Already been posted.

Already been posted.

R.D.F.

Maybe Prior can pull an Ankiel. He could probably start in the outfield for the Pads right now.

This sucks. It's like Griffey's injuries after he was traded to Cincy. The tweaks and the twinges were inevitable--the jokes about the injuries' inevitability were inevitable, too--but knowing that it would happen never made it feel any better to see health problems sap away great talent. I know that Prior was pretty much done when he had shoulder surgery, but that doesn't stop me from rooting for him or from hoping he can put it all together for one more season or two.

Don't call it a setback... he's been here for years.

This is indeed all part of Prior's plan to rock his peers and put suckas in fear. I suspect their tears will ultimately rain down like a monsoon.

Repeat after me, Mark: "Would you like fries with that?"

Eyeballing Cot's, it looks like Prior is just a little south of $20M for his career. A second career in food service is probably not in the cards, unless he spent all these DL trips in Vegas.

"Would you like fries with that?"

Prior is a college graduate, which means he should be able to get a dead-end job in retail somewhere.

Fries? Retail? Why do today's kids always leap for the glamour of slinging burgers and selling pants? Don't rock bands need roadies anymore?

Happy Base Ball

This sucks. It's like Griffey's injuries after he was traded to Cincy.

Did Griffey have the same type of leg injuries as a Mariner that he has as a Red? I was under the impression that the injuries he's suffered from in Cincinnati were new, unexpected, and IMO more tragic (and recurrent ever since).

I recall he broke a wrist or something in Seattle crashing into a wall, but that's all I remember.

Argh! #6 beat me to it. I need to sleep less.

I think I should have learned about this earlier - apparently CBW did a Prior analysis (ha ha!) that I missed - but it's been fascinating reading Driveline Mechanics, who see Prior as basically the poster boy for elbow- and shoulder-shredding mechanics. (one example)

Tom House authored Prior's mechanics. Tom House said Prior's mechanics were perfect. People quoted Tom House.

the stories about Prior before his health went south on him about how sound his mechanics were!

I don't remember who wrote them

here's one from October 2003, which talks about "rare blend of perfect pitching mechanics and a mind-set to match."

I don't mean to pick on this particular USAToday writer, because everyone was saying the same thing at the time

I wonder if you could build one healthy pitcher out of the body parts of Carl Pavano, Mike Hampton, and Mark Prior? And then donate the rest to Mel Brooks for use in the sequel to Young Frankenstein?

but didn't prior have great mechanics? and didn't his problem start with getting hurt in an on-field collision? which screwed up one thing which screwed up other things and it went from there?

but didn't prior have great mechanics? and didn't his problem start with getting hurt in an on-field collision? which screwed up one thing which screwed up other things and it went from there?

The argument they make at Driveline is that Prior picked up his elbow in his delivery - as he wound up, his elbow topped out well above his shoulder - and this created great velocity as the arm sprung back but placed massive stress on both his elbow and shoulder.

I am not competent to evaluate their arguments, but that's the content of them, and it's fun to follow.

Tom House authored Prior's mechanics. Tom House said Prior's mechanics were perfect. People quoted Tom House.

Tom "White" House subsequently shaped the United States' Iraq policy.

I don't remember who wrote them but how can even a minority of people who are supposed to know better be so wrong so badly?

Perfect mechanics != perfect health

Hey, Kyle from Driveline Mechanics here. You can all read my writeup on Prior if you like, so I won't rehash it. However, there are a few points that are well-said in the comments here:

Perfect mechanics != perfect health

Never forget this. Just because someone has fundamentally sound mechanics, good timing, and good stuff, that doesn't mean he will hold up over the course of a long season. Even IF Mark Prior had better mechanics, the improper way in which he was handled by Dusty Baker could have led to serious injury regardless of his training. Strength and conditioning play a huge role in this, as well - pitchers who take offseason training seriously by strengthening their decelerator muscles and rotator cuff stand a better chance to hold up throughout the season.

but didn't prior have great mechanics? and didn't his problem start with getting hurt in an on-field collision? which screwed up one thing which screwed up other things and it went from there?

That's a false dichotomy. Mark Prior had poor mechanics to start with and it was compounded by freak accidents (Hawpe's line drive off his elbow, collision with Marcus Giles). You are correct, though - when you start changing one thing in your delivery to take the stress off of a constantly-hurting muscle/joint, you will soon find another part of your body hurting due to weaknesses. The loads endured by throwing a baseball hard enough to succeed at the MLB level are astronomical, and if there is a weak spot in your body, the kinetic chain will find it.