It's impossible to know for sure if it really is the first time this spring he's felt the pain, as Jim Hendry reportedly says it is, but for those who have felt that something's been fishy all along, one can't help but feel a little vindication mixed with a heaping helping of despair, now that Mark Prior is seeing Dr. Lewis Yocum about his right shoulder tomorrow.

Of course, if that wasn't enough, it appears that Derrek Lee is getting his shoulder checked out by Yocum too, after bruising it while diving for a foul ball during Sunday's WBC game against Japan. Who knows if it's really something to be worried about, but I'm well beyond the point of logic or emotional restraint winning out over abject panic and anguish.

Suffice to say, this is a dark day in the story of the 2006 season, and while there may still be light heading our way, get ready for a long wait to catch sight of it.