GUESS WHAT MARK PRIOR'S DOING?

Hey, it was a good run.  Mark Prior was a young pitcher for the Chicago Cubs and he and Kerry Wood were dynamic together.  But much like any young pitcher with injury, sometimes things just don't work out.  It's no ones fault.  Sometimes it's bad luck, maybe you want to suggest bad strength and conditioning, although I don't think that was the case with Prior. He hadn't been in the big show since 2006.  He's 33 now. He's still young, but sometimes heart and determination even takes a toll.  He was tired of fighting and that's OK. It's official... Prior is retiring. He'll now take a job in the Padres front office.

Man he was great! And when he came back to the Yankees few years ago, I was hoping to see him start up his career again officially. It didn't happen and he kept travelling.  But the run is now over and you need to tip your cap for trying to get through it.

Baseball is a tough gig.  Getting to the show is brutal, it's a ton of work, but staying there is just as tough, being healthy or not.  I remember Marci Hensley saying just how tough it was for her husband Mike Hensley and how the kids now , even in the Yankees farm, including her son Ty Hensley of course, are working their tails off.  She said in THANKSGIVING WITH THE HENSLEYS: "I lived through it with my husband, Mike Henlsey.  I lived through the highs, the lows, the injuries and his heartbreak when he was released. We worked 4 jobs between us to allow him to finish school, most of the time not knowing where our next dollar was coming from...I do know that making it to the majors is more about a bunch of factors such as health, opportunity, and work ethic coming together.  That doesn't happen in one season with kids coming out of high school. It takes some time, in pinstripes or in some other jersey, it doesn't matter."

Those words stick in my mind every day I see a guy like Mark Prior, who's still young but just can't do it anymore.

I applaud his strength and I always rooted for this guy with the Cubs. I also wanted to see him in the majors with the Yankees.  Again, it just didn't work out, but I tip my cap to Mark... it was a good run. You deserve the best.

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