Tribune reports Prior is done for '07

[planet planet]

Hendry didn't know how long Prior would be out in a worst-case scenario.

"Med school isn't on my résumé," he said.

Hendry spoke to Prior over the weekend and said he was in good spirits. Prior left his first extended spring training outing April 12 after only two innings, leading to exams by Dr. Lewis Yocum and then Andrews.

Prior, who has never had surgery, visited Andrews in October and was told he had genetic looseness in his shoulder joints.

"That looseness is what makes Mark the great pitcher he is, but the other side of the coin is that looseness can cause problems," trainer Mark O'Neal said then. "There is surgery that can do something for this. The problem with that surgery is the outcome is very unpredictable, and that would be your last resort."

Seven months later, the "last resort" has arrived.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... &cset=true


Regardless of the resuts of the surgery, you do realize that with genetic looseness he will always have these problems. Sounds like the end of a career here. A pitcher with a genetic defect in his arm?

I hope I don't have genetic looseness.

[Hungary Jack]

Hendry didn't know how long Prior would be out in a worst-case scenario.

"Med school isn't on my résumé," he said.

Hendry spoke to Prior over the weekend and said he was in good spirits. Prior left his first extended spring training outing April 12 after only two innings, leading to exams by Dr. Lewis Yocum and then Andrews.

Prior, who has never had surgery, visited Andrews in October and was told he had genetic looseness in his shoulder joints.

"That looseness is what makes Mark the great pitcher he is, but the other side of the coin is that looseness can cause problems," trainer Mark O'Neal said then. "There is surgery that can do something for this. The problem with that surgery is the outcome is very unpredictable, and that would be your last resort."

Seven months later, the "last resort" has arrived.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... &cset=true


Regardless of the resuts of the surgery, you do realize that with genetic looseness he will always have these problems. Sounds like the end of a career here. A pitcher with a genetic defect in his arm?

The spin control on this sets a new standard for absurdity.

First, the "genetic looseness" diagnosis, which was the first ever such diagnosis in the history of orthopaedic medecine. WTF does that mean, and what are the risks going forward?

Hendry's "med school" comment is a classic avoidance, which is scary since he's the one investing Cub money. Probably explains why it took him 2 years to see a cardiologist to get an angioplasty.

The Mark O'Neal says that the thing that made Prior great also made him susceptible to injury. If that's not trying to CYA with a pile of BS then I'm the Sultan of Swat, Swing, and Brunei. Then he adds "The problem with that surgery is the outcome is very unpredictable." Thanks for that wisdom. You must work for House, the brilliant misanthropic doctor on TV.

Prior could sue his employer for malpractice, gross negligence, and sheer idiocy. With any luck he'd get a jury trial and the Cubs would settle for terms similar to Zito's contract with the Giants.

Thank you and have a nice day.

[ndistops]

Hendry didn't know how long Prior would be out in a worst-case scenario.

"Med school isn't on my résumé," he said.

Hendry spoke to Prior over the weekend and said he was in good spirits. Prior left his first extended spring training outing April 12 after only two innings, leading to exams by Dr. Lewis Yocum and then Andrews.

Prior, who has never had surgery, visited Andrews in October and was told he had genetic looseness in his shoulder joints.

"That looseness is what makes Mark the great pitcher he is, but the other side of the coin is that looseness can cause problems," trainer Mark O'Neal said then. "There is surgery that can do something for this. The problem with that surgery is the outcome is very unpredictable, and that would be your last resort."

Seven months later, the "last resort" has arrived.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... &cset=true


Regardless of the resuts of the surgery, you do realize that with genetic looseness he will always have these problems. Sounds like the end of a career here. A pitcher with a genetic defect in his arm?

I hope I don't have genetic looseness.

[mikechamp]

More from Will Carroll, courtesy of an ESPN chat:
==============

Will, just wondering if you had any inside info. Prior was supposed to have the perfect mechanics and training program to prevent the injuries he has just had surgery for. I was wondering if the Cubs are saying the injuries are a result of overuse (thanks Dusty!) or did they identify a structural defect such as a hooked acromion that caused the excessive fraying? Also, what do you project for the rest of his career? While Andrews described it as non-career threatening this certainly does not bode well for a major league pitcher.

Will Carroll
Ah, a Mark Prior question - who knew? I covered this one in depth over at Baseball Prospectus over the past two days, so I'll point you there for details. Essentially, Prior came out with a decent shot at a career. A source told me that everything seen in the shoulder was overuse and that it was very comparable to Chris Carpenter. I think that comp is the upside. I'm not saying Prior can or even will come back, but that there's a better possibility than most. As for his mechanics, think how bad this might have been if his mechanics were worse!

[fulldeck]

I don't really don't like that comparison.

[skmsw]

It is stunning to me that:

there is physical evidence in his shoulder that the problem was caused by overuse;

that he threw 107 pitches per start in 19 starts at age 21, and 113 pitches per start at age 22, in 30 regular season starts and some 240 IP including the post season;

that his arm has been sore since 2003, and the onset of the injury can be timed back to then;

and yet there is still no clear consensus among baseball management on the risks of pitcher workloads for pitchers under the age of 25.

I'm not saying that Prior (one example) proves anything systematic. But here we have one anecdotal case example in which we can SEE, conclusively with both physical and statistical/performance evidence, that a heavy workload caused pain, ineffectiveness, and continuing wear-and-tear that persisted beyond the excessive work. Anecdotal only, but almost word for word the definition of Steverino's Axiom of Young Pitcher Workloads.

[GatewaySnayke]

I think the Mariners have handled Felix Hernandez brilliantly. Let's hope they don't find this and wear down a promising arm.

[skmsw]

I think the Mariners have handled Felix Hernandez brilliantly. Let's hope they don't find this and wear down a promising arm.

LOL

110 pitches on April 2 at age 20, 111 pitches on April 11, then gone for the year.

Correlation does NOT equal causality, and the best-managed pitchers of any age can still get hurt.

But there is a relationship between injury risk, workload, and age.

[BW23]

I think best case scenario is that he ends up like Matt Morris was last year.

[GatewaySnayke]

I think best case scenario is that he ends up like Matt Morris was last year.

Good catch. I think I like that comparison more than the Carpenter one.