To quote The Notorious B.I.G., “Mo money, Mo problems”.
The Red Sox should know; they signed David Price to a deal where he makes $31 million a year for seven years. Whenever he makes a mistake, they can go straight to the contract and question why he’s not doing well because they gave him so much money. Well, maybe Price hasn’t been as bad as you think.
Since May 12, out of 49 starting pitchers who qualify, David Price has the 9th best ERA in the American League in 19 starts (3.37).
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) August 18, 2016
Think about that for a minute…
Yes, Price had a slow start to the season. He’s either not a weather guy or he had a tough transition to a new club. But that’s three months worth of stats since May, and he’s been good.
Take Wednesday night as an example of this “new and improved” Price the Red Sox have on their roster. He threw six innings and only allowed a run in a six-inning game. Complete game? Quality start against one of the best hitting teams in baseball? Not bad. Y’all should be happy with it.
Clearly, Price knows how to pitch. The Red Sox wouldn’t have given him all that money if he couldn’t. And a 3.37 ERA might not be what people were expecting. But then again, the Red Sox play at Fenway Park which is a bit more hitter-friendly than Tropicana Field — the dump he called home for much of his MLB career.
A lot of the questioning Price stuff came from his lack of answers in press conferences. “I need to pitch better” and all that. Well, he’s pitching better lately and feels like he will continue pitching well. Interesting. It would be hard to expect much else from him.
What everyone should be worrying about is the Red Sox postseason rotation. Price is fine right now, but if there is any reason for insomnia, it’s his ERA over 5 in playoff action.