October 15th San Diego, CA
Planet Padres ran into Mark Prior (and family) at a local pumpkin patch in Mission Valley, and had a chance to have a very informal, unofficial, quick conversation with him. He was simply there doing the Halloween family thing and disturbing his family outing wasn't our goal, but of course we had to say hello. Below are some pictures and a paraphrased version of our conversation to give a little update on how he's doing.
We asked Mark a couple of questions-PP: Mark you look fit, how does your arm feel.........?
Prior: It feels very good right now......
PP: Are you looking to comeback to the Padres next year ?
Prior: I really hope I'm back next year, this is where I want to be.......
PP: Can we look forward to seeing you in Peoria next Spring, or is it too soon to say ?
Prior: I hope that's where I am come spring time, San Diego is where me and my family want to be.....
Again this is paraphrasing our brief conversation, as no recorder was used. We then went on to take a few shots of Mark to illustrate that, while he's not throwing, he is lifting a wheel barrow and placing direct pressure and weight on his surgically repaired shoulder.
Aside from everything else, this guy has a mean eye for the squash......Some fine choices were made this day.
As you can plainly see, he's having no issues with about 150lbs of downward pull on his shoulder. Again while this of course isn't throwing a baseball, it would sure seem that this 28 year old, former CY caliber arm very well might finally be on the road to recovery.So the question becomes do the Padres take another shot with Mark and throw him a bone like they did last year ? The way we see it is that the $$$ still is worth the low risk involved. This Friar fan sure hopes they bring back Prior once again in the hopes that his troubles are behind him finally.
Play Ball !!!
12 comments:
You're giving him way too much credit. He never won the CY Young Award. He's a puss and a whiner. You can have him for whatever he's worth. I am putting the over-under on innings pitched in the 2009 regular season at 36 - and I'll take the under.
I'm in Chicago, and this guy brought a lot of stuff to the Cubs. Disappointment, frustration, anger, unfulfilled expectations.....but never a CY. Unless he somehow finds a way to edge out Tim Lincecum and Brandon Webb this year without throwing a single pitch, then he won't have brought one to San Diego, either.
Analysing pumkin lifting.. I love it! haha
Ah the Cubs fan... always bitter about Mark Prior.
Great reporting! Now we need some financial questions while Mark is at the bank, or maybe in line at a rollercoaster.
I assume that by "the $$$$$$ is worth the low risk" what you meant to say is the "Low $$$ is worth the incredibly high risk"
Where you could get the idea that Prior is low risk is beyond me, the guy hasn't pitched a full season in years and years! Or even almost a full season!
I'm also a Cubs fan, and yes, at times Prior was frustrating with his injuries- BUT how quickly we forget his greatness in 2003. He put up an 18-6 record, sub 3 ERA, and was out for a month after his collision with Marcus Giles. He is still hurt because of Dusty running him into the ground every game.
I hope Prior is healthy and goes on to have a great career.
As a Pirates fan, I wouldn't mind the Bucs taking a flier on the guy.
It is low-risk for the Padres. He just means that for another million bucks and the foresight to not count on him for an outright rotation spot, the potential upside is worth the risk.
It doesn't mean he thinks it's likely that Prior throws 180+ innings.
Apparently cub fans have not learned how to read. Blogger said Cy Young calibre not winner. Tony B. seems to recall greatness.
Pumpkin lifting aside, a healthy Prior is a welcome sight to any team (duh).
P.S. If I hear one more Cub fan Whine about the 84 NLCS I will puke.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh Steve Garvey!!! I remember it like it were yesterday and I was only 7. Still one of the worst days of my life. That was a great series even for Cubs fans so I would agree no whining.
Some of you people act like it's your money.
And he injuries are an unfortunate part of the game, not a scam by him to try and make some cash.
Anyway, I hope the Padres give him a deal based mostly on incentives. He probably won't get much else than the minimum anyway.
Mark Prior will never be what he could have been until he builds the arm strength he needs to keep batters honest. His heater was clocked in 2003 at 93-95 mph. That made his breaking ball unhittable.
I wish him luck but he's not a Greg Maddux who can get away with an 83 mph fastball. He's a power pitcher with no velosity right now. At least K. Wood kept his fastball as a closer, but Prior is very ordinary without it. Good teams will catch on to him by the 3rd or 4th inning and hit him hard.
Old Cub Fan
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