Will Latest Injury be the Nail in the Coffin for Prior?

It seems like it’s been a lifetime since Mark Prior took the league by storm and introduced himself as one of the games premiere hurlers.  At the age of 22, in his second season, he was already drawing comparisons to Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens after posting a 2.43 ERA with 245 strikeouts.  Fast forward to present day and it’s starting to look like that may be all he ever gives us.

I really wanted Prior to do well this season.  During the offseason I went out on a very thin limb and predicted that he would be the Randy Moss of the 2008 baseball season, in that no one wanted him, and he would prove to be the biggest offseason acquisition, and if all went well – gasp – he might even lead the Padres on a deep postseason run.  All this could still happen but his chances are starting to look bleak after suffering yet another setback in his recovery.

If all would have gone to plan, and Prior never would have met Dusty Baker, he would be entering his prime years.  He’d have a shelf full of Cy Young awards, the Cubs would have since ended their World Series drought, and instead, I’d be writing a piece comparing him to Pedro Martinez right now.  Just think, if Prior was that capable at the age of 22, imagine what he could have done with a little wisdom and a fully mature arm?  This guy had the ability to be Tom Seaver good.

That’s why I was so optimistic about his return this season.  Many of you inundated my inbox with letters telling me how insane I was for making such a bold prediction, but all I could think about was that magic 2003 season.  It’s not Prior’s fault that he fell on some hard luck.  He’d have been back on the mound a few years ago if he would have opted for surgery sooner, but he didn’t want to waste a year recovering.  All he wanted to do was take the mound and help the Cubs win.

The fact that he was having the same operation that Chris Carpenter recovered so well from also aided in developing my huge expectations.  Foolishly, I never took Prior’s general health history into consideration.  This guy hasn’t recovered well in the past, he endured a huge amount of damage while trying to deter the operating table, and now it looks like it may be too late.  The damage may be too much to overcome.

Now, after all the setbacks, each bump in the road seems like it could be the one do him in.  As they pile up they become more and more critical.  That’s why I’m so worried about the latest.  Clearly the operation wasn’t a great success; otherwise he wouldn’t have torn the capsule in his surgically repaired shoulder.   Dr. James Andrews, surgeon to the baseball stars, stated that he will need to shut down his arm for at least two weeks. 

Obviously this is a major setback.  Prior was slated to make five minor league starts this month, and if all went to plan, he was to make his triumphant return to the Bigs in June.  The severity of the injury has yet to be determined, but this isn’t a good sign for things to come.  Not if you’re Mark Prior or the San Diego Padres.

It’d just be a shame if all we ever got from Prior was that one truly brilliant season.  Clearly, the reason this happened was due to how he was handled as a youngster, that’s no secret.  Dusty Baker never should have allowed him to exceed his previous inning total by 95 in 2003 when the industry standard is 30.  Hopefully he’s learned his lesson.  It makes me sick to my stomach to sit back and think that this same man now controls the fate of another pair of brilliant young arms, Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto. 

He’s allowed Volquez to exceed 100 pitches in each of his last six starts, going as high as 118 once.  Cueto has only met the mark once.  So far he has been responsible, I’ll give him that, and the fact that Reds won’t be playing for much of anything takes away the pressure of doing whatever it takes to win.  So as long as he sticks to the plan, everything should be alright.  .

The last thing we need is for another pitcher to become a precautionary tale at the hands of Baker.  We’ve already lost Prior for all these years, Kerry Wood has been relegated to the bullpen, we don’t need any more brilliant careers knocked off track by an overeager manager. 

Here’s to hoping Prior can get his back.