No Longer A Prior-ity

It was over before it truly ever began.  The Mark Prior era is officially over.  Prior is returning home to San Diego after signing a one-year deal with the Padres on Wednesday for $1 million with another $4.5 million in incentives.  Prior became a free agent earlier this month when the Cubs opted not to offer him a contract for 2008. Prior qualified for salary arbitration and the Cubs had to offer at least 2.86 million dollars since MLB rules prohibit more than a 20 percent pay cut from a player’s previous season salary.  Last year the Cubs paid Prior 3.575 million dollars, and Prior did not pitch a single game for them.  The Cubs also paid Prior 3.65 million in 2006, when he went when he made nine starts and went 1-6 with a 7.21 ERA.  The Cubs were willing to pay him, but only if it was a two year deal with the Cubs having the option the second year.  That way they wouldn’t be paying Prior to rehab (again).  Yet, after the Cubs decided to non-tenure him, there were anywhere from 11 to 14 teams interested in Prior even though he hasn’t pitched well in four seasons.  Why would a team pay so much for a guy who hasn’t done anything in a while?  Potential.

Meteoric Rise

Prior  was the second pick in the June 2001 draft, the year he was 15-1 with a 1.70 ERA, 202 strikeouts and only 18 walks for USC.  Prior flew through the Cubs’ minor league system, starting only six games for Class-AA West Tenn and three starts for Class-AAA Iowa.  I was lucky enough to be at Wrigley Field for Mark Prior’s first start as a Cub on May 22, 2002. The cameras were flashing with every pitch and Prior didn’t disappoint, striking out 10- Pirates as the Cubs won the game 7-4. He then went on to record six 10-strikeout games, striking out 11.34 batters per nine innings, second in the National League only behind Randy Johnson. Mark completed his rookie season with a 6-6 record and an ERA of 3.32. He had 147 strikeouts in only 116.1 innings pitched.  It was a small glimpse of what was yet to come.

The Year It Was Supposed To Happen

In his second start in 2003, Prior began pitched a four-hit shutout against the Montreal Expos, striking out 12 and walking none.  Prior started out the season 8- 5 before a collision with the Braves’ Marcus Giles forced him to miss 3 games.  When he returned for the the second half of the season, Prior went an amazing 1901, finishing the regular season 18-6 with an ERA of 2.43 while striking out 245 batters in 211.1 innings pitched. His dominance continued in the postseason, as he defeated Greg Maddux and the Braves by pitching a shutout in Game 3 of the Divisional Series.  He dominated the Marlins in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, going 7 innings and giving up 2 runs, tying the series at 1 game a piece.  Some people questioned after the game why Prior was still pitching with the Cubs up by 11 runs.  Prior would watch as the Cubs would build a 3-1 lead, before Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs lost game 5 against Josh Beckett, returning the series to Chicago.  With the Cubs still up 3 games to 2, and Prior and Wood the next two pitchers in the rotation, it looked like a done deal, that the Cubs were going to return to the World Series for the first time since 1945.

A Moment That Will Live in Infamy

I was there for Game 6.  There had never been such an electric feeling around the ballpark.  The bars, the streets, the stadium all were packed for what everyone felt would be the clincher.  Prior did’t disappoint.  The Cubs held a 3-0 lead going into the top of the eighth inning in Game 6 and, after Mike Mordecai hit a high pop fly to left field for the first out of the inning, the Cubs had only two outs left in the inning—leaving the team a mere 5 outs away from the World Series.  Do this day, I can still here the fans chanting "Five more outs."  Prior had retired the last eight hitters and had allowed only three hits up to that point. The next batter, Juan Pierre, then hit a double off Prior to get to second base.

On the eight pitch of his  at bat, Luis Castillo hit a high foul ball toward the left field wall. Cubs left fielder Moises Alou headed toward the stands to catch the ball for the potential second out. As Alou reached for the ball, Cubs fan Steve Bartman along with others near the area, did the same. The ball bounced off Bartman’s hand and into the stands. Alou was furious, as was Prior, screaming and pointing to the stands.  Though the Cubs pleaded for a call of fan interference, the umpire ruled that the ball had left the field of play and was therefore up for grabs.

As a result, Castillo remained an active batter at home plate. On the next pitch, Prior walked Castillo with a wild pitch that got away from catcher Paul Bako, also allowing Pierre to advance to third base.  At that moment, panic filled the air.  I looked at the Cubs dugout, hoping Dusty would come out to settle everyone down, or that Rothchild would come out to talk to Prior; nothing.

Next, Ivan Rodriguez hit an 0-2 pitch hard into left field, singling and scoring Pierre, giving the Marlins their first run of the game and making the score 3-1. Then, with the Cubs still in the lead and a chance to get out of the inning, Miguel Cabrera hit a  ground ball toward Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez, that could have ended the inning on a double play. Gonzalez, who led all NL shortstops in fielding percentage, closed his glove a little too early and the ball landed in the dirt, allowing Cabrera to get on base, loading the bases. On the next pitch, Derek Lee drilled a double into left field, scoring Castillo and Rodríguez to tie the game at 3-3.  That ended Prior’s night, and five more runs would cross the plate that dreadful inning.  When that eighth inning was over, the score was Marlins 8 Cubs 3.  The Cubs lost the game and eventually the series.

Never The Same

The next season, the Cubs were supposed to be even better, keeping the same starting four, Wood, Clement, Prior, Zambrano, but adding Greg Maddux as the fifth starter was supposed to help win it all.  But for the next four sesons, neither Prior or Wood could remain healthy.  After pitching 211 innings in 2003, Prior only pitched 118 in 2004 due to a variety of injuries.  He missed the first two months of the season with a tear in his Achilles’, but there were also rumors that something was wrong with his arm and that he may need Tommy John surgery.   After coming off the disabled list Prior did not pitch up to expectations, leading to more speculation about the health of his arm. However, towards the end of the 2004 season, Prior seemed to return to form. Prior struck out a career high 16 Cincinnati Reds in his last start of the season, leading Cubs fans to believe he would return to his 2003 form the next season

2005 started the same way as 2004, with Prior on the DL. He missed the first month of the season with an elbow strain, but when he returned, he looked like he might be fully recovered.   However, on May 27, Prior was hit on his right (pitching) elbow by a 117-mph comeback line drive off the bat of Brad Hawpe, giving him a compression fracture. This sent him to another stint on the DL.  Prior finished the 2005 season with an 11-7 record in 27 starts.

His bad luck would continue in Spring Training of 2006 when he was put on a slow throwing program and the infamous towel drill. After feeling stiffness in his throwing shoulder, was diagnosed with a strained shoulder. He was placed on the 15 day disabled list, missing the first two months of the 2006 season. His 2006 debut came on June 18th, Father’s Day, when he was shelled by the Detroit Tigers, giving up six runs in the first inning and lasted just 3.2 innings before being pulled. Prior was 0-4 in four starts with a 7.71 ERA, until he was once again put on the disabled list July 14, after straining his left oblique muscle while taking batting practice. He returned on July 21 to play against the Washington Nationals.  He pitched 3.1 innings before he was pulled out of the game.  On August 14, Prior was again placed on the disabled list (tendinitis) for the remainder of the season. He finished 2006 with a 1-6 record and a 7.21 ERA.

The End

The Cubs finally woke up and decided not to rely on Wood and Prior to be everyday starters. GM Jim Hendry signed Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, and had Prior competing for the fifth starters spot.  Prior was obviously not healthy in his preseason starts, getting hit like a pinata and having no speed or movement in his fastball and was unable to control his breaking pitches.  He lost the fifth spot to Wade Miller, and was sent to Triple-A.  To vent his anger in the decision, Prior said sarcastically in the Chicago Tribune

“I’m just an employee. The goal now is to go down and help that team win and try to make the Triple-A All-Star team. Maybe I can get invited to the Futures Game or something. I’m still 26.”

Prior missed the rest of the 2007 season after going through season-ending surgery. After one start in the minors, which he won despite giving up 3 runs, Prior had Dr James Andrews, a noted orthopedic surgeon perform "exploratory surgery" on his right shoulder, which, not surprisingly to the fans and media, showed Prior to have structural damage that the Cubs had never properly diagnosed or treated and Dr. Andrews immediately addressed the issues.

The Risk

Questions still remain about Prior’s health.  Some reports see him coming back after the All Star Break, others have him coming back earlier.  It was an easy decision for the Padres to sign Prior.  They don’t lose much if he continues to have injury problems, but if he get healthy, he could be dominant.  In his career, Prior has tallied 21 double-digit strikeout games and 65 outings in which he has issued two or fewer walks. He is averaging 10.37 strikeouts per nine innings over his career.   Prior would love to prove everyone wrong and become the great pitcher everyone thought he would be.  He will join former Cubs Greg Maddux, Shawn Estes (the fifth starter in 2003), and Glendon Rusch in San Diego.  For Cubs fans, there is that fear that he will now become an All Star wearing a different uniform, but they made the right decision. The Cubs had invested plenty of money in Prior and they could no longer pay to rehab him, especially since he probably would have left after being eligible to become a free agent next season.  Let’s hope this doesn’t come back to bite the Cubs in the butt.