As the 2007 season builds toward opening day, a number of things become clearer in Arizona.

First, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood remain Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Prior has become the hot topic of the day, as numerous fans are criticising his negative attitude - did I miss an article somewhere? - and are proclaiming that he should be discarded along the road back to Wrigley. To me, this is foolish and presents a classical example of 21st century thinking. There are absolutely no benefits to abandoning Mark Prior. The Cubs have filled the team with players in the event that he wouldn't be able to pitch, and who does it hurt to let him rehabilitate in Arizona, and later Iowa? If there is a 1% chance that Mark Prior will someday be a successful major league pitcher again, and if the Cubs can afford to take that chance, then why do people care if they take that chance?

As far as Kerry Wood goes, I suppose it shouldn't be a huge shocker that he's pulling muscles. I mean, have you seen how great a shape he's in? Everybody knows that the healthiest baseball players are the fattest ones - just ask Rod "I've never heard of 'pulled fat'" Beck. I'm not worried about Woody yet.

In the meantime, there are some great Spring stories going on. Rocky Cherry is winning the hearts of Cub fans through solid pitching and a terrific name. He's still an outside shot to win a bullpen spot, if only because the Cubs have so many good relievers, but if Wood starts the season on the DL, he may get his chance. Wade Miller is also pitching well, getting his heater back up to around 90. He's currently got the edge on Angel Guzman for the final spot in the rotation, whose numbers aren't reflecting his great stuff at the moment.

Jeff Samardzija is also pitching above his ceiling, and while the Cubs have time to let him develop this year, it would be pretty awesome if he was ready to pitch in Chicago sometime during the 2008 season.

So, we have those things to look forward to.

As far as Wood and Prior go, I have one other thing to say about them. They are currently benefitting from and being victimized by the double-bladed sword of Cub Fandom. On one hand, a lot of fans do not want to let go of these guys because, let's face it, the Cubs have sucked for a long stretch of years and these were the first two prospects who really got us excited about the future. We knew their names long before they ever threw a major league pitch, and a lot of people loved them for their promise.

On the other hand, bad things have happened to them, and, because the Cubs have had bad luck for another long stretch of years, a lot of fans are tired of it and want to eject them from the team and from their memories. They started out as an example of how great the future looked for Cub fans, and they wound up as further examples of our team's heart-breaking past. In other words, Cubs fans on either side of the issue aren't really looking at their careers objectively, and that probably includes myself, so I will shut up about it for now.

But I will say that there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the 2007 Chicago Cubs, and a resurgent Kerry Wood would be a bonus, as would a healthy Mark Prior. Teams that win get bonuses like that from time to time, but a lot of teams that win do not need them. Just keep that in mind - we don't need Wood and Prior to win, but I doubt I could find you a Cub fan who would be disappointed if they proved to be valuable contributors down the road. So, let's give them a chance to get down the road. What could it hurt?