It's a command performance

Piniella encouraged by Prior's 59-pitch effort against Padres

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Go figure. Just when it looked about time for the Cubs to write off Mark Prior, the confounding former ace pitched just well enough for four innings on Thursday to suggest he might have turned a corner in a comeback toward the starting rotation.

Not by the time the season opens -- although don't try to convince Prior of that.

''I'm ready to go,'' he said after the 59-pitch outing that included four straight singles in the first inning and two walks in the third. ''I've got a week left to go, and I'm ready to rock and roll and get out of this place and move on.''

Clearly, Prior is excited and encouraged by the improving command he showed Thursday -- if not completely aware of the reality of his status.

With only six days left before manager Lou Piniella said he wants to have all his roster decisions made, Prior -- with just 7 1/3 official innings -- doesn't have enough time to overtake Wade Miller for the fifth-starter job, short of a leap of faith and a rush job.

Piniella wouldn't even commit to a start for Prior the next time through the rotation.

''Let's see how he feels over the next couple of days, and then we can determine what we do,'' Piniella said. ''I want to sit down and talk to the pitching coach. ... But it was a nice improvement.''

Prior, who didn't have a strikeout in his first two games, struck out three San Diego Padres on Thursday. One was pitcher Greg Maddux, but he also got Kevin Kouzmanoff swinging at a curveball and Khalil Greene swinging at a high fastball.

On the other hand, he fell behind 10 of the 14 batters who didn't put the first pitch into play, walked two batters in the third -- one during a stretch of six straight balls -- and his velocity was no better than it was the first week of March, according to the team's reports. His fastball was generally 86-87 mph, with a high of 89.

''Look, he threw the ball better, that's the important thing,'' Piniella said. ''It was a really, really nice step forward for him. I think the idea of not rushing him, giving him time, it's the right tonic.''

That tonic is expected to be applied to the rest of Prior's preparation for this season as well. Before the game, Piniella stopped just short of calling Miller the locked-in fifth-starter for the opening rotation -- even though he has indicated that more than once over the last week.

''We'll see where we go from here,'' Piniella said. ''But, obviously, it was an improvement, and I'm happy to see it because really Mark's worked hard.''

For now, the Cubs will focus on the strides in the right direction from the former 18-game winner, who pitched so poorly early that the health of his ''genetically loose'' shoulder was being questioned.

''I felt good. The arm feels great,'' said Prior, who last pitched last Friday in a minor-league intrasquad game. ''A lot of the stuff we've been working on the last week or so is starting to pay off.''

He blamed some of his command issues on being too pumped up.

''I just think when I came out I had a little more adrenaline running through me than I wanted to,'' he said. ''But they weren't taking that many good swings off me, and they didn't really hit too many balls hard, so it was a good outing.''

After settling down in the second -- in a 12-pitch inning extended that long only because of a throwing error by third baseman Aramis Ramirez -- Prior started missing with his pitches again when he faced the Padres' 3-4 hitters in the third inning. But after six straight balls, catcher Michael Barrett visited the mound, and Prior got the next hitter on a fly to left -- one of eight strikes he threw in the final 13 pitches of the inning.

''I was trying to rush instead of just sitting back and letting it go nice and relaxed,'' he said, ''just trying to do a little too much with it.''

Where he goes from here is unclear -- unless you ask Prior.

''I'm pretty close,'' he said. ''I felt like I could have gone another one out there today. I think about one more outing -- just work on some things, build up some stamina. But I feel good. I'm ready to go.''

gwittenmyer@suntimes.com