Healing Prior vows to return this season
June 6, 2005
BY MIKE KILEY STAFF REPORTER
SAN DIEGO -- Even when he's sleeping, Mark Prior's right elbow is on his mind. Or at least closer to his mind than his heart.
"They want me trying to keep it above my heart when I'm sleeping so everything drains back down,'' Prior said. "They said sleep with it on a pillow if you can, but don't let it affect your sleep.''
Prior said Sunday he has no doubt in his mind that he will return this season after taking a line drive off his elbow May 27 against Colorado. His elbow still has significant inflammation, enough that he can't attempt to throw a ball yet, but Prior vowed that his season isn't finished.
"I'll be back before the end of the season,'' he said. "I just don't know when. No one can really say when. This is one of the stage injuries where we have to get through the first stage.
"The second stage is throwing to see how it reacts. I don't know if it's going to hurt when I throw or not. Once I know that, it's a matter of have I lost a lot [of arm strength and endurance] or have I not lost a lot.''
Prior's comeback sounds as if it could be a long way off. By his own admission, he's not even day-to-day but week-to-week.
"They're trying to dig in there and break some things up,'' Prior said of attacking the remaining inflammation. "If you look at it from last week, where I couldn't move it, to where I am with it this week, we are obviously going in the right direction.
"They keep telling me not to evaluate it day by day, but evaluate it a week at a time. We're trying to get the fluid flushed out of there. It's stagnant right now, where I can't get the last bit out to get going.''
The elbow remains a sore spot.
"If you hit it, it'll fire me up,'' he said. "I still have a pretty bad contusion on my arm. But they aren't necessarily worried about that. It's going to be like any other bruise.''
As Prior spoke before Sunday's game, the Cubs were suddenly leading the National League wild-card race.
"When we went to the playoffs [in 2003], we were two or three out in the first week of September, so we're in good shape now,'' Prior said. "We have a tough stretch coming up with Toronto, Boston, the Yankees and White Sox, and we're going to have to play good baseball.''
The Cubs still want to overtake the Cardinals, but the wild card is OK as an alternative.
"If we can't get up on St. Louis, then we still have a good shot at the wild card,'' Prior said. "And we all know the history of the wild card [in winning the World Series]. It's a pretty good history.''
June 6, 2005
BY MIKE KILEY STAFF REPORTER
SAN DIEGO -- Even when he's sleeping, Mark Prior's right elbow is on his mind. Or at least closer to his mind than his heart.
"They want me trying to keep it above my heart when I'm sleeping so everything drains back down,'' Prior said. "They said sleep with it on a pillow if you can, but don't let it affect your sleep.''
Prior said Sunday he has no doubt in his mind that he will return this season after taking a line drive off his elbow May 27 against Colorado. His elbow still has significant inflammation, enough that he can't attempt to throw a ball yet, but Prior vowed that his season isn't finished.
"I'll be back before the end of the season,'' he said. "I just don't know when. No one can really say when. This is one of the stage injuries where we have to get through the first stage.
"The second stage is throwing to see how it reacts. I don't know if it's going to hurt when I throw or not. Once I know that, it's a matter of have I lost a lot [of arm strength and endurance] or have I not lost a lot.''
Prior's comeback sounds as if it could be a long way off. By his own admission, he's not even day-to-day but week-to-week.
"They're trying to dig in there and break some things up,'' Prior said of attacking the remaining inflammation. "If you look at it from last week, where I couldn't move it, to where I am with it this week, we are obviously going in the right direction.
"They keep telling me not to evaluate it day by day, but evaluate it a week at a time. We're trying to get the fluid flushed out of there. It's stagnant right now, where I can't get the last bit out to get going.''
The elbow remains a sore spot.
"If you hit it, it'll fire me up,'' he said. "I still have a pretty bad contusion on my arm. But they aren't necessarily worried about that. It's going to be like any other bruise.''
As Prior spoke before Sunday's game, the Cubs were suddenly leading the National League wild-card race.
"When we went to the playoffs [in 2003], we were two or three out in the first week of September, so we're in good shape now,'' Prior said. "We have a tough stretch coming up with Toronto, Boston, the Yankees and White Sox, and we're going to have to play good baseball.''
The Cubs still want to overtake the Cardinals, but the wild card is OK as an alternative.
"If we can't get up on St. Louis, then we still have a good shot at the wild card,'' Prior said. "And we all know the history of the wild card [in winning the World Series]. It's a pretty good history.''
