Mark Prior, Was he sent to the minors? What is the story? Is he done?

Prior will be starting in the minors this year. Since 2003 he's been plagued with injuries. People who say that he is "injury prone" are incorrect in that statement.

A line drive was hit off of his elbow and then he later collided with Brian Giles in the base path which injured his shoulder. Those two incidents alone would be enough to end careers and they were out of his control.

The bottom line is that Prior may never again be that solid performer he was in 2002 and 2003. Its a shame but that's just how it goes sometimes. For those who say he has poor mechanics; that is incorrect. Any coach (who knows what the hell they are talking about) would tell you that he has very good mechanics.

It is not true that his fastball has not broke 85 mph, but it is true that he was sent down to the minors. The guy who said "bad mechanics took its toll on his arm" is WAY off. Mark Prior had (arguably) the best mechanics for any pitcher in the game just a few years ago, its just that he is injury prone, his body just cannot handle the grind of an MLB season or career. He has been pitching since he was a kid (6-8 yrs old) and has thrown literally BILLIONS of pitches in his lifetime, the throwing motion for a pitcher is not a natural motion and if you do not have your tendons in your shoulder built up enough you will continue to stay injured. Sometimes its just in the makeup of the person, maybe his shoulder or elbow doesnt have the physical makeup to stand it anymore. Fact is, Mark Prior is done for. I think all the injuries are taking a toll on his confidence as well, especially the one like last season when he looked to be healthy again (although he wasnt playing well he was pitching without pain) and then he gets a line drive off the elbow. Being a MLB pitcher just isnt in his cards, i dont see him ever returning to full effect.

Also, there are alot of new technologies in sports medicine but it does not defeat the fact that throwing is an unnatural motion and when you do it for 20 yrs it is going to take a toll on ur arm no matter what (guys who can throw forever w/o pain are 1 in a billion, like Scot Shields). You also have to remember that all this greaet science and technology isnt available to them until they get to college or sometimes even the majors, this means they are pitching for 11-14 years without all those advancements, the only doctor you see is your childhood physician who probably knows absolutely nothing about sports injuries and usually doctors are idiots in general. So by the time they are opened up to this new world of great medicine and great knowledge it is almost to late and sometimes it is to late, like Priors case.

Prior did reach the low 90's in his last spring outing. The problem with the former Cub phenom is between the ears. He is afraid to hurt himself or he is afraid of failure.

He and Kerry Wood were coddled for too long by Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker. They were allowed to sit down anytime they felt 'discomfort'.

It's a far cry from the days of the 4 man rotation and the days of Wilbur Wood pitching 300 innings in a season. They did it in the old days when there wasn't as much medical knowledge as there is today, so what is the problem? It is the kids gloves that they are being pampered with.

Hey bro, I'm a die hard cubs fan, so we're used to the prior talk. Prior isn't done. Prior hasn't pitched enough. Dusty Baker ruined prior and woods arms. Prior has been through freakish incidents. The line drive that fractures his arm, the baserunning incident. Prior just has had bad luck. Don't believe that 85 mph garbage, because its not true. He was throwing in the low 90's last start. He needs to pitch more innings in the minors and keep getting his elbow and shoulder stronger. I think if prior can't get it togther this year, he'll hang em up.

Yes, Mark Prior was sent to the minors. He has an arm problem and I think this minor league stint might give him a chance to resurrect his career. The Cubs should have done this a couple of years ago. I think he would be healthy now and now that the Cubs are contenders because of the offense it would be a great asset to have his arm in good condition. If there is a weakness for the Cubs is their lack of pitching .

Yeah, his fastball hasn't topped the mid 80s all spring and he was assigned to AAA baseball to start the year. Bad mechanics took a horrible toll on his arm and I doubt that he will ever get back to the form he was once in. The others you mentioned suffer from the same problem. The trainers and doctors can't fix a problem like that; its up to the coaches, but often times changing a pitchers mechanics sets them back a ways in the pitch control department.

Prior was good, but his mechanics are horrendous. Doctors fix medical problems, which he had, not baseball problems. BTW, his fastball has gone from about 92 mph to about 83, 84. Also his other pitches aren't that great either. His slider isn't breaking for him and his change-up just looks like a really slow fastball. This kid needs to worry about his mechanics before looking for a spot in the rotation. Medical issues probably set him back rhythm wise.

I think it was 89, his max in his last start. As for will he be back, I think being sent down will motivate him to becoming the pitcher he was. I did read something on yahoo sports about how his perfect mechanics might be the problem and unless he changes them he won't make it back. That being said, I do think he'll be back but probably not with the Cubs.

yes he was sent to the minors a couple of days ago.