Official: Mark Prior To Start Sunday

[ThomasTomasz]

CHICAGO (AP) -- Mark Prior will make his first start of the season Sunday against the Detroit Tigers after missing the first 2 1/2 months with a strained shoulder.

"It's been a long, hard road, but I'm glad that Mark's getting back on the mound," manager Dusty Baker said before Saturday's game. "Hopefully, we can keep him on the mound all year long."

Already on a slower paced program to avoid the elbow problems he experienced the previous two springs, Prior strained a muscle in his right shoulder in March and began the season on the disabled list for the third straight year.

He made four minor league rehab starts, allowing one unearned run and four hits while striking out 10 in 6 2-3 innings for Triple-A Iowa at New Orleans on Tuesday night. He threw 90 pitches in that game and will likely be limited to about 90 on Sunday.

"He threw 90 his last game, so that's what we're looking for," pitching coach Larry Rothschild said of Prior, who also made two rehab starts at Single-A and one at Double-A.

He began last season on the DL with a sore elbow, went back in May after taking a line drive in the elbow and finished 11-7 in 27 starts. He's been there six times in all.

Prior's best season was 2003, when he was 18-6 and led the Cubs to the playoffs. Now, he's rejoining a team that has been in a downward spiral since first baseman Derrek Lee broke two bones just above his right wrist joint in a collision with the Dodgers' Rafael Furcal on April 19. The Cubs went from 9-5 after beating Los Angeles that night to 26-40 and fifth in the NL Central entering Saturday's game, losing 12 of 13 at one point.

In the interim, Kerry Wood -- their other injury-prone starter -- came back after missing the first seven weeks while recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery and returned to the 15-day disabled list June 9 after going 1-2 with a 4.12 ERA in four starts. He might pitch a simulated game in Cleveland and could be ready next weekend.

"It's certainly a possibility," Rothschild said. "I don't want to give a date, but I would think it wouldn't be a long time after he's eligible."

Wood's and Prior's injuries have forced the Cubs to use a makeshift rotation behind Carlos Zambrano and Greg Maddux, with veteran Glendon Rusch and youngsters Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall, Rich Hill, Jae Kuk Ryu and Carlos Marmol getting turns.

"Mark has been on a pretty steady schedule ... as far as his recovery," Rothschild said. "With Kerry, we knew when we activated him there were going to be times when it was touch-and-go just because of his surgery."

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns.

[ThomasTomasz]

Watch Baker leave Prior in for 8 innings, and 130 pitches tommorow. I'd be willing to hedge that bet with almost anyone. Prior better hope that Baker is gone very soon, so he won't go through many more injuries resulting from Baker's overuse, and then the time off while he's sitting on the DL.

[rockin500]

Watch Baker leave Prior in for 8 innings, and 130 pitches tommorow. I'd be willing to hedge that bet with almost anyone. Prior better hope that Baker is gone very soon, so he won't go through many more injuries resulting from Baker's overuse, and then the time off while he's sitting on the DL.

be smart man. when wood came back in his first start, he gave him 75 pitches (actually 71).

your ignorance is no good. think before you speak genius.

[Rufio181]

90 pitch count for Prior.

[ThomasTomasz]

be smart man. when wood came back in his first start, he gave him 75 pitches (actually 71).

your ignorance is no good. think before you speak genius.

Be cool man, I'm just trying to make a joke. We all know that Baker wouldn't rush him back that soon, but in a few starts, I wouldn't put it past him. Still, the basic point of my opinion is to get rid of Baker now.

[rockin500]

Be cool man, I'm just trying to make a joke. We all know that Baker wouldn't rush him back that soon, but in a few starts, I wouldn't put it past him. Still, the basic point of my opinion is to get rid of Baker now.

get rid of hendry first.

baker actually gives a lot of the stuff over to Larry Rothschild when it comes to pulling guys and stuff. Larry believes in having his starters go deep or extend themselves beyond what the current norm is.

i just dont think pitch counts are that big. i mean, maddux threw 165 pitches when he was in his early 20's. didnt seem to hurt him much

[Dam8610]

For once, I'm actually glad to see that Prior is starting. This is a first, and probably also the last time it will happen as long as he plays for that other Chicago team.

[Rufio181]

get rid of hendry first.

baker actually gives a lot of the stuff over to Larry Rothschild when it comes to pulling guys and stuff. Larry believes in having his starters go deep or extend themselves beyond what the current norm is.

i just dont think pitch counts are that big. i mean, maddux threw 165 pitches when he was in his early 20's. didnt seem to hurt him much

Didn't pitchers throw alot more back in the day? (decades ago)

[rockin500]

maybe he should have stayed on the DL.

[McKain]

His velocity was at about 92 and his curve kind of sucked, so that explains a lot of it. He should have gotten another rehab start or two to get the speed up.

[rockin500]

His velocity was at about 92 and his curve kind of sucked, so that explains a lot of it. He should have gotten another rehab start or two to get the speed up.

well, 92 is faster than anything he did in the minors. he actually touched 94 on the gun twice. I think prior made the decision to come back when he did. a player has the right to decide when he wants to end his rehab.

didnt help that the wind was blowing out at like 25 mph, but he had little command, so who knew.

[Rufio181]

So much for a debut.

[redsfan28]

I think he shoulda made another rehab start or two.

[awefullspellare]

Well well well... things just don't get any better. Hopefully he can pick his game up.