Prior to this, I was a nasty pitcher

Featured Comment on ESPN.com at 10:50 EST on December 26th:

"Steal of the modern era… Prior will bounce back this season"
~Rhymeister

Let’s settle down a little, sound like a plan? When "the next Tom Seaver" signs a one year deal at the age of 27 with his hometown team for a base salary of one million dollars, it’s time to reevaluate just how great this individual is. Trust me, I understand how all the elements of this equation seem to add up for optimistic Padres fans. Pitchers park, native son, redemption possibilities, bad Cubbies karma, etc, etc, etc… I also understand how breathtakingly amazing his 2003 campaign was for all the right reasons. He could locate pitches inside and out while changing speeds with ease. He had good velocity as well as tremendous late action on his breaking balls. He could throw basically any pitch in any count for a strike. These are all prime reasons why we (as Cubs fans) held onto this Mark Prior ideal, we felt like the injuries were merely a stop-over before monumental greatness. However (the freak broken arm from a comebacker to the mound notwithstanding) the injuries are a part the Prior package. He’s had the exploratory surgeries with no bonafide results, which raises suspicions that his physical troubles reside more between his ears than anything else. The phrase “genetic looseness” has been used to describe his elbow, which is either insane or idiotic as a wide-ranging cause for his reoccurring IR stints. He missed all of last season rehabbing from shoulder surgery which is historically the most damning affliction possible for starting pitchers. Am I saying that Mark Prior is soft? Not really. I do, however, think he’s not only injury prone, but prone to mental self-sabotage. I think his desire to overcome and understand his physical roadblocks don’t keep him up at night. I think he lacks the fortitude to be a consistent All-Star on a competitive team. I swear I’m not just being bitter here, I honestly believe this.

So why does Kerry Wood get a pass? Well, he’s expressed his frustrations with his injury history through the media and in his actions. He renegotiated his existing contract to take a hometown discount which he was under no obligation to do. He accepted his role as a set-up man with an eager willingness to rejoin the Cubs and help them win. Prior has been on the shelf for the majority of the last two years with a puss on, collecting fat checks and moaning about the training staff. Perhaps there is some validity to those claims, or perhaps the redonkulous strain placed on him in 2003 by Dusty Baker (Go Reds!) really did majorly effect his health. That’s neither here nor there. I’ve followed him with rapt attention since his breakout year and he’s nothing but an excuse machine with a looming upside that never materializes. Plugging the name Mark Prior into your 2004 fantasy baseball roster before the season started probably gave you a big rubbery one (Benny can attest to that), but holding on to that one season is a futile affair.

Will he have a decent year with San Diego? It’s entirely possible. I could see him pitching somewhere in the range of 120 innings with a 4+ ERA and a whiff of 10 wins. But unless Rhymeister has fashioned some sort of portal back to an era when Hey Ya! and The O.C. were at the height of their popularity, the steal of the modern era will continue to remain Big Papi.

I’m just sayin…