FOTG Presents: The Fungo Files

Prior a Dad Again!

masculine, noun.

1. (papá) father

Whatever, it was a slow news day, so sue me.

I particularly enjoyed what the "Padres Blog” had to say about the signing.

"Signed for $1 million by the Padres last offseason, Prior suffered setbacks in his recovery from shoulder surgery and needed additional surgery that ended his season. He never appeared in a game, either in spring training or during the season."

Setback?

Dictionary.com (sorry) defines a setback as:

1. An unanticipated or sudden check in progress; a change from better to worse.

Unanticipated?

Unless you get your sports news only once every 10 years, probably not.

Sudden?

If glaciers are sudden, then yes.

A change from better to worse?

His arm is still attached to his body so I guess technically it didn’t get any worse.

Good news is he only got signed to a minor league deal AND they also signed Chris Burke who dropped these numbers last year in a 165 AB.

.194, 20 Runs, 12 RBI, 2 HR.

Kudos, Padres.

Go Cubs.

Where Have I Heard This Before?

Good news for all you fans of the towel drill, Mark Prior is "healthy" again!

Buster Olney drops some knowledge (emphasis added by yours truly):

Mark Prior, who had a second, less-invasive surgery on his right shoulder earlier this year, is in the midst of a throwing program and should be ready for the start of the 2009 season, said his agent, John Boggs. Prior is expected to file for free agency. "He said he feels good, that his shoulder has never felt better," said Boggs.

Wow.

I love the fact that his agent has the balls to say Mark's shoulder has "never felt better." He better have been winking, rolling his eyes AND nudging Buster in the ribs with his elbow when he said that.

This news will definitely add some intrigue to this year's winter meetings. I mean, how can CC and Peavy know how the free agent market is shaping up until they see what kind of cash McPhail throws at a twice-surgered (trademark pending) pitcher who hasn't pitched since August of 2006?

My guess is the Orioles offer him something in the neighborhood of 12 million over 3 years, but I could be underestimating McPhail's stupidity.

Stay tuned.

PS. Don't even think about it Jim.

Go Rays.