Prior Arrangements

by Al Yellon on Feb 21, 2006 9:47 AM CST in Chicago Cubs News

This Baseball Prospectus article by Will Carroll has the Cublogosphere in a tizzy today.

I say, relax.

Will Carroll's report is an unattributed, unsubstantiated rumor. And, considering the breathless diaries that have been posted here on this topic, it seems that everyone wants to believe that this is just one more "lie" told by Jim Hendry and the coaching staff.

Ask yourself this: what purpose would that serve? Prior himself has admitted that he had a flu bug over the winter that made him "weak and sick", which is the terminology used by the BP report.

So what? There is absolutely no evidence that he has any physical problems; doing the towel drill, which is a feature of Larry Rothschild's regime, means absolutely nothing.

Getting all excited about this, nine days before the first spring game and twelve or thirteen days before Prior is supposed to make his first Cactus League appearance, is only going to give you unnecessary migraines and stomach trouble.

I say again, relax. Prior wasn't scheduled to throw off a mound for another couple of days, anyway. If that doesn't happen, sure, go ahead and ask more questions. But to throw out accusations that they are "obfuscating" because "ticket sales for single games [are] starting Friday", as Chuck did, to my mind is stirring the pot for no reason other than ... well, there's no reason, actually.

I get made fun of when I say this, but I'm saying it again anyway.

Patience.

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subject

"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.

by tomas21 on Feb 21, 2006 9:58 AM CST reply actions

JMan

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.

by jman on Feb 21, 2006 10:05 AM CST reply actions

I agree...

if Prior is hurt in spring training like in the past, it is not going to stop me or many other people from buying tickets.

Cubbie Blue always sPaRkLes in my eyes.

by sparkles721 on Feb 21, 2006 10:12 AM CST up reply actions

Expectations...

have a strong affect on ticket sales. Part of the reason the Cubs have been setting attendance records the last few seasons is that they have been expected to do well. The White Sox will probably break their own attendance record this year because of the expectations that come with a World Series title. When a team is doing well, it changes the potential market for the team from die-hard fans of that team to include people moderately interested in the team, people who want to be at "the place to be" that summer, and unaligned baseball fans just looking to watch a quality team play.

The reason a Prior injury would affect ticket sales is it would have a big impact on expectations. How many previews of the Cubs 2004, 2005, or 2006 seasons have not mentioned the degree to which this team relies on its starting pitching to carry it? Personally, i haven't found many. Usually, when talking about the Cubs chances in 2006, the first words out of someone's mouth/keyboard are something along the lines of "If Wood and Prior are healthy..."

Its simple: if Prior did have an injury (i'm not saying he does), then there would be a huge incentive to delay announcement until after ticket sales start this week. Otherwise, the team risks ruining expectations and the corresponding ticket sales.

By the way, regardless of the team's "expectations" for the upcoming year, i plan to make the 3 hour trek from State College to Pittsburgh in mid-April to see them play the Buccos. So I won't be affected by expectations. I'm sure most of the people here won't, either. But you're the die-hard fans that will show up no matter what. Expectations only affect the fair-weather fans.

The Cubs will thrive in twenty-oh-five... or sometime thereafter!

by Shawn Domagal-Goldman on Feb 21, 2006 11:47 AM CST up reply actions

Sources?

Well we will find out won't we? Ironically Baseball Prospectus says that Wood is also on track.

As for Prior the next 3 weeks will be telling won't they? The AZ press has no inkling however.

Bill Veeck planted Ivy during 'The Depression', and over time the Ivy Walls has become the most distinct symbol of Wrigley Field.

by Ivy Walls on Feb 21, 2006 10:08 AM CST reply actions

You're right about one thing

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.

Hey-Dawson backwards is Noswad!---Harry Caray

by cubbiejulie on Feb 21, 2006 10:14 AM CST reply actions

Oops

"Prior migraine"

Hey-Dawson backwards is Noswad!---Harry Caray

by cubbiejulie on Feb 21, 2006 10:15 AM CST up reply actions

What is most interesting, of course, is...

... that Prior had no apparent ill effects after he returned from the broken elbow last year. Yes, it's true he didn't throw all that well in many starts, but the key is that he didn't miss any.

I don't see how shoulder trouble could have come up over a winter of inactivity, particularly if he had a bad flu for a couple of weeks.

Instead of panicking and rumormongering, why not wait to see what he actually does?

by Al Yellon on Feb 21, 2006 10:18 AM CST up reply actions

Where's the fun in that, Al?

We've been rumor-mongering all winter. . . why stop now? Gotta do something until the season starts.

;)

BTW--I walked by Channel 7 on the way to Potbelly yesterday. Nice new digs!

Hey-Dawson backwards is Noswad!---Harry Caray

by cubbiejulie on Feb 21, 2006 10:19 AM CST up reply actions

Oh, just you wait...

... till the barricades come down! It's very cool looking.

Target date is early April.

by Al Yellon on Feb 21, 2006 10:27 AM CST up reply actions

Saw the new digs

i walked by the new Channel 7 "store-front" as well. looks pretty sweet!!

Isn't this the 2nd year we've been hearing about shoulder trouble? No matter what we're going to find out how healthy he really is in the next few weeks. Worrying about it or trying to read-between-the-lines just seems like a waste of time.

by jman on Feb 21, 2006 10:28 AM CST up reply actions

No...

... last year it was elbow trouble.

by Al Yellon on Feb 21, 2006 10:46 AM CST up reply actions

And

achilles trouble. . .

Hey-Dawson backwards is Noswad!---Harry Caray

by cubbiejulie on Feb 21, 2006 11:39 AM CST up reply actions

or

elbow trouble that was "creatively expressed" as achilles trouble. :)

by gaius marius on Feb 21, 2006 12:01 PM CST up reply actions

That's what I meant

n/t

Hey-Dawson backwards is Noswad!---Harry Caray

by cubbiejulie on Feb 21, 2006 12:11 PM CST up reply actions

of course it's

really getting into the tea leaves to discern this stuff, but

it's true he didn't throw all that well in many starts, but the key is that he didn't miss any.

a lot of pitchers throw with pain that will require drastic measures to remediate -- a la wade miller 2005. prior's relative ineffectiveness last year might have been onset symptoms -- but this is speculative, of course.

by gaius marius on Feb 21, 2006 11:03 AM CST up reply actions

I already waited all of winter...

I think I can wait a little longer.

Cubbie Blue always sPaRkLes in my eyes.

by sparkles721 on Feb 21, 2006 10:18 AM CST reply actions

I played football...

...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.

"Bite my shiny metal ass!" -- Bender Bending Rodriguez

by The Jade Scorpion on Feb 21, 2006 10:41 AM CST reply actions

In one of the other....

...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...

by Santos L Halper on Feb 21, 2006 10:43 AM CST reply actions

could be

but i would also posit that the fact that the team feels he needs this special treatment is clearly not a good thing -- nor is it likely that delaying his startup by a few weeks will fix anything. it just means he'll start feeling pain a bit later than he would have.

by gaius marius on Feb 21, 2006 11:05 AM CST up reply actions

I read somewhere that it was

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

"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" -Homer J. Simpson

by Whitebacon on Feb 21, 2006 10:45 AM CST reply actions

Pharyngitis

A bout with pharyngitis in late December led Mark Prior to an emergency room and subsequently delayed his throwing program this spring.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-0602190189feb19,1,1152058.story?coll =cs-baseball-print
----

Complications of pharyngitis
The possible complications of strep throat include rheumatic fever, kidney inflammation, chorea, bacteremia (bloodstream infection) and, rarely, streptococcal shock syndrome
In some severe forms of pharyngitis (e.g., severe mononucleosis-pharyngitis) the airway may become blocked.
Peritonsillar abscess or retropharyngeal abscess are possible.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000655.htm
---
I'm guessing he had a bad case if he had to go to the emergency room.

Visit The Cub Reporter!

by RobG @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Feb 21, 2006 2:06 PM CST up reply actions

Pharyngitis is no phun

Several years ago I came down with a case of pharyngitis (interestingly just after I had visited an Eye/Ear/Nose & Throat doctor's crowded office). I heard someone on sports radio mock Prior saying it was simply a sore throat. Well when I had pharyngitis it included a sore throat, but it was the absolutely worst sore throat I've ever had.

Having been there with pharyngitis, if Prior is slowed from battling pharyngitis then I certainly understand that.

by DrCrawdad on Feb 21, 2006 9:30 PM CST up reply actions

Both Sides

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

KSUCubbie

by ksucubbie on Feb 21, 2006 11:20 AM CST reply actions

very true

it's rather like how events in the old soviet kremlin had to be divined by augury because they never told the truth about anything.

still, applying a little kremlinology to this effort to quiet the restless natives is not promising -- nowhere did hendry actually bother to say that prior is in perfect health, which stinks of plausible deniability.

by gaius marius on Feb 21, 2006 11:35 AM CST up reply actions

When

is Prior's contract up?

A moment of silence please for the departure of Jose F. Masuckus!!

by Jimmy on Feb 21, 2006 12:02 PM CST reply actions

Prior...

... is eligible for free agency in 2008.

Until then he is Cubs property, eligible for arbitration, of course.

by Al Yellon on Feb 21, 2006 1:00 PM CST up reply actions

This is random...

but I wish I could write a paper about Prior or the Cubs or anyone in baseball.

I'm trying to do an outline for a paper and I can't do it. I can't think. I just sit and stare at the screen, but I'm going to keep trying to do it.

Cubbie Blue always sPaRkLes in my eyes.

by sparkles721 on Feb 21, 2006 12:04 PM CST reply actions

A few comments

Last year, when this exact subject came up, I got several people mad at me for inferring that the Cubs were being less than honest about Prior and Wood's health. I do believe that history proved me correct. I don't know what Prior's situation. I don't know why the Cubs would be compelled to be less than honest. All that I do know is that it has APPEARED in the past that the Cubs have been less than honest about various player's health. If you want to preach patience, that's fine, just don't get mad at people who do not believe the Cubs when it comes to injuries. They lack a lot of creadibility.

As far as elbow injuries, we shouldn't make the mistake that just because Prior didn't miss starts aside from the achillies stuff and the line shot off his arm that Prior doesn't have elbow problems. As I've said before, there are some who speculate that Prior's diminished effectiveness since 2003 is a result of injury. Some scouts have speculated that Prior's problems locating his pitches are a result of some type of elbow problem.

Bottom line: I hope the Cubs, behind the scenes are dealing with all of this. I just shudder at the thought that they may be responsible for ruining two "once in a generation" arms.

DmL

by dmlichte on Feb 21, 2006 1:17 PM CST reply actions

Right on DmL

Everything you said was correct.

Your line about "ruining two 'once in a generation' arms" is really scary. Since the NLCS in 2003 things could not have gone much worse for this franchise. Counting on Wood and Prior for a third straight year will be this franchises downfall this season.

I don't have patience for an organization that is "less than honest" with the media and fans regarding the health of their franchise pitchers. I reserve patience for children and people that I trust. I have no reason to trust the Chicago NL ballclub.

by ccd on Feb 21, 2006 1:27 PM CST up reply actions

"I don't have patience...

...for an organization that is "less than honest" with the media and fans regarding the health of their franchise pitchers. I reserve patience for children and people that I trust."

Then you must absolutely DESPISE the NFL and the NHL. Football and hockey (especially during playoff time) are way more reticent about giving accurate information regarding player health than MLB.

by Santos L Halper on Feb 21, 2006 1:55 PM CST up reply actions

Hardly

In the NFL teams are required to list every player's status for the upcoming game. Baseball has no such requirements.

by jolietconvict on Feb 21, 2006 2:17 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah..

...and the teams get fined for lying on their injury reports. So, what winds up happening is that everyone who has anything from a hangnail to a potentially torn ACL is listed as either "questionable" or "doubtful". The grey area there is absolutely immense.

by Santos L Halper on Feb 21, 2006 2:50 PM CST up reply actions

Excellent point

Tom Brady is the example of this from last season. He wasn't on the injury list until maybe the last two weeks when he was listed as "probable" with a shoulder injury. He made all starts and two starts during the playoffs. Turns out he was playing with a sports hernia (whatever that is, but it sounds painful) since about October.

And anyone who plays fantasy football can tell you how much NFL injury reports are worth: not a damn thing.

by gauchodirk on Feb 21, 2006 3:55 PM CST up reply actions

I do despise the NFL and NHL

You are correct sir.

by ccd on Feb 21, 2006 2:23 PM CST up reply actions

CCD...

is it just me and the fact that I have seen you do this twice today, but do you call the Cubs the Chicago NL ballclub a lot? Or is it just when you get mad at them kind of like when parents get mad at their kids they call them by their full names? :)

Cubbie Blue always sPaRkLes in my eyes.

by sparkles721 on Feb 21, 2006 3:57 PM CST up reply actions

Sparkles

I didn't realize I did this twice today. Maybe it's something I did because I'm upset, but it wasn't intended.

by ccd on Feb 21, 2006 4:04 PM CST up reply actions

Oh ok...

that's what I thought.

Cubbie Blue always sPaRkLes in my eyes.

by sparkles721 on Feb 21, 2006 4:21 PM CST up reply actions

And

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.

Visit The Cub Reporter!

by RobG @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Feb 21, 2006 2:10 PM CST reply actions

yup...

Hendry's comment make me feel a lot better. Not talking about the health of Prior's arm is one thing, flat out denying rumors that there is trouble brewing is a whole different ballgame.

The Cubs will thrive in twenty-oh-five... or sometime thereafter!

by Shawn Domagal-Goldman on Feb 21, 2006 2:34 PM CST up reply actions

Will Carroll responds to the response

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

by jman on Feb 21, 2006 3:18 PM CST reply actions

Based on the way I read that...

... his "disclaimer" wasn't in that post, it was in the original BP report:

If you read the original report, you'll notice that I give all sides of the story and disclaim it so heavily that I should have included a couple grains of salt with the column.

Now, I only saw the truncated version (I don't have a BP subscription) -- does anyone else see where he disclaimed it?

In any case, Will ought to know better, because this is a sore-spot topic, given, as many of you have said, the past history of untruths about Cub pitchers. He should have known this would inflame the blogosphere. Now he retracts?

It appears to be tempest-in-a-teapot. But we shall see.

by Al Yellon on Feb 21, 2006 3:24 PM CST up reply actions

I meant the BP report

I don't have a subscription either so I was just wondering if it was disclaimed below the truncated portion or not. Sorry I suppose I didn't really indicate that in my post...didnt mean to confuse anyone or sound bitter.

by jman on Feb 21, 2006 3:37 PM CST up reply actions

i think

if you're going to quote unnamed sources in reporting a highly charged topic, you should be willing to stand behind what those sources say once the poop hits the fan.

"Reliable sources--the same ones that tipped us early to Mark Prior's Achilles problem--now tell us that Prior is having shoulder problems. The Cubs deny this and point to Prior's work on the mound. Prior was doing towel drills on Saturday, but this is the same type of work he was doing last year when there was a problem. According to our best sources in Mesa, Prior looks "weak and sick." Until he throws, we just won't know, though I'd like to believe Larry Rothschild."

That's hardly disclaiming the rumor heavily, in fact he's not disclaiming it at all--if anything he's trying to validate it as much as possible by saying how much stock he puts in his source.

He also says that people are making much more of this than it is--first, how is that possible since an injured prior would likely remove hat chance we have of contending, and second, what did he think was going to happen?

This is crappy--he's backpedalling from his original statements and taking shots at the cubs at teh same time.

by tomas21 on Feb 21, 2006 3:47 PM CST up reply actions

only if

if you're going to quote unnamed sources in reporting a highly charged topic, you should be willing to stand behind what those sources say once the poop hits the fan.

your sources stand behind it. now that the poop has hit the fan, it would hardly be unprecedented for sources, under pressure from above, to recant on their stories (honestly or not).

that said -- carroll isn't backing off anything here that i can see. indeed, he doesn't have any need to. he simply repeated a report from a source that prior is hurt. the histrionics that followed are not his doing.

and he's right to say he disclaimed it -- his lead words are, "You can't have spring training anymore without pitcher problems or at least rumors of said problems. Those usually start with the Cubs, and this year is no different." that's a pretty significant deflator.

by gaius marius on Feb 22, 2006 11:46 AM CST up reply actions

ASDGL;KNB NTWPIERJHGBGHN!!!!!

Pardon my broken english - i had a hook in my mouth. I think that covers it...

The Cubs will thrive in twenty-oh-five... or sometime thereafter!

by Shawn Domagal-Goldman on Feb 21, 2006 8:41 PM CST up reply actions

it's all over

the bit i saw.

You can't have spring training anymore without pitcher problems or at least rumors of said problems. Those usually start with the Cubs, and this year is no different. Reliable sources--the same ones that tipped us early to Mark Prior's Achilles problem--now tell us that Prior is having shoulder problems. The Cubs deny this and point to Prior's work on the mound. Prior was doing towel drills on Saturday, but this is the same type of work he was doing last year when there was a problem. According to our best sources in Mesa, Prior looks "weak and sick." Until he throws, we just won't know, though I'd like to believe Larry Rothschild.

i boldfaced everything there that is a qualifier. it's most of his report.

by gaius marius on Feb 22, 2006 11:51 AM CST up reply actions

The last sentence...

... is, actually, the best qualifier. So if we just won't know, AND Carroll wants to believe Larry Rothschild, why stir the pot?

It sure got some attention for Will's BP site, didn't it?

by Al Yellon on Feb 22, 2006 2:09 PM CST up reply actions

every qualifier

is followed by a "but" or a validation of how reputable his sources are, which effectively eliminates the qualifying he did.

like saying, this could all be hogwash, but i've never been wrong before and i'm not likely to be wrong now.

by tomas21 on Feb 22, 2006 2:24 PM CST up reply actions

Obfuscating

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.

Players win awards but teams win championships.

by tharr on Feb 21, 2006 3:33 PM CST reply actions

I'll take one!

n/t

"Respect the game above all else." - Ryne Sandberg, July 31, 2005, Cooperstown, NY

by Tom @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Feb 21, 2006 3:58 PM CST up reply actions

why would your team...

be marketing crack?

by dc60123 @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Feb 21, 2006 4:08 PM CST up reply actions

good question,

from what i hear it pretty much markets itself

by blueisthecolor on Feb 23, 2006 3:34 PM CST up reply actions

Totally off topic

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

Hey-Dawson backwards is Noswad!---Harry Caray

by cubbiejulie on Feb 21, 2006 4:21 PM CST reply actions

Oh...

... that is priceless. Thanks!

by Al Yellon on Feb 21, 2006 4:31 PM CST up reply actions

No need...

Crack markets itself

by Blue Monster on Feb 21, 2006 4:24 PM CST reply actions

Hot off the MLB wire

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."

"Respect the game above all else." - Ryne Sandberg, July 31, 2005, Cooperstown, NY

by Tom @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Feb 21, 2006 4:54 PM CST reply actions

Lupus? Is it Lupus?

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.

by felixfelicis on Feb 22, 2006 12:16 AM CST reply actions

Let's just discuss

"Kremlinology." Or is that more appropriate for the "Red Reporter?"

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Feb 22, 2006 9:57 PM CST reply actions

more light

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".

by tomas21 on Feb 23, 2006 12:08 PM CST reply actions