Chicago Sun-Times: KARMA Prior, Cubs have it bad

Memo to the billy goat, the black cat and Steve Bartman: You win. It's clearer than ever now that supernatural forces -- if not altogether satanic, then certainly alien in nature -- have aimed their whammy at All Things Cubdom. Even the smirking, pseudo- intellectual skeptics out there, diehards who refused to believe in bad karma despite countless reminders, should just admit they picked the wrong rooting interest in life.

When Mark Prior is drilled by a line drive squarely on his golden right arm, when he fractures a bone near his throwing elbow after everything he and Kerry Wood have endured and everything this godforsaken ballclub has experienced for 97 years, you know it's time for Cubs fans to take up another hobby.

Like, say, Russian Roulette. It's safer.

"This is something freakish that happened, and I have no control over it," said Prior, who was placed on the disabled list for the fifth time as a Cub.

Consider that sinister fact for a moment. Let the poison sink into the wound. The kid is only 24 and already has as many DL appearances as complete games, which is another way of saying Wrigley Field is the Twilight Zone of baseball and that no phenom with working senses should go near it. The only good news out of Saturday's postmortem -- other than the merciful dumping of LaTroy Hawkins, which is fantastic news -- was that Prior's career isn't over. To hear Mark O'Neal, the team's latest trainer and optimism spewer, the fracture is a compression on the inside of the bone. If a pitcher is going to suffer a break in the elbow area, that is the place to do it, or so they'll have us believe. Of course, when being attacked by a shark, one would rather have his feet ripped off then his skull. "We feel very fortunate this is the fracture he has," O'Neal said. "It's not something where we know we'd have to take four to six weeks to let this heal."

No big deal? You bet it is

Sorry to interrupt happy hour, but I've heard too many Pollyanna diagnoses from the mouths of Cubs medical people to believe Prior will pitch anytime soon. Whether it's Wood or Prior, the Primrose Path turns out to be a Nightmare on Elm Street every time. Only this outfit could be blessed with the two best arms of the new millennium and have both crash repeatedly. Why would the latest mishap be different than the others? Because I hate to see someone as gifted as Prior so routinely haunted, I sincerely hope he's right when he downplays his latest misfortune.

"I love to listen to everyone dwell on the fact how many times I've been on the DL. I've only really been on the DL once for a throwing related problem," Prior said. "It could have been a lot worse. It could have been my career. Everyone knows the risks going out there and playing. It's a game that's supposed to be fun, but there are some inherent risks that go with it. I'll be back. I've been hit before. It's no big deal."

Ah, but it is a big deal. Every ghastly replay of the liner confirms that. Certainly, there should be no rush on the part of Prior, Dusty Baker or Jim Hendry to rehab for this year. The Cubs might win 84 games, tops, in a division again ruled by the Cardinals. Hendry is too much of a bulldog to stop fighting, as shown by his trade of the Wrigley-spooked Hawkins for two promising San Francisco arms -- one of whom, Jerome Williams, won 10 games last year. But to hurry along Prior's rehab process would be foolish. Sometimes, you have to look around and realize the gods aren't with you.

The Cubs should treat him with tender, loving care and aim for a comeback when he's fully operational, a plan already advanced, I'm sure, by Jerry Prior. Mark's father always has been centrally involved in health decisions, such as a call late in the 2002 season to shut him down merely to preserve his arm. Tens of millions of dollars could be at stake if they don't handle these situations properly. Modern medicine being what it is these days, Prior still could enjoy a terrific career. But anyone who cares about him doesn't want to see him throwing a ball for some time. "The recovery for this will be completely dictated by the way that Mark feels," O'Neal said. "When he has a full, pain-free range of motion -- and I cannot predict that, no one can predict that right now -- we'll be able to progress. I can't begin to tell you how long it'll be."

Good. Stick to that approach, please.

A baseball off the bat of somebody named Brad Hawpe, of the nondescript Colorado Rockies, could have traveled in a million different directions Friday. Naturally, it shot like an asteroid off the arm of Prior. Not off the left elbow. Not off his foot or knee. Not off one of his obscenely sized calves. Not in the chest or the gut. And not off the right elbow of a pitcher more expendable. It lined off one of the most important body parts in the history of the ballclub, slamming him on the meal ticket and ricocheting freakily to third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who recorded the damnedest 1-5 putout you'll see.

As the ball hung like a weak pop-up, Prior collapsed and rolled around in excruciating pain. They'll show this grotesque clip over and over as the new symbol of Cubbie horror, but unlike some of the various hexes and farm animals, nothing is the least bit romantic or tragicomic about it. A potential Hall of Fame pitcher cannot stay healthy, a creepy circumstance that grows more disturbing because another phenom can't stay healthy. Prior and Wood were advertised as the Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson of their time.

Cubbie blue

Turns out they are Blue Cross and Blue Shield. On a weekend when Wood got rare good news -- he can start throwing off a mound this week as he tries to overcome his latest malady, a right shoulder strain -- Prior vanishes again. He was awesome in his previous start against the White Sox, demanding to complete the game instead of handing the ball to a bullpen pyro. He was resuming his former dominance, ranking among National League leaders in several pitching categories, and there was hope he and Carlos Zambrano could provide a torrid 1-2 combo for several years regardless of Wood's fate. But now we wonder if Prior, like Wood, will stay off the DL long enough to reach his immense potential.

Go ahead and tell me you don't believe in Wrigley demons. But how do you explain this development in the same week when (1) the Cubs wondered if Zambrano's elbow soreness was caused by too many clicks of a computer mouse and (2) reliever Mike Remlinger broke his pinkie finger when it accidentally lodged between two recliner chairs in the clubhouse?

"I watched it over and over again," said Prior, who must like to see car crashes. "It was a good play by Aramis. I got hit. Hitters get hit by pitches all the time. Obviously, the ball came back a little harder than I threw it. I was just fortunate to get an assist on it. It helps my fielding percentage."

He's the only one cracking jokes. The rest of Cubdom is just ready to crack.

Jay Mariotti is a regular on Around the Horn" at 4 p.m. weekdays on ESPN. Send e-mail to inbox@suntimes.com with name, hometown and daytime phone number. Letters run Sunday.

reaching the breaking point

Mark Prior, who began the season on the disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow and missed his first start, became the latest Cubs casualty. He has a fracture near his right elbow and was placed on the DL again. Prior has had plenty of company this season, as shown below.

PLAYER INJURY TIME SPENT ON DL

Joe Borowski Fractured right wrist Opened season-May 20

Scott Williamson Right elbow Opened season-present

Todd Walker Sprained ligament in left knee April 11-May 24

Nomar Garciaparra Torn muscle in left groin April 21-present

Chad Fox Right elbow April 26-present

Kerry Wood Strained right shoulder May 3-present

Mike Remlinger Broken left pinkie May 21-present

*Michael Barrett (right shoulder) and Aramis Ramirez (groin, back) also have missed time.