Since the midpoint of 2002 the Chicago Cubs organization has been defined by their two powerful young pitchers. In 2003 the organization and the fans were privy to a great one-two punch and began dreaming of the future years with a hunch. One came close to the Cy Young and the other was almost done. We were all slugging Cubbie Kool-Aid faster than you can say Dr. James Andrews. Unfortunately for these two men the good Doctor became much more important than a baseball mitt or a bunch of brews.
After 2006 Jim Hendry publicly stated that he could not count on these two and he needed to do something about it. In my humble opinion they both took the franchise hostage for quite some time. It was not done on purpose or with malice, but they broke the ultimate chalice.
This team has tried to move past them, tried to replace them, tried to forget about them. But that is simply impossible. The biggest news of this off-season was the signing of one of them and the possible or what some call imminent trade of the other one. As much as the General Manager and the Organization have tried to move past them it has not happened. The media will not let it happen and for some crazy reason some of the fans will not either.
Many of the similarities end here. The older is beloved by this city for his grit and his loyalty. The other is referred to as a wimp, a pretty boy, in fact, somewhat petty. While some of these monikers are fair some may not be. He walked out on an autograph signing because it was not a good situation. No one should ever do that to their fans. The other dedicated himself and lost almost 50 pounds last off-season.
One is from Texas and that greatly defines him. One is from Southern California....and that greatly defines him. We are ecstatic that one is back and we want the other banished to the nether-regions of the Country. One will always be a Chicago icon and we are not sure we want to give the other his fourth chance.
The Cubs can sign the likes of Soriano, Ramirez, Lee and DeRosa, but this team will always revolve around the two men and more importantly their arms, shoulders and rotator cuffs. The 20 strikeout game is regaled more emotionally and more often than the other's Cy Young-esque season.
Many would cut off a limb to have a beer with the Texan and we would scoff at the opportunity to eat dinner with the San Diegan. No matter where they go or what they do people will always lump them together. Oh what could have been? The promise of a better day floated through the air when they took the mound. The century of losing seemed liked a thing of the past while nothing but glory seemed to abound.
Anger, depression, sadness and hopelessness are just some of the feelings that float through a fan when they think of these two men. We were treated to one hell of a September from the Texan and we sit here again ready to rely on him to come in and close the game.
The other is rehabbing and may be ready for Spring Training. But wait, we have been down this road before. Will they sign him? Will they trade him? Miggy Tejada sure would have looked good at SS, but hindsight is 20/20 and that is not fair to the Hendry.
We hoped every Spring Training would bring different news, but it never did. We hoped they would make it back, but they have not yet. Yes, one is getting there, but let's give it a full season.
Pitchers and catchers report in about two and a half months. At this point we have no idea what to expect or how to know what the season will bring. The beginning is a mystery and the end as well. It has been 100 years now. The Cubs fate seems to be in hell. Frustration, set backs and curses have gripped these two for a long while now.
I love the Texan and am greatly irked by the San Diegan. However, there is something inside of me that says just one more year. Give it just one more year. By no means should you count on it, but if it is there it would be one great surprise. I am mad at everything involved in the careers of these two. I am ticked at what happened and scream all day about the atrocities, but there is one way this can all go away....
If Lou Piniella takes the ball out of Mark Prior's hand in the bottom of the ninth in Game 7 in late October and passes it to Kerry Wood for the final two outs....all will be forgiven. And when that happens, these two men will be linked to each other forever. And that, my friends, is how it was always supposed to be.
Feel free to contact me at Brian@chicagocubsonline.com and until next time....
Stay Classy Cubs Fans!
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Brian,
That was quite a diatribe of emotion. My goodness. Look, these things happen evryday. It only gets harder when we focus on what could have been. As I sit here in Iraq, my view is good riddens to Mark. He has disappointed for long enough and we all were screaming for this for two years now. He is not what Kerry is to Chicago. As a matter of fact, if we do not get rid of him I will be pissed. I'm tired of Prior and think that NOW is the time to cut all ties and get what we can, PERIOD. Can anyone name a similar situation for any team where a budding Superstar returned to any semblence of their "Prior" self?
Barry, in what branch are you serving in?
Nick,US Army 82D ABN DIV
Barry, Thank you!
Brian that made me feel like if I were braking up with my high school sweetheart! It was an emotional read... And Yeah Barry, it feels like goodbye but remember that reconciliation in a relationship and one last shot is allways a sexy option. Prior is that pretty, sexy lady that you love with passion and yet she treats you like dirt...but you never know when to leave her!
Gentlemen, I appreciate your support!! OK no more about me, deal?
Augustin: Dude you crack me up!! Roger, like THAT GIRL you won't ever get over...... LOL
haha, i love this forum. Anyways...I know they haven't talked about Tejada and the Cubs at all, but what do you guys think of this? Prior for Tejada and Bedard, or is that asking too much? If we do this, then Tejada can play SS and Derosa can play 2b. Then we can have a Sorian, Pie/Patterson/Theriot/Murton platoon for the rest of the field. If we don't add Kosuke, I would like to give Murton a chance to be the everyday right fielder.
I don't even know what we could get for Prior. Maybe a mid level prospect...but I've read the Bedard demands are just as high as those for Santana! I don't even want to know what we would have to give up to get him.
Just think if Hendry had pulled the trigger on the deal of Prior for Tejada (Bedard may have been in the deal?)...Like much of you, im sure you were agaisnt it at the time, but wow...Im just happy we got Woody back honestly, I still think Prior can be somewhat of an asset, but I wouldn't be opposed to trading him for a decent prospect or two, or package him with The Riot and get a SS...
Barry, THANK YOU AND your fellow troops for all you do! You are NOT Forgotten!!
Brian, Great article! Wood showed us something last year for signing for around $1mil. So did Prior when he took it to arbitration! I mean, come on? $3.5mil for the D.L.??
I was very happy to see Wood signed! I just wish it would have happened sooner! Kerry, you have my full support!!
As for Prior, I can't believe we are going to wait until Dec 12. Prior, you need to show us something like Wood did last year and sign at a reduce rate and prove yourself, or Hendry needs to cut him loose now.
Great Article and thanks again for writing it!!
Happy Holidays!
My understanding is that the Prior for Tejada deal fell apart a couple years ago becuase the Cubs wanted Bedard in addition to Tejada and the Orioles said no. At this point, I think Austin is correct in saying that all you could get for Prior is a mid-tier prospect. I also read the Orioles want a ton for Bedard so I don't think he'll be moved. I wonder if Hendry is still thinking about Tejada. Did anyone watch him play this past season? I have heard his defense at SS has fallen off and that he may need to move to 3B. Is this true? Being an NL fan, I rarely watch AL games so I don't have any idea. In any event, his bat would a nice addition to our line-up.
On another note, one of the Cubs' rumored acquisitions, Ryan Church, was traded to the Mets today.
Good news! ... the Cards signed Izturis to be their starting SS.
Bad news....Cubs raised their ticket prices!
Barry:
I need to know, Is there a lot of Cub Nation over there in Iraq? My sister was recently on vacation in Israel and she saw some people wearing Cub clothing. I thought that was pretty cool.
Take care and God Bless you.
Honest truth, I believe the Prior/Tejada deal fell through because the Orioles requested Prior's medical records on this shoulder and they killed the deal shortly thereafter. The media ripped the Orioles for being to "overly cautious" resulting in them being difficult to trade with. I would call it one of the best moves of this century for the boys from Camden Yards.
Jim (Tinley Park), I am Happy to report that YES there are quite a number of CUBS fans around me here and trust me when I tell you that even though I cannot pipe in MLB.com because of bandwith abuse, we do have Armed Forces Network Television which for those of you that are not aware, AFN serves our Troops outside of the US with popular Radio and Television programming and surprisingly they seem to have a "sweet spot" for our beloved CUBS. None the less I ensure you that I visit this site DAILY (hourly) for all of the intellectual baseball talk. I am very impressed overall at the depth and breadth of our participants baseball operations knowledge.
Baseball meetings in less than 48 hrs!!!! C'mon JIMBO!!!
Let's GO CUBBIES!!!
Barry, I hope all of you get to come home real soon.