Were you too terribly surprised by the news that the Cubs' Mark Prior would miss the entire 2007 season after having shoulder surgery? I wasn't. Now the big question is, will he ever play baseball again? Certainly, I believe his career with the Cubs is over. Will any other team want to take the chance on a player who has tons of talent but is so injury-prone that he has become more a liability than an asset?
The question I have is -- why wasn't this surgery done sooner? With the exception of an occasional start here and there, Prior has essentially missed the last three seasons, and he has landed on the DL at least once every season since he came up in 2002. I don't know if the decision to forgo surgery so long was Prior's decision or Cubs' management. But I wonder if the Cubs and their fans would be seeing a healthy Mark Prior on the mound this season if he had the surgery sooner.
This is just another example of how the Cubs, their trainers, or team doctors have mismanaged the health of their players. They've also done a fine job with Kerry Wood. As I wrote several weeks ago when the regular season began, it may be time to bid Prior and Wood farewell.
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