I heard Mark Prior on WGN Tuesday night taking about how he approached things differently this offseason. He said after 2003 that he took it easy because he had never worked that many innings before. Then he got hurt and his arm never felt right. He said he didnt think his different approach caused his injuries but you saw the result. Now he has been on a throwing program since after Thanksgiving and his arm feels great. I like the sound of that and expect a big year out of him.
Also did anyone catch Jim Kalis(sp) of Baseball America on the Murph show on the score at 9:00 PM. It was really cool as they talked about the Cubs minor leagues. The guy was very gracious and stayed on for an hour and let callers ask him about different players in the organization. I wish I remembered everything but heres what I remember.
He said Dopriak and Ryan Harvey are legit power men of the future. Felix Pie is a 5 tool calaber player they like. Their pitching is very strong. Angel Guzman would have been ranked #1 if not for his shoulder injury, he is #3 now. I guess he went through a stetch in the minors where he had 40K's and 0 BB in 20 innings. Very incouraging. Also said that Richard Lewis from the Braves in the Juan Cruz trade was the AA MVP last year and is looking good along with Matt Merton who they got from Boston in the Nomar deal. Best pure hitter in the system according to Kalis(sp). He also talked about how Andy Sisco and Bobby Brownlie suddenly lost their stuff. Sisco was picked up by the Royals I beleive in Rule 5 and they are still high on Browlie and if he gets his stuff back look out.
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