Boston Red Sox lefty David Price says he’s finally living up to his contract. Can he do that in October when it matters the most in the playoffs?
The Red Sox brought David Price to Boston to win in the playoffs. He signed that massive 7-year, $217 million contract in December of 2015, which he has the opportunity to opt out of at the end of this season.
Since Price arrived in Boston, he’s done nothing but complain about the fans and the media. It’s pretty clear he only came here to collect the paycheck. Price won’t live up to his contract until he proves he can win in October and stop complaining.
He’s 13-6 with a 3.69 ERA this season so far. The next time he pitches is Thursday night against the Cleveland Indians.
Price has had an interesting season. Remember, he had the mysterious carpal tunnel syndrome that caused him to miss a start against the New York Yankees. He complained about pitching in cold weather and he’s struggled with it his whole career. That could be the reason why he can’t pitch in the playoffs. However, that type of mentally is going to get you nowhere. Especially in Boston. The expectation is a World Championship and when he couldn’t deliver, the Red Sox had to go out and get another ace, Chris Sale.
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Sale was brought here to do what Price couldn’t really do. Possibly win the playoffs. However, Sale has his own issues with struggling toward the end of the season. With Sale on the disabled list for the second time this month, its time for Price to step his game up. With his poor attitude off the field, Price has made adjustments on the field.
Price feels back to himself and he’s back to the pitcher Boston singed, which is a great thing. In Price’s last 17 starts he is 11-2 with a 3.19 ERA. The Red Sox are 15-2 in those game. Price pitched a gem on Sunday night baseball against the Yankees. He pitched six innings struck out five, gave up two runs and two hits on the night. Since the All-Star break, Price is 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA over five starts.
Thursday night will be a test for Price pitching against a playoff team with a good lineup. But he’s also made adjustments with his pitch usage and locations.
Price really isn’t a winner until he pitches well in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter if he can pitch well against Baltimore if he can’t pitch against a playoff team in October. I hope Price can pitch like this when the temperature falls below 50 on nights in the postseason. The cold excuse isn’t going to work then it’s all about winning the World Series at the point.
Price would be happy with winning the division every year and getting out in the first round. He’s still making millions of dollars so it doesn’t matter to him. In my opinion, I don’t believe Price can pitch in the playoffs until I see it personally.