WHY HE'S MAN DOWN, NOT OUT

Mark Prior is still hurting and it has nothing to do with his shoulder, but it has everything to do with his groin. It kills me but it’s true. I was and still am rooting for Mark Prior who has had more injuries than B.A. Baracus in the entire A-Team Series and that show had plenty of nutty stunts. The good news is, he has finally thrown a live batting practice and is working his way back. That nugget comes from KFFL.com. Read it HERE. What can you do, we've always known that Prior was an injury risk and most of Cashman’s signing ideas have panned out this year, but some don’t, although I’m not giving up on Prior yet. It sounds like if he threw 27 pitches like it's being reported and feels no pain in that groin, he'll hopefully be on his way back. It’s been quite a while since he was able to face live hitters because this groin injury needed time to heal. Bottom line, if it doesn’t heal, well, C’est la Vie, we'll be forced to move on.

The Scranton Times Tribune reports that with all the problems with his shoulder, this groin is the most annoying because of the time it will take to get back on the mound. They have a great quote: “Mark Prior had to admit that pain was all he could feel. Not physical pain. The pain of disappointment. The brutal pain of frustration.”

That sums it up for me. The guy has had injury upon injury for years with the Cubs, and finally, he comes back to the New York Yankees, ready to contribute, grateful he was given a chance and he was on the right track and then, the groin injury. Son of a Bitch.

You know me, I was expecting to see this guy up and helping out our bullpen by now, and who knows, if there was no groin injury we may have seen him already. It’s got to kill Prior because even when he takes a step forward, he’s taking 2 back. Luckily, this KFFL report is a positive one.

The Scranton times quotes Prior: “I guess one way of looking at it is, It’s not my shoulder, but unfortunately, it hasn’t been getting better. It’s been a long month to say the least.”

If there is one thing to think about, it’s Prior's positive attitude. He wants this more than anyone and I predict, he’ll be up this year, even briefly and that will be enough for me. Heart and Dedication, love it. When this guy is healthy I see good things, even with our already stacked bullpen.

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