After a shaky start against the Royals the Cubs feel it's best that Mark Prior enters Minor League camp and get in a start on Thursday at Fitch Park. Rather this is Lou Piniella's decision in an attempt to get the young right-hander to relax and gain back confidence in himself. His brief appearance last week shown signs of problems with pitch control. He feels the same velocity and command on his pitches isn't there from one inning to the next. This is okay because his arm isn't in the best conditioning at this point. Piniella thinks the kinks can be worked out if Prior gets away from Spring Training camp and all the media.
The main concern is for Prior to start feeling good about his delivery and approach. It's understandable that he's frustrated and wants improvement to happen right away, but it could take some time. Patience is the key. The more practice he gets the more comfortable he'll be on the mound. There has been question whether or not Prior will be included in the early season rotation. Not to worry because old Lou knows what's best and has every intention on making intricate part of the pitching rotation. So far the Cubs are 7-5 in Spring Training. Let's all wish Mark steady progress before Opening Day. I want to see him succeed and be happy playing baseball.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment