"what purpose would that serve?"
i'm not sure--the tickets going on sale could be a factor, but the cubs have been about as dishonest in reporting injuries to the pitchers the last couple years as any team on record. we don't know why, we just know that's who we're dealing with.

however, IF what the cubs say is true--that prior was behind in his off-season workouts due to the flue (which is possible), and that they attribute some of the problems of past springs to starting too fast, so they want to start slower (which is also possible--though if its the case maybe he needs a little more off-season work), then nothing we're seeing this spring is out of the ordinary. Further, the Cubs couldn't do anything to prove these unsubstantiated reports to be true without adjusting prior's spring regimen just to prove rumors wrong.

all we can do is wait and see. However, the Cubs can be pissed about all these rumors, but if they hadn't been so dishonest in the past, nobody would be paying attention to this rumor now.

I don't see how Prior having some injury would effect ticket sales.  It hasn't in the past and it won't in the future.  I would say the majority of fans buying tickets aren't doing so based on a player that appears in 30-32 games a year.  I think the conspiracy theories are getting a little bit out of control.

I do have a migraine. I'm calling this one the "Prior migranine," as opposed to the "Furcal migraine" or the "Tejada migraine."

Of course, if this is rumor turns out to be true, I have to blame Dusty for throwing Prior's arm off in 2003. Worst. . . manager. .  .ever.

...With the flu.  It had me tired all the time and sore for about two full weeks.  Although I do believe the Cubs are entirely capable of lying to our faces about injuries, I can attest to the problems Prior might be facing.

People tend to think "oh the flu - no big deal."  But let me tell you, it can be pretty incapacitating.  Even as a scrappy 18 year-old-kid, I had a hard time doing anything without feeling very sore and sleepy.  

It may indeed be more than the flu; but if it is just the flu, I can empathize with the delay in training.  It really does take a few weeks to get back to 100%.  If it is the flu, at least we know he'll be back to full strength by the start of the season, with plenty of warm-up throws along the way.

Let's hope that's all it is.

...rumor and innuendo filled diaries on this subject, I posted the following in response to gaius' suggestions that the way the Cubs are treating Prior indicates that:

a) the Cubs are very worried about Prior's shoulder; and

b) some folks' expectations regarding Prior's success this season should be significantly lowered.

Now, gaius could be right, but the Cubs' treatment of Prior thus far could ALSO be an indication that the organization is sick and tired of seeing a potential Cy Young award candidate miss the first month of the season because of injuries flairing up during spring training.  Prior proved that what the Cubs did last year didn't work for him...so they're trying things another way, letting him build slowly to a full pitching motion and taking their time before subjecting him to the rigors of throwing off a mound.  To be honest, I don't think this is necessairly a bad thing.  

I will stipulate that the Cubs are probably worried about Prior's elbow and/or shoulder...and they should be...

Just like they should be worried about EVERY pitcher on their staff's throwing elbow and shoulder!!!  

Gaius is right when he says that repeatedly pitching a baseball is an unnatural motion that puts tremendous stress on the joints of the arm.  So, doing everything they can to:

a) help mitigate that stress; and

b) better prepare their pitchers' individual bodies to deal with it;

seems to me to be a wise course of action for the Cubs to follow...

Strep.  Or pharyngitis, or some combination of the two.

As far as this whole thing goes there are good points everywhere- having the flu a few months ago sounds fishy- and coming from a club that has battled the terror of violent sneezes and internet chat rooming the last few years it only further raises speculation-    When its about a pitcher who we all want to finally become what he was meant to and who has had injury problems then we get the kind of frenzy weve seen.  Gauis and the people at 1060west who see us as people with  a "gem" of blind optimism." approach or simply someone like me who thinks that Prior pitched well at the end of the season and i dont see how he hurt his shoulder in the offseason- BUT MAINLY that all of us are FANS who are pretty far removed from the truth of the situation whatever it may be- some media ppl are talking about shoulder problems others in camp dispute it- we wont really know until Prior pitches a few times-   Im not too fond of Cub Nations sometimes morbid fascination with rumoring about our hurlers arms BUT if the Cubs would take a more honest approach to discussing when are guys are hurt it wouldnt give the consipracy folk so much ammo

Hendry flat out denied the BP.com rumor today.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-prior21.html

"I haven't seen any signs of him looking weak or sick,'' he said. "There is no controversy, no problems. There is nothing wrong with him.''

So either this is B.S. or Hendry just set himself up for a major PR nightmare.

Check out his blog.  Apparently we all may have misinterpreted what he wrote a slight bit.

Does anyone else see where he disclaims the report heavily?

http://thejuice.baseballtoaster.com/archives/322069.html

is the word of the day. I've seen it used twice already. Perhaps you better consider a spell checker if we are going to elevate our literate discussions to the next level.

In celebration I'm going to have a tee shirt made up saying "I don't want no more stinking obfuscation".
Orders are being accepted now by my crack marketing team.

But this is too funny not to share.

Who else hates those stupid Tribune commercials? Here's one just for Cubs fans:

http://www.theheckler.com/index.php?page=0000-DH-06-02-21&idrub=65&idsite=1&PHPSESSID=80 876ab5006029844050b330ab3d7376

Crack markets itself

Article on Prior from 4:09 Tuesday (MLB wire):

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2338480

Notable quotes:
"Slowed by a two-week throat infection this winter -- one that sent him to the emergency room -- his early regimen has been limited to throwing off flat ground and working on endurance."

"'I feel good. I felt good out there yesterday, and I expect to be on the mound here in a couple of days," he said. "My body feels good. I'm getting closer. It's a process to get ready for the season. It's not just show up and go to work. I don't feel sick and weak.'"

"Notes:@ A slimmed-down Aramis Ramirez, the Cubs' cleanup hitter and third baseman, said he still hasn't decided whether he will play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. But he's leaning toward staying with the Cubs all spring. Ramirez batted .302 with 31 homers and 92 RBIss a year ago despite missing the final month with a strained left quadriceps. "I want to play but, you know, we got to see what my health is first. I want to check with the doctors. I want to do some running and then decide whether I will go or not," Ramirez said."

Every Spring Training and every Cubs fan morphs into George Costanza.

If Prior throws off the mound at the end of the week, I want Will Carroll tarred and feathered.

Teddy Greenstein wrote an article today about Carrol and his Prior rumors.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-060222greenstein,1,5248992.column?coll= cs-home-headlines

among the things he said, i thought this quote was interesting:

"Fair enough, but Carroll's credibility came into question after he acknowledged Wednesday he didn't know the source in March 2004, when word of Prior's Achilles' tendon injury first surfaced. Carroll searched his personal archives before realizing he never had written about the Achilles injury before the public knew about it."

One thing is certain--Caroll has enjoyed a lot of traffic at his web site because of these "rumors".