Finally, some good news:

Mark Prior threw a five-inning, 73-pitch simulated game Tuesday and hopes to return to the Chicago Cubs’ rotation Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Prior felt no pain in his tender right elbow while throwing to teammates Jose Macias, Paul Bako and Tom Goodwin before Tuesday’s game against the Cardinals. Macias tagged him for a homer.

Whoa! Hold up. Macias hit a home run off Mark Prior. Uh-oh.

Seriously, though, it’s good to know this seems to have been a momentary flare-up. On the other hand, no real problem means no real solution. It could flare up again at any time, and could plague him for who knows how long.

It doesn’t matter now, really. Even without Prior in the regular rotation, the Cubs have had great starting pitching all year long. But with a barely average bullpen and well below average offense, the Cubs won’t win the division. Not this year. Not with the way the Cardinals have played.

Frankly, it’s a stretch to think they’ll even get the wild card. Simply put, the offense has let this team down.