Kerry Wood Returns

Posted by cubs223425

Recently, we have seen a few deals go down with the Cubs. Carlos Pena was brought in to fill the 1B void, as I had suggested from the get-go (hooray for occasionally correct predictions!). Rumors about a Chris Davis deal were out there, but it was not meant to be (I didn’t want to trade Chirinos for him right after getting Pena anyway). Carlos Zambrano was mentioned in trade speculations to the Yankees (PLEASE take him!). Mark Prior was–in the saddest news since his last injury–inked to a deal with the Yankees (I seriously let out a Darth Vader, “NOOOOOOOOOO,” when I saw that). Then there was the best news of all: Kerry Wood has returned to Chicago.

Woody's back!!!

Following a two-year hiatus in Cleveland and New York, Wood is back. His contract was a little bit quizzical, though. He only got $1.5 million with some incentives, which showed–like the Cliff Lee signing, but to a greater extent–that who he played for superseded what he played for (in terms of dollars, at least). Still, there have been some crazy contracts given to relievers in the last couple of offseasons (Brandon Lyon, anyone?), so that he could only manage a base salary of $1.5 million from the Cubs almost seems exploitative on the part of the team. Regardless, seeing him take the mound for the Cubs again will be awesome.

After a horrendous start to the 2010 season, Wood was (also sadly, seconded only by Mark Prior) sent to the Yankees. Despite that, Wood pitched like the man he was setting up–Mariano Rivera–by putting up a sparkling 0.69 ERA over26 innings, in which he allowed just one home run and struck out 31. That led to a horrifying spectacular 625 ERA+ (seriously, what?!). As a whole, the season was actually rather ho-hum, due to the fact that his Cleveland stint involved a 6.30 ERA. Over all of 2010, that ERA+ drops all the way to 133, and that 0.69 ERA inflates to 3.13, a tad higher than you would want to see from your setup man. And, of course, durability might be an issue.

Since saving 34 games in 66 1/3 innings for the Cubs in 2008, Wood has seen his inning drop to 55 in 2009 and 46 in 2010. Hopefully that is not a trend, because seeing Wood gleefully return to Chicago only to see him have the same injuries that plagued the start of his career would be an awful knife in the heart of a fan base that already had to deal with the passing of Ron Santo less than a month ago (R.I.P, Ronnie).

But I do not foresee that as the case. I am expecting a solid 50+ innings from Wood in 2011, which will probably involve 25-30 holds and a 2.85 ERA and a 10.5 K/9. Now I’m not one for predictions (I rarely make preseason WS picks, or even high-hoped divisional picks), but I feel pretty safe with that. The ERA might be on the low side, but as a setup man, rather than a closer, Wood will probably pitch to lefties less frequently, with Marshall picking up the lefty setup duties.

So, welcome back, Kerry. And, just a suggestion, if your annual charity bowling event happens, do Santo a solid and donate the money to diabetes research this year.

Back to the Future: Mark Prior

Posted by cubs223425

My procrastination occasionally causes me great stress. Then there are those occasional times that it benefits me. This time is the latter. I have been meaning to post another article on the 2011 1B option for the Cubs (and I will…eventually!), but I’ve been thinking about school and being lazy. Then, I saw that the Texas Rangers had signed Mark Prior. I knew immediately that the aforementioned Cubs article would have to wait (a bit more on that shortly).

So, I was set to start an article on the reappearance of Mark Prior. Of course, though, I was too lazy. I played Call of Duty. I managed my fantasy baseball teams. I banned TrueBlue (I’m sure there were cheers). Well, it all worked out in the end, because now that I shook off the apathy, I started this article on the perfect day.

If Prior can return to his dominant form and stay healthy out of the bullpen, he could possibly snag himself a deal with another big league club this offseason.

Why is today the perfect day? Because Mark Prior made his debut for the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the PCL (AAA) affiliate of the Texas Rangers last night. When I started following baseball, Prior was the guy I latched onto. He was my favorite player, and will always be, whether he comes back on a white stallion or flames out in the minors and gets hurt again. In his one inning of work, Prior threw 16 of his 28 pitches for strikes, allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out a pair of Omaha Royals (he lucked out of facing Mike Moustakas, thankfully). While the RedHawks ultimately lost 9-1, it was a rare occurrence where you could legitimately claim a moral victory.

Anybody who has followed baseball for more than a couple of years knows the story of Mark Prior. #2 pick (behind Joe Mauer). Can’t-miss prospect (leading to that record bonus; a record Stephen Strasburg broke last year). Savior of the Cubs. Well, it seemed to be that way back then.

Prior came onto the scene in Chicago in 2002, after making the AA and AAA hitters he faced to start the year look like children. He posted a  solid 3.32 ERA in 19 starts, good for a  122 ERA+. The following season, there was no minor league stop to make. It was his time, and everyone knew it.

Working off of his previous season’s success, Prior was a dominant ace for the Cubs, as they worked their way into the playoffs behind a deadly pitching staff (anchored by what was thought to be an unstoppable force of Carlos Zambrano, Prior, and Kerry Wood–plus Matt Clement and Shawn Estes). Even looking now, I wonder how he managed the numbers: 211 1/3 IP, 18-6, 2.43 ERA, 1.103 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 4.9 K/BB, 179 ERA+*

*Looking into the 2003 Cy Young voting, I saw Prior finished 3rd. Who won that year? Eric Gagne, and his 337 ERA+, 337! Seriously, what happened to him? You don’t forget how to pitch like that.

Of course, if you know the success, you know the failure. No need to go through the stats, but here’s basically how it went:

Steve Bartman robbed Moises Alou of a catch (that he said he couldn’t get, then said he could). Prior and the Cubs imploded in Game 6 after that, then in Game 7. The Florida Marlins won the World Series, one that Chicago could have gotten if they went into a matchup with the New York Yankees with Prior, Wood, and Zambrano. Then the injuries came.

Honestly, I was too young to remember it all. It was just a constant, depressing blur. The shoulder went. Prior came back. It went again. There was the collision that started it all. There was a liner off of his elbow–the one thing I can still vividly remember; seeing it slam off his elbow. Watching Aramis Ramirez dive into foul territory to make the catch (yeah, he was hit so hard he produced a line out in foul territory to third). Knowing he was gone for a LONG time (even someone as young as I was knew elbows don’t survive that).

This was my guy. I followed him almost religiously. He was my first baseball jersey. Heck, he was baseball to me. I watched all of this, and I didn’t wonder if the baseball gods hated him. I wondered if they hated ME.

He made a few attempts to come back in Chicago, but he kept ending up under the knife. Over. And over. And over. Eventually, the magic was gone, and Prior was, too. He made a couple of attempts with the San Diego Padres, but to the same disastrous ends. But he got an indie league to sign him this season.

Prior made a few appearances, totaling 11 innings. He struck out 22 of the 44 batters he faced. His fastball sat in the 90-92 range, close to what he typically threw pre-injuries (according to him; I was too young to care for MPH when I watched him). Apparently, that domination was enough to convince Texas to take a chance. So far, so good.

Now, here we are, more than 9 years after Prior was Stephen Strasburg. He’s turning 30 tomorrow (September 7th), older than the 21 he was when he made his MLB debut, but nowhere near Jamie Moyer.

Sadly, though, he was signed a few days short of the postseason deadline, but that may be for the best. He can finish up the AAA season and throw some side sessions, all at his own pace. Then, next year, he can show up to Spring Training with the chance to earn a roster spot.

He said himself he doesn’t care about where he gets slotted. Of course, he’s not going to be made a starter (maybe in a year or so, he could, but unlikely). He talks of taking a middle reliever’s job, hoping to be given an occasional 8th inning job. Who know? Maybe he can follow in his former rotation-mate Kerry Wood’s footsteps and become a closer.

But no matter what happens, I’ll still be here–awaiting this rehab as eagerly as the first.