Prior, Padres a good match

Mark Prior signed with the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.

A couple of years ago, that would have been worthy of the lead item on SportsCenter. Now it has been reduced to crawl information -- another sign of how far removed from 2003 Prior is.

That was the right-hander's peak, winning 18 games and helping pitch the Chicago Cubs to the brink of the World Series.

Prior has not been the same since then as freak injuries and multiple surgeries have robbed him of what many expected to be a stellar career.

All of which brings us to Wednesday. Prior, whose family lives north of San Diego, joins the Padres in what should be a win-win situation. If Prior recovers, the Padres get a frontline starter at a bargain cost. Similarly, Prior will be pitching in a low-pressure situation as he tries to rebuild his career.