more delays for prior

the unfolding drama of mark prior's spring pitching took another strange turn this weekend as prior's first spring training start was delayed another week. prior still hasn't faced live batters; the latest new date for that event is thursday, with an eye toward a potential cactus league outing next weekend -- if all goes well.

Prior's first start has been delayed until next weekend at the earliest, as he continues a gradual throwing program to get ready for the regular season.

"The last couple of years he hadn't pitched in spring training [much], but you've got to remember last year he didn't pitch much and only missed one [regular-season] start until he got hit with the line drive," pitching coach Larry Rothschild said.

"Maybe he's not a spring-training guy. You hate to think about it that way, but ...

as this point, this page would like to respectfully ask coach rothschild a question: what is the team's plan if it finds that mark prior isn't a full-season-of-major-league-baseball guy? because, after four years of 30 or fewer starts and a third consecutive spring frought with bizarre behaviors and missed dates -- denials and delays that would most easily be explained by an unacknowledged injury -- it's beginning to appear that he's neither.

erstwhile cub commentator steve stone has apparently ruffled a few feathers by connecting the obvious dots once again. stone's last foray into honesty regarding the club got him run off in another classically psychotic defense of the collective by tribco. for what it's worth, this page agrees with stone -- if they consistently treat prior like a hurt pitcher, he's probably a hurt pitcher, no matter how many lies and half-truths the agents of the team tell to obfuscate their behavior. even if they pitch him later this spring and in april, he's still likely a hurt pitcher -- just one that happens to be pitching anyway and making the best of it.

as such, it seems the odds of seeing a healthy and durable prior are diminishing as rapidly as the chances of seeing a healthy kerry wood.

there's one decision made

this page has spoken repeatedly about the difficult offseason choices that face this chicago cub organization following the 2006 season. with derrek lee, aramis ramirez, juan pierre and greg maddux all going to free agency, questions of where to allocate money and how much to spend will reverberate through several cub seasons afterward.

this page has also discussed how the tribune company will telegraph decisions through its broadcast outlets in the form of trial balloons and smear campaigns. to it makes some sense that we might start finding out what some of these decisions regarding the 2007 team makeup are in the coming months as ownership starts to manage expectations well ahead of the event.

today's column by phil rogers in the tribune appears to be exactly the sort of indication we'd expect to see.

History teaches that Wood can be an occasional force but cannot be counted on, and no one knows that better than the Cubs themselves.

... As spring training was beginning, I wrote that the key for the Cubs was to keep Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano and Greg Maddux healthy. If those three guys are all right—and Prior has already fallen behind—then this team can be a pleasant surprise. Anything it gets from Wood—25 or 26 starts should still be possible after Monday's surgery—will be a bonus.

And then, more likely than not, the Cubs will begin life after Kerry Wood, just as they began life after Sammy Sosa in 2004. Unless Wood returns as a world-beater, this will probably be his last season in Chicago.

Next to the wide range of recurring injuries he has experienced, the biggest problem with Wood is where he is on the economic spectrum—in the back half of a contract he negotiated after his two best seasons, 2002 and '03. He'll earn $11 million this year and has a $13.5 million option for 2007.

There's almost no way the Cubs can exercise that option, not for a guy who has never won more than 14 games in a season and has averaged only 25 starts. With Zambrano and Prior as cornerstones, the Cubs can afford to spare themselves the annual heartbreak from Wood.

... Maddux matters more for the Cubs this year than Wood. His future with them just might matter more too.

For Hendry and Wood, turning the page is becoming almost inevitable.

this page, for one, finds the interposition of greg maddux in a fictional either/or, mano a mano duel for next year and the fans' affections in the meantime is a particularly craven and pathetic step. but what is clear is that the writing is on the wall for wood: odds are he won't be a cub in 2007.

2006 Chicago Cubs Promotional Schedule

Alright, time for a little humor. A friend of mine sent this to me a couple weeks ago and I finally had a chance to give it a read. Here's one for you to enjoy:


April 7: Home Opener and raising of the "Attendance Flag" to commemorate the magical 2005 season in which the Cubs were a bigger draw than any of their hated rivals.

April 9: Home Opener Weekend festivities conclude with the Cardinals completing a sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley.

April 24: Win a Mark Prior autographed picture! 100 lucky fans will receive a 5 x 7" photo signed by the Cubs' 11-game winner!

April 25: Turn Back the Clock I with throwback jerseys, old-time music and special guests and relive the magic of the Cubs' epic loss to the Florida Marlins in the 2003 NLCS.

May 13: Turn Back the Clock II with authentic 1984 uniforms jerseys and an even-more-authentic loss to the 1984 NLCS champion San Diego Padres.

May 14: Precious Moments figurine doll to the first 10,000 female fans*.

June 15: Kerry Wood bobblehead day. The first 10,000 fans will receive a bobblehead doll of the Northsiders' all-time leader in simulated strikeouts!

June 16: Turn Back the Clock III - Kick off a rematch of the Cubs' most recent World Series appearance as they welcome the Detroit Tigers and try to beat them for the first time since 1945.

July 1: Turn Back the Clock IV - 1906 World Series rematch. Authentic memorabilia will be given out to lucky Cub fans, as will an authentic 1906-style massacre of their lovable losers.

July 2: Lovable Loser Day - First 15,000 losers get to fall in love with the Cubs even more as they are handed yet another staggering loss at home by yet another area team that has built something more substantial than their own ticket-scalping empire**.

August 1: Nine Games Back Day - First 10,000 fans in attendance to correctly explain what "Nine Games Back" means receive a Cubs t-shirt***.

August 19: Playoff Day. Come out and root for the Cubs as they stand on the brink of elimination against the Cardinals with forty-one games still left to play in the season. First 20,000 fans wearing Cubs gear receive a White Sox t-shirt.

October 1: Final Home Game / Wait 'Til Next Year Day - First 39,538 fans are idiots.

(*) This one's real, believe it or not. Precious Moments? Come on.
(**) Wrigley Field Premium Ticketing Services, 3717 N. Clark St.
(***) Contest runs through the end of the 2006 season. Okay, 2007 season.