Kerry Wood turned in a perfect inning Monday in his first appearance of the spring.
He struck out one. The Cubs will want to be very careful with Wood at the begining of the year, so throwing him right into the closer's role probably isn't going to be an option. Still, if he can stay healthy, it'd be a surprise if he didn't overtake Ryan Dempster later on.
Mark Prior gave up three runs and four hits in 1 1/3 innings Monday against the Mariners in his spring debut. He walked two and struck out none.
Prior just couldn't keep his pitches down today and paid the price. As long as he didn't feel any soreness, it still has to be considered a positive first step. However, the Cubs aren't going to hand him a rotation spot if he struggles all month.
Felix Pie went 3-for-5 and scored two runs as the Cubs' leadoff hitter Monday in a 6-5 win over the Mariners.
Pie is 5-for-10 with two stolen bases. With the Alfonso Soriano-to-center field experiment off to a good start, it's unlikely that Pie will make the Cubs out of spring training. Maybe, if he keeps this up, there's a chance the Cubs will once again explore the market for Jacque Jones.
Mark Prior admitted he wasn't finishing his pitches while getting roughed up by the Mariners on Monday, but he said after the game that his arm felt good.
"The most important thing for me is this is the first time in almost 2 1/2 years I wasn't more worried about my arm than facing batters," he said. Unfortunately, Prior was only topping out at around 87 mph today. He'll throw harder than that once he gets some more work in, but the dominant Prior of old isn't likely to make an appearance anytime soon.