor problems t hat they claim he has, we wouldn't be hearing about all these rumors of him missing the season. If Prior indeed misses more than a couple of months, I expect the Astros to run away with the division. I mean he Cubs' pitching really hasn't looked as good as hyped. Greg Maddux got hammered again today.

 

that just shows you that dusty baker is quite possibly the dumbest manager in baseball when it comes to handling starting pitchers.

i will now commence the countdown to tommy john surgery for prior - 10, 9, 8, . . .