Prior’s Struggles
Remember when Mark Prior was the ace of the Chicago Cubs and figured to remain so for the next dozen years? Heck, remember when the Twins were chided for taking hometown catcher Joe Mauer in front of Prior with the #1 pick overall in the 2001 draft?
Seems like a lifetime ago. Now the latest word is that Prior may not start the season in the Cubs’ rotation. We earlier noted that left-hander Neal Cotts had become a surprise candidate for the #5 spot. Now, apparently right-handers Wade Miller and Angel Guzman have passed Prior on the depth chart.
Manager Lou Piniella had this to say about his right-hander’s performance Saturday against the Kansas City Royals:
He couldn’t get his breaking ball over at all, and he’s pitching with one pitch [an 87-88-mph fastball], and he’s not locating that pitch. So it’s not really a recipe for success right now.
Talk about understatement. Find me a big-league pitcher who gets guys out with only a high-80s fastball and poor command.
Prior pointed to mechanics as the problem, although the Royals apparently couldn’t detect a difference in his delivery. (Or if they could, they weren’t saying so publicly.)
Sure, it’s only spring training. In a sense, these games mean nothing. On the other hand, the regular season is now just three weeks away. If these reports are accurate, Prior doesn’t sound like a guy on his way to a spot in a big-league rotation. That to me is just shocking.
Tags: chicago_cubs, joe_mauer, mark_priorRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Personalities, Spring Training
3 opinions for Prior’s Struggles
Transaction Guy
Mar 11, 2007 at 2:45 pm
“Talk about understatement. Find me a big-league pitcher who gets guys out with only a high-80s fastball and poor command.”
Mark Redman… sort of.
Geoff Young
Mar 12, 2007 at 1:49 am
Nice. I was thinking maybe Darren Oliver, which is pretty much the same thing. ;-)
Knuckle Curve » Prior to Iowa
Mar 28, 2007 at 11:10 am
[…] heights, Chicago Cubs right-hander Mark Prior will begin the season at Triple-A Iowa. We knew he was struggling earlier in spring training, but this is unimaginable. Prior should be a perennial Cy Young Award […]
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