After throwing a successful simulated game Tuesday morning at Wrigley Field, Mark Prior addressed the huge hole the Cubs have dug for themselves against St. Louis in the Central Division.
“It’s unfortunate we did it this way,” Prior said. “But we’re the Cubs. We don’t do anything as easily as we should.”
If anybody should know about doing things the hard way, it’s Prior, whose comeback sputtered last Thursday when he began feeling mysterious elbow pain he later referred to as a “freak thing.” Prior threw five innings and 73 pitches Tuesday and is on track to make his next scheduled start Sunday in Philadelphia.
“He let it go–that’s what was most impressive,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He wasn’t holding back anything. His breaking ball was better than I’d seen it.”
The ongoing debate over Prior’s elbow soreness is a moot point in Prior’s mind because only his opinion really matters. Prior believes he can adjust to occasional soreness the rest of the season.
“I’ve talked to some of the best [doctors] in the country, and they say they agree with what we’re doing,” Prior said.
“My personal feeling is, the best way to get through this now is for me to stay in a good rhythm, get the five, six days in the rotation that I’m used to and hope it doesn’t creep up. And I’ll adjust accordingly at the end of the season, and with what I’ll do in the off-season.”
Prior went 10-1 with a 1.52 earned-run average last year after returning from the disabled list in August. Recently he has heard criticism that he’s not mentally strong enough to get through the soreness he’s experiencing, and that he should have gutted his way through Thursday’s game.
“It’s not like I say, `OK, I’m done,'” he said. “I’m not a guy who does that. People have a right to their own opinion, and I respect that. But respect my opinion and don’t think I’m copping out.”
Prior threw 120 or more pitches nine times in 30 starts last year, averaging 126 pitches in six September starts.
With so much scrutiny on the Cubs’ decision not to shut down Prior after the elbow pains, will Baker ever be able to get him to the 120-pitch vicinity at any point this season?
Or would it be too much of a risk for such an important part of the Cubs’ future?
“I’ll take it one start at a time,” Prior said. “Wherever I’m at this weekend, I assume I’ll be in my normal area, somewhere between 90-100 or so. One hundred and twenty? I don’t know. That’s not my decision right now, and I think that [day] is kind of far off.”
