X Mark's his spot

It was a must-see event, kind of like a new episode of ‘Chappelle’s Show’ or a Mike Tyson press conference. Every fifth day, with those high blue socks, that crispy clean uniform and a stare that would make Mona Lisa look away, Mark Prior took the hill for the Chicago Cubs. Equipped with his mid 90’s mph fastball, a knee shattering breaking ball and the intensity of a middle linebacker, MP-22 was nearly uthnhittable when he was on. He was Mike Mussina with a fastball, Bartolo Colon with a curveball, Kerry Wood without the arm injuries. Or so we all thought.

After being the second overall pick of the 2001 draft, Prior made his debut for the North-Siders a year later at the age of 21. In 19 starts that year, he went 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA, quite good for a rookie. But the next year was when he went from a face card to an ace. In 2003, Prior went 18-6, leading the Cubs to the NL Central Division title. He finished second in the NL in wins, third in ERA (2.43), second in strikeouts per nine innings (10.4), and second in total K’s (245). He was chosen for the All-Star game (he didn’t pitch due to injury) and finished third in the Cy Young voting. And he did this while missing five starts due to shoulder stiffness, which occurred when Prior was avoiding a fielder while running the bases.



After Mark came back from that injury, he couldn’t be touched. From August 5, 2003, the day he came off the DL, until the end of the regular season, Prior went 10-1 and allowed a total of 14 earned runs in those 11 starts. The blaze continued into the postseason, where Prior pitched a complete game two-hit shutout in game three of the NLDS versus Atlanta, followed by a seven inning, two run performance in game two of the NLCS versus Florida. Both games resulted in Cubs wins, and on October 14, six days after he had last pitched, Prior got the ball again in the playoffs. This time it was game six of the NLCS, and if he got one more win, the Cubs would head to the World Series.

Before you read the traumatic sentences that follow, know this: In Prior’s 13 starts since he came off the DL, he had thrown more then 100 pitches in all but one of them. In game two against Florida, with the Cubs leading 8-0 after the third inning, manager Dusty Baker still had Prior pitch until the seventh inning, throwing 116 pitches.

Everything was going perfect. Through seven innings versus the Marlins, Prior had only allowed three hits and no runs. Six outs away from the pennant that had evaded the Cubs since the end of World War II. Pinch hitter Mike Mordecai flew out. Five outs. Then a Juan Pierre double. Luis Castillo steps up to the plate. Ball, strike, wild pitch, cough foul ball cough, ball, ball. Then a single, an error, and a bases loaded double by who else, current Cub Derek Lee. And with that, Prior’s night, season, and as it turned out, career was over.

The next March, MP showed up to Spring Training with an injury to his right Achilles tendon. He also suffered from elbow soreness on his left (non-pitching) elbow. That forced him to miss 13 starts in 2004. A year later, he missed his first start of the season because of more elbow problems. Then at the end of May he was on the wrong end of a line drive that forced him to miss another month of the season.

Now were in 2006. After missing the Cubs’ first 67 games due to a right shoulder strain, Prior returned yesterday. And after three and two-thirds innings, seven runs and four homers, he was gone again.

Nobody knows if Mark Prior will ever regain the form he had in 2003. Will he ever be able to mow down hitters again? Will he ever be able to go an entire season without some type of injury? Will his success come in a Chicago Cubs uniform? I don’t have any clue. All I have is memories, of a better time for Mark Prior and the Cubs.

VENDING UPDATE

Never before had I seen so many out-of-town fans as I did this weekend when the Tigers invaded Wrigley. It seemed like everywhere you turned, there was somebody with some sort of orange and blue. Usually there are a bunch of Brewers and Cardinals fans when those teams come to town, but they are more laid back. Last season when the Red Sox came to the Chi there were a lot of New Englanders here, but because they now have a championship ring, they can sit back, relax, and just watch the game. But these Tigers fans were loud and in full force.

Anyways, I did all right this weekend. Correction- I did amazing on Saturday and below average on Friday and Sunday. On Friday I took jumbo hot dogs, but it was just too hot (88 degrees plus the humidity, so it was more like 100), and I only made $103.45. But on Saturday, in the same weather conditions, it all worked out. Because on Saturday’s there are fewer vendors, I was able to move up on the totem pole and get bottled water. And as you can imagine, on a 100 degree afternoon, nice quality H2O does great. I sold 13 loads (24 bottles to a load), and along with the 80 bucks in tips, and I made a total of $217.28, my best game of the season. The good thing about water is that it’s three dollars even, so I don’t have to carry quarters or do tricky math when somebody orders a strange number. Sunday I was tired, it was drizzling, and I was back down on the pole, so I decided for a break and went with peanuts. It wasn’t very good ($84.59), but I’ll take it. I made some nice throws, and I saw one of the most famous E-Town alums, Jeremy Piven. Oh, and the Cubs lost all three games.