So Mark Prior left tonight’s game against the Brewers. At first they said it was an achilles problem. Then he “tweaked” his elbow.

Right.

It turns out that Prior, aka the greatest young pitcher of the last [very long time], has been “nursing” a sore elbow for a long time… as in since last year. In fact, he had pain after his last start against the Brewers at Miller Park.

Prior will undergo tests Friday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. If it turns out to be a torn ulnar lateral ligament, the Cubs right-hander could face the prospect of undergoing season-ending reconstructive elbow surgery, and returning next July at the earliest.

Though Prior experienced elbow pain in his last start in Milwaukee, the Cubs kept it quiet, and he hoped it would go away with nine days of rest.

[Cite: “Prior Reinjures Elbow,” Chicago Tribune, Byline Paul Sullivan, July 15, 2004]

So the Cubs have had their ace, the future of their franchise, pitching through elbow pain. Brilliant.

Prior’s elbow has been an issue since spring training, though the Cubs have downplayed the seriousness of the problem. While rehabbing his Achilles’ injury in Mesa, Ariz., Prior complained of elbow stiffness and was sent back to Chicago for tests on April 28. A bone scan was taken, along with MRIs on his Achilles’ and right arm, revealing more inflammation in the elbow.

Prior later said the inflammation was “completely away from the ligament” and that Cubs doctors compared it to shin splints. When a published report in early April said Baker was telling friends Prior would need reconstructive elbow surgery, both Baker and Prior reacted angrily.

Prior eventually returned to action on June 4 at Wrigley Field, and went 2-2 in his eight starts with a 4.06 earned-run average. After Prior walked two men and gave up a run in a 30-pitch first inning, he spoke with catcher Michael Barrett about his soreness and decided to “gut it out.”

I don’t even know what to say about this. For all the lip service the Cubs have given to protecting their young arms, this is pretty revealing evidence to the contrary. Those responsible for allowing this to happen should be harshly disciplined.

Old-timers will no doubt scream “coddling!,” but there needs to be a line between common sense and “manning up.” The Cubs, quite clearly, crossed it.