When David Price toes the pitching rubber Friday night at Fenway Park, his head is bound to be filled with disparate hardball thoughts.
In a perfect world, Boston’s $30 million man would step in against Kansas City and be laser-focused on retiring Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and the rest of the lineup. He’d only be concerned with helping the inconsistent Sox stay ahead of the Yankees and Rays in the tight American League East race.
But Price’s mind is a busy place these days. And his world is far from perfect, thanks only to himself.
The unique pressure that comes with playing – and starring – for the Red Sox offers a challenge that different players handle in different ways. Some thrive in the spotlight, others shrink. A select few are so ill-fitting they sink to an ignominious level and are jeered as they slink out of town. Carl Crawford and Edgar Renteria come to mind.
Price hasn’t sunk to those lows but he’s begun the walk on that checkered path. In a quest to stick up for his teammates, Price fell into a heap of trouble nearly a month ago when he confronted Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley on the team’s plane. It seems Eck, easily the best analyst that NESN offers Sox fans on its telecasts, had the audacity to utter the word “yuck” on air when the uneven stats of a rehab start by pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez were flashed on the TV screen.
According to a revealing report of the incident in the Boston Globe this week, several people on the plane say Price stopped Eck in the aisle and proclaimed “here he is – the greatest pitcher who ever lived! The game is easy for him!”
When Eck began to respond, Price dismissed him with “Get the (expletive) out of here!” Many Sox players then applauded, according to the report.
When word of the incident broke the next day, Price defended his actions and would only say “some people just don’t understand how hard this game is.”
In some baseball cities, news of the dust-up wouldn’t even break. In Boston, it’s become as important as the games. A wave of Price-bashing has dominated talk radio all week and you have to wonder just how this bright, Vanderbilt-educated, nine-year veteran could be so short-sighted.
Stunningly, some important people in the Red Sox organization see little problem with a star pitcher treating a Hall of Famer with such disregard. Now Price is being painted as the latest petulant, thin-skinned Red Sox and a poster boy of a team that can be downright boring, and is clearly searching for some star power in the wake of David Ortiz’s retirement.
A few days ago Manager John Farrell was asked on WEEI radio if he or Price has seen the need to apologize to Eckersley. He said he met with Price but left the apologies to others in the organization. Price has confronted other media members this season and earlier in his career, and clearly feels he’s sticking up for himself and teammates. That’s more than fair game, but he’s falling short of handling his responsibilities with the class and professionalism required in a major market like Boston.
“Eck is critical, as are many commentators. But that’s the world we live in,” Farrell said. “We’re not always going to appease everyone. There will be criticism that does come our way. He happens to be a little more direct and unfiltered. There have been some situations that have come up where players have maybe gone to him directly.”
Price’s approach of Eckersley was hardly direct. Instead he tried to bully a legend, a move that only makes him look small. Farrell is praised for “handling” his clubhouse in a professional manner but Price seems like a loose cannon. Maybe that’s why Boston is his fourth team in five years. He should thank heaven for Chris Sale, the dominant, Cy Young-worthy pitcher the Sox traded for in the offseason. Imagine if Sale was still with the White Sox and the beleaguered Price was Boston’s ace, the pitcher the franchise relies on to not only be the stopper but a stand-up guy?
What Price needs to realize is he has no equity in Boston. Last October he embarrassed himself in a playoff (31/3 IP, 5 runs) loss to the Indians and is now winless in nine career playoff starts. He showed up to spring training in February with an arm injury and will face immense pressure if the Sox find a way into the postseason this October.
Standout pitching will ease the minds of most fans. Winning can trump stupidity, after all. Price may be the highest-paid Red Sox but if he is propped up as a leader of this team, the franchise is heading in the wrong direction.
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