Yardbarker: Mark Prior

Blogging the Offseason: San Diego Padres

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

Blogging the Offseason is a 30 team series in which I ask a blogging representative from each MLB team a series of ten questions about their desires and thoughts surrounding the offseason. Check out all of them here.

Today's team is the San Diego Padres and our guest is JBOX from the Padres Blog Gaslamp Ball.

1. I think this is the obvious question on everybody's mind, will the Padres trade Adrian Gonzalez? Do you think they should? Why?
I think the Padres should consider and be open to trading Adrian Gonzalez. Whether they should actually trade him or not depends on what they are offered in return. If they can trade their best player so that the overall team becomes better than they should.

2. Say the Padres do keep Gonzalez, he obviously needs some lineup protection, is there anyone on the market that you think the Padres will go after to fill that need?
I don't think the Padres have any intention of going after anyone at this point. They will live and die by the youth on the team that they already have. Kyle Blanks, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley will probably be the only protection that Adrian will get next season.

3. You've got a new GM in Jed Hoyer, former right hand man of Theo, what do you know about Jed and what do you think about the signing?
Honestly I don't know much about Hoyer at this point. The Padres are looking for someone to strategize and revamp the farm system apparently and they feel that Hoyer is the guy to do it.

4. Do you find it odd that the Sox have a standing offer with Kevin Towers to basically take Jed Hoyer's role? It's like you are flip flopping front office men.
It sounds like a good move by Boston. Towers has been doing so much with so little for so long that if he got a Boston budget to work with he'd be unstoppable!

5. Your starting rotation in April will be whom?
Chris Young, Mat Latos, Clayton Richard, Cesar Ramos, Sean Gallagher. I think Chris Young is really overrated though.

6. Will the Padres deal the Kouz or Headley or just try to find room for both?
I hope they trade one of them, preferably Kouzmanoff. For some reason everybody is so high on him right now because they put his glove in Cooperstown and he didn't suck as bad as he did in the first half of the season. Now is the time to trade him while his stock is up.

7. You've gassed your owner and have convinced him to spend like the Yankees, which three free agents do you sign?
As a Padres fan it's futile to study the free agent market. Why torture yourself looking at players that you will never acquire? If you force me to choose than I pick Mark Prior, he deserves a third chance. (ed. note solid choice)

8. Which Padre prospect yet to find himself in a game are you most looking forward to in 2010?
I think all of our Padres prospects are on the Major League Club right now. That was the goal last season, to get a look at as many young players as possible in the second half of the season.

9. I'm giving you the option to cut players without any salary repercussions, which Padres do you part way with?
That's a tough one because salary's barely an issue now. Brian Giles I guess. Is he still on the team?

10. Final Question, you've got a crystal ball, the San Diego Padres will make the playoffs in ________.
2011. New influx of money. No drama in the front office. 2011 we go all the way.

ArmAss Bites for 2009-11-02

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0500

@Razzball I'm a post-op fantasy football girl. Two more injections and I'll have a full on clitoris. Add me! in reply to Razzball # @sharapovasthigh did I ever tell you the story of my son being terrified of his Mark Prior figure? in reply to sharapovasthigh # http://twitpic.com/n52fx – # Chris Sabo : Glasses model :: Rihanna : [...]

Mark Prior Haunts My Children

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:38:42 -0500

So, for Christmas last year, my wife’s stepfather bought my oldest son a Todd MacFarlane Mark Prior figure since we’re both big Cubs fans and her stepfather’s not a big enough baseball fan to know that Prior is both no longer a Cub and a huge bust. It was a genuinely nice gesture all the [...]

Happy Birthday, Mark Prior

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:57:50 -0500

Happy birthday to Mark Prior, who turns 29 today. In 2003, at the age of 22, Prior threw 211 1/3 innings, with a 2.43 ERA, striking out 245 hitters, walking just 50, and allowing 15 homers. He was third in the Cy Young balloting, 9th in the MVP balloting, and looked like the guy who would be a dominant pitcher for the next decade. He threw 118 innings in 2004, 166 innings in 2005, 43 innings in 2006, and hasn't pitched in the majors since. In 2003, Prior averaged 113.3 pitche...

Is Mark Prior Done For Good?

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:46:47 -0500

In the tragic saga of former Cub wunderkind Mark Prior, today’s news, via MLBTR, may be the ending note. From MLB.com’s Corey Brock: Hearing the Padres will release RHP Mark Prior from his Minor League contract, possibly as soon as today. Hasn’t thrown since April. That’s really too bad. I loved Prior when he came to the Cubs. When he pitched, I had to watch. I called in to work twice so I could go watch him pitch. It was almost an obsession for me. That smooth m...

Mark Prior May be Done

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:58:13 -0500

Almost everyone already sort of knew that Mark Prior was done as a major league pitcher, and now apparently the last hold-outs, the San Diego Padres, have come to grips with this fact as well. “Hearing the Padres will release RHP Mark Prior from his Minor League contract, possibly as soon as today,” tweets Follow the [...]

Olney : Reyes Is The Mets’ Mark Prior

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:29:44 -0500

While we wait for Jose Reyes to recover from an injury that was either misdiagnosed or re-aggravated, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney grimly suggests the Mets’ shortstop’s career travails are analogous to those of oft-injured former Cubs hurler Mark Prior, observing “they (the Cubs) let themselves be held hostage, in effect, by Prior’s potential.” There are talent [...]

Prior reports pain in shoulder after session

Fri, 01 May 2009 09:48:52 -0500

Mark Prior has reported pain in his shoulder after a bullpen session Tuesday. The Padres’ who resigned Prior this off season after paying him to sit on the DL last season have been hoping that Prior could offer the team something late in the season or going forward. Prior had missed all or parts of the [...]

Will Scott Boras Redefine the MLB Draft?

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:17:42 -0500

Over the years, mega agent Scott Boras has become one of the most hated men in baseball. He is viewed as a money hungry villain, who will do almost anything to get his clients the richest contract he can get his hands on. Boras has repeatedly redefined the limitations of free agency by continually getting his guys gigantic contracts that most fans did not believe were humanly possible. Even after some missteps over the past few seasons (A-Rod, Manny), Boras still remains one of the best agent...

PRIOR: TIME’S RUNNING OUT

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:52:59 -0500

Interesting read from Yahoo! Sports about Mark Prior’s struggles to get back on a big league mound, and what may have caused his injuries. The column is filled with different theories/reasons for his injuries. The standout to me is this: “The universal consensus is that Cubs manager Dusty Baker abused Prior at the end of the 2003 [...]

Padres re-sign Mark Prior

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:41:23 -0500

Looks like the San Diego Padres are giving Mark Prior another chance. Last season the Padres paid Prior $1 million to not pitch in any type of game be it spring training or during the season. It?s been two years since Prior has pitched in a game at any level and now at the age of [...]

MLB: Mark Prior signs with San Diego Padres

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:14:38 -0500

Former Chicago Cubs top prospect Mark Prior, who was released by the Cubs earlier this month, has signed a 1 year deal with the San Diego Padres. The contract has a $1 million base salary, no option and incentives that could bring the total value to about $3 million...read more @ FrontRowSportsReport.com

Padres Pickup Prior

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:21:09 -0500

Mark Prior has signed a contract with the Padres

CUBS TO DECIDE 'PRIOR' OBLIGATIONS TODAY

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:48:10 -0500

The Cubs have until late tonight to offer Prior arbitration or to non-tender him and let him become a free agent.

A Happy Ending for Wood, Prior & Cubs?

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 16:03:17 -0500

Though they care not to admit it, the Cubs' fortunes are once again tied to Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, these two prodigal sons who were expected to be the cornerstones of the team's pitching staff for years to come. They were to be Chicago's own version of Koufax and Drysdale, or Schilling and Johnson -- perennial contenders for the Cy Young award. And the Cubs were baseball's version of Hugh Heffner, an old coot with a couple of hot 20-somethings, the envy of GMs from Seattle to Tampa Bay. Safe to say, things haven't work out as planned.