David Price 2017
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Adidas offered an island to anyone at the combined me who wore adidas and beat Chris Johnson combine 40 record
Koji had it last year while he was already on the DL for a pectoral strain. It took him roughly six weeks to come back...injection 7/22, first game back 9/7.
If the hiatus sets him back enough to make him miss a few April starts, that might have a silver lining--they can start the season with all three of Pomeranz, Wright and Edro in the rotation, and by the time Price is ready the decisions about the 4-5 slots may have made themselves.
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I wasn't sure if I should post this in the Starting Pitchers & First Year in Boston thread or this one...Stan Grossfeld (yes, the photographer) is doing a semi-regular series for the Globe, entitled "Coffee & Conversation". He rides to the ballfield with one of the players and the first in the series is with David Price. It's an interesting read showing a side of Price that I'm not sure we've seen before - http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2017/03/07/coffee-and-conversation-with-david-price/4sQMfhJXyVLcB7B16jPDFJ/story.html
An excerpt:
The interview does a pretty good job of allowing Price to show a bit more of himself than we've seen under traditional coverage...well done, on the part of Stan, on thinking of this as a way to get to know some of the players a little bit.
So, what do you folks think? Do we care?
An excerpt:
Boston can be a really tough place to play...that's well documented. And Price goes on to point out he'll probably get some grief for picking up Starbucks coffee for the training staff rather than Dunkins...and I can see that to some extent.
The interview does a pretty good job of allowing Price to show a bit more of himself than we've seen under traditional coverage...well done, on the part of Stan, on thinking of this as a way to get to know some of the players a little bit.
So, what do you folks think? Do we care?
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We don't, and shouldn't, care about who he is off the field. At least in general. We want our sports stars not to be total shitheads, but after that, it's all about what they do on the field.
You can call it vilifying the fans. I call it being honest with himself. If he pitches well, he will be loved. If he stinks it up, he'll get run out of town. That's kind of how things just are here, and recognizing that is a good thing, IMO.
You can call it vilifying the fans. I call it being honest with himself. If he pitches well, he will be loved. If he stinks it up, he'll get run out of town. That's kind of how things just are here, and recognizing that is a good thing, IMO.
I didn't see anything I'd call villifying. I thought it came off as honest, articulate, with a little tongue-in-cheek hyperbole thrown in, perhaps.
A lot of fans/talk radio knownothings reflexively call any accounting of boorish fans/talk radio behavior "whining." It can definitely be a thin line between whining and not. I think Price was well onto the "not-whining" side of the line here. I thought the DD/Starbucks line was a pretty funny way of being pretty perceptive.
Actually, I am probably an atypical fan, because no matter how well Price pitches, I won't forget the remarks he and his girlfriend have made about David Ortiz. Actually, I dislike them intensely.
Price is 100% correct. While Schilling was pitching fans liked him because he was winning on the field, in spite of the fact that personally he has turned out to be an enormous jackass and offensive moron. David Price could be the embodiment of Pope Francis, but if he pitches like the Pope the fans will detest him.It doesn't matter to the fans if, say, he's going through a divorce or a family member is sick, or he's got elbow discomfort. They only want him to pitch well.
He's being honest and forthright in those comments. Naturally I fully expect the sports radio guys to crucify him, but he's speaking the truth.
He's being honest and forthright in those comments. Naturally I fully expect the sports radio guys to crucify him, but he's speaking the truth.
Honestly is there really anything wrong with this though? We give them our attention, clicks, and money because we love the game and want our teams to win. That's what sports is. Shouldn't these guys be judged by what they are doing on the field for the most part? Not that you should overlook the human element entirely, but these guys get paid to play the game well and if they don't of course they will get criticism.
He may not be wrong, but the emotional reaction he's clearly having is a different thing than a simple observation.
Having a down year he expected... what? Indifference? A focus on his charity work? It's a package deal and, yes, people would care if he wasn't a good dude or whatever.
Being nice may boost you as you perform well. Being mean may sink you even if you perform well. Being nice will not mask bad performance.
I think he can be somewhat right and ridiculous as the same time. His comments were unwise if nothing else.
Having a down year he expected... what? Indifference? A focus on his charity work? It's a package deal and, yes, people would care if he wasn't a good dude or whatever.
Being nice may boost you as you perform well. Being mean may sink you even if you perform well. Being nice will not mask bad performance.
I think he can be somewhat right and ridiculous as the same time. His comments were unwise if nothing else.
I think he comes off as soft and thin-skinned. I don't really care one way or the other, I just don't see this helping him in any way.
Nothing wrong with this at all. I get the sense from Price's remarks he really doesn't see anything wrong with it either. I actually thought he had a pretty good, pretty typical Price season last year (his career is filled with 115 ERA+ type seasons interspersed withed 160 ERA+ ones), but apparently a lot of people were disappointed in his performance. If he pitches better they will like him. If he doesn't they won't. He fully acknowledges this.
Guy led the league in IP last year and he's labelled "soft." Guy lowered his ERA nearly a run from the first half to the season to the second and he's labelled "soft."
Tough crowd.
Yeah. He didn't need to answer that way. He was being honest and he's right. However, he has to know it won't make things better for him. If he doesn't know, he will. He probably doesn't care. And that's actually great.
SSS, but at Sox winter weekend he seemed quite friendly with the crowds. My 11 year old and his friends met Price and were able to get an autograph in the meet and greet sessions, and my son absolutely raved about Price (I was in another room). Autographed ball is displayed in his room prominantly and proudly. These were a nice group of kids who DP probably enjoyed as much as they enjoyed him.
My son loves baseball and pitches, so there may be more of a connection there. Or maybe Price likes kid fans more than adult fans - wouldn't be the first player to feel that way. My point in this is it's not worth the time and agita to broad brush stroke any fan base, or Price, based upon limited data. And at the same time, IMHO it's really not worth the time to read more into DP's comments than necessary, or fall victim to any hot take media attempts to get you to do the same.
My son loves baseball and pitches, so there may be more of a connection there. Or maybe Price likes kid fans more than adult fans - wouldn't be the first player to feel that way. My point in this is it's not worth the time and agita to broad brush stroke any fan base, or Price, based upon limited data. And at the same time, IMHO it's really not worth the time to read more into DP's comments than necessary, or fall victim to any hot take media attempts to get you to do the same.
I won't forget that either. But I do differ from disliking Price intensely. (I have no opinion about the girlfriend.) I did dislike him intensely before he joined the Sox, but as far as I can tell that incident seemed like atypical behavior. Maybe he's matured since then and/or learned something, but if Papi embraced him (literally and figuratively) why should I hold a grudge. I haven't grown to like the guy as I remain suspicious about his character, but the intense dislike is gone.
Okay, you got me. He seems overly sensitive, in my opinion, based on the way he has reacted to difficulties in the past. This interview did not change my opinion. I'm sorry if I upset you. It's really not a big deal.
I care.
Are you saying the Pope can't throw a curveball?
Of course, it was also a lame ass question meant for athletes and other celebrities to be able to pontificate or some crap.
So he chose a different flavor of crap. I'd prefer athletes didn't have to be subjected to such insulting tripe.
You didn't upset me (is it a thing for you to accuse people of being overly sensitive? First Price, and now me). I merely asked for some backup to your statement.
One might say that if he were mentally soft, his performance on the field would reflect that. We might see, for example, a tendency to implode when encountering trouble, or giving up on the season, or not pitching deep into games. Yet from his 2016 season I don't think we see any of that. He had a rough start to the season which he improved upon a great deal. He had a better second half than first. He pitched deep into games, leading the league in innings pitched. While it wasn't a Cy-caliber season, it was a pretty good one, in fact. He did have the bad postseason start, but then again so did everyone else on the team.
He's right. Sure there are fan favorites and guys the fans just don't like, but if he pitches really well, the fans will adore him. Look at 2013 Lackey, or 2007 Beckett. Those guys were horse's asses, but at the time they were just horses.
I just view this as him being goal-focused and not making excuses. I'd have a worse reaction if he said yeah I only had an above-average season, but look at all the charity work I did.
I just view this as him being goal-focused and not making excuses. I'd have a worse reaction if he said yeah I only had an above-average season, but look at all the charity work I did.
I sorta think Price is basically just trolling the fan base.
So let him have his fun, you big meanie.
No to the parenthetical part of your first paragraph.
One might point to his well documented postseason failures as a sign of weakness. Either way, I'm done gamethreading here. I hope Price recovers and pitches great this year.
And that's my only problem with him. I don't personally care what he says, but he has a knack for making needless, hamfisted, public comments that incite the local media without having skin thick enough to take the return dishing. Those media people do care what he says and they can make his time here more difficult. I do care about the latter.
Can you provide some examples? Because I don't see any truly "ham fisted" comments in that Globe interview.
Good analysis of the interview by Jared Carrabis:
http://www.barstoolsports.com/boston/david-price-understands-that-the-only-way-to-earn-respect-in-boston-is-to-win-breaking-down-his-interview-with-the-boston-globe/
http://www.barstoolsports.com/boston/david-price-understands-that-the-only-way-to-earn-respect-in-boston-is-to-win-breaking-down-his-interview-with-the-boston-globe/
IMO, it's the media and fans with nothing better to do looking for drama to talk about, not the other way around. I like Price. He comes off to me like someone who just calls it like he sees it with little regard for how the media will spin it. As he should, because he's an athlete, not a presidential candidate and parsing his words looking for irrelevant inconsistencies for something to bitch about online is just a waste of anyone's time. Masturbatory sports drama, generally perpetuated by the lack of tone present in text, then parsed to the point of nonsense by people who never even heard him actually speak. It's useless.
The bottom line is, he's right. And I'm glad he recognizes it. He's being paid to perform on the field and not be a total monster off it. If he performs, he can say whatever the hell he wants and get the benefit of the doubt. If he doesn't, everything he says will make him even more of an asshole in the eyes of the fans. That's all that matters, and that's all that should matter. All I want my athletes worrying about is their next game, not how some internet warrior is going to interpret his latest comment.
The bottom line is, he's right. And I'm glad he recognizes it. He's being paid to perform on the field and not be a total monster off it. If he performs, he can say whatever the hell he wants and get the benefit of the doubt. If he doesn't, everything he says will make him even more of an asshole in the eyes of the fans. That's all that matters, and that's all that should matter. All I want my athletes worrying about is their next game, not how some internet warrior is going to interpret his latest comment.
I honestly think he's saying what he thinks "Boston" wants to hear. His alternatives would be to challenge the idea that he had a bad season, which is an obvious non-starter, or to make excuses and promises going forward, which he's probably smart enough to know never play well.
So he's taking the rhetoric to its top end. And maybe he got up on the wrong side of the bed.
It does speak to a guy being a bit too much in his head about everything, but I'll take the good with the bad on something like that and it isn't worth freaking out over imo.
So he's taking the rhetoric to its top end. And maybe he got up on the wrong side of the bed.
It does speak to a guy being a bit too much in his head about everything, but I'll take the good with the bad on something like that and it isn't worth freaking out over imo.
I read that as largely positive.
"Look, I know you're trying to do a little bit of a puff piece and show that in addition to baseball I also love mom, puppies, charity, and apple pie. Me, I'm focused on going out there and performing on the field as my way to win over the fans."
"Look, I know you're trying to do a little bit of a puff piece and show that in addition to baseball I also love mom, puppies, charity, and apple pie. Me, I'm focused on going out there and performing on the field as my way to win over the fans."
I think Price comes off as a bit over-sensative about any criticisms, which, IIRC, weren't that harsh for a $30 million player (the highest by far on the team) who basically dug himself a huge April hole that he spent the rest of the season climbing out of. And he didn't become a model of consistency after April - he seemed to have at least one awful start per month during the rest of the season.
He didn't exactly cover himself in post-season glory either, despite the overall-better second half. He lost the second game single handedly - giving up 4 earned runs, and one of the two men he left on scored after he was removed with one out in the 4th. Granted, it was against Kluber, who might have shut down the Sox regardless, but it makes a 5 run deficit all the more painful.
Boston fans are relatively tough to please. We focus on and care too much about sports. That's not news. Price knew this coming in. Price also is the highest paid pitcher in MLB and didn't perform like it, or really close to it. He was good, but clearly not great, and not good enough to get Papi his farewell ring, dammit. So no, no about of good deeds off-the-field will exempt him from criticism of his on-field performance or otherwise satisfy this fan base.
But he does sound somewhat defensive and dismissive of the fans. Not enough to crucify him. But most of us would actually prefer that the Sox players be "good guys" (however defined) off the field. Do charitable work. Sign autographs. Not commit crimes. That, plus performance commensurate with your pay, is not asking for too much; players should anticipate these expectations from the fan base. And yeah, if you just avoid the crimes and pitch your ass off, then that'll be good enough, too.
But he does sound somewhat defensive and dismissive of the fans. Not enough to crucify him. But most of us would actually prefer that the Sox players be "good guys" (however defined) off the field. Do charitable work. Sign autographs. Not commit crimes. That, plus performance commensurate with your pay, is not asking for too much; players should anticipate these expectations from the fan base. And yeah, if you just avoid the crimes and pitch your ass off, then that'll be good enough, too.
Of course he's right that he needs to win in order to earn respect *as a ballplayer* in Boston, but then he goes off the rails about "people [in Boston] don’t care" about him personally which a) what does that even mean? Does David Price care about me personally? Do I care about Brock Holt personally? b) is complete fabricated bullshit c) has no upside for him.
The reporter gives him two outs and Price responds:
The reporter wisely cuts him off here and asks what size shoes he wears.
None of this is new for him (the passive aggressive tweet about not being able to lose playoff games on the beach early in the offseason and the cringeworthy college resume tweet in response to playoff criticism a couple years ago come to mind).
That doesn't mean he's not right about the initial premise of field results = respect, or that he's a bad guy or that he can't win here, or that anyone who is annoyed by these kinds of comments is "freaking out" or thinks it's a "big deal".
He just seems very insecure about his athletic failures, which on its own isn't a big deal. What bothers me is a player with that insecurity who makes stupid, unforced publicity errors in a market where the media has already been sharpening their knives on him since 4/16, putting unnecessary pressure on an important piece of the team I love.
His foundation works in TN and I've rarely heard him talk about anything outside of baseball except his dog. Both of those things are also fine, but I'm not sure what he thinks folks are supposed to know about him or his charity work.
Yes, and it should bother everyone. We have no choice but to take him at his word, and hopefully Boston fans will prove that they are not significantly represented (at all) by ignorant racists at Fenway Park in 2017.
We're also spoiled rotten when it comes to what it means to be an ace pitcher. Clemens and Pedro are among the greatest ever, and that's our bar; we get mad when a so-called #1 throws up a poor performance once every 4-6 weeks and wonder if they're soft or injured, even though that's normal for most top of the rotation pitchers.
I don't really like the things he's saying right now.
Price said doctors would've recommended surgery if he was 22 or 23, but since he's shown ability to pitch over time, deemed unnecessary
Price said he doesn't know the specifics of the injury, saying that once he was told no surgery or injection, his brain shut down.
Price said 'trainers were freaking out' when he decided to start throwing into a trampoline on Saturday, but all has gone well.
Price said doctors would've recommended surgery if he was 22 or 23, but since he's shown ability to pitch over time, deemed unnecessary
Price said he doesn't know the specifics of the injury, saying that once he was told no surgery or injection, his brain shut down.
Price said 'trainers were freaking out' when he decided to start throwing into a trampoline on Saturday, but all has gone well.
