Time to drive Price up
Sox make right call with star
We’ve all seen the numbers. If you’re among the lucky few who haven’t, it’s probably best to look away. This next paragraph isn’t going to be pretty.
Two Triple-A starts. Couldn’t get out of the fourth inning either time. RED SOX BEAT Chad Jennings Minor leaguers hitting .400 against him. The Louisville Bats — a group of guys not quite good enough to play for the sub-.500 Cincinnati Reds — knocked him around for seven hits in 32⁄ innings Wednesday night.
Twenty four hours later, the Red Sox decided they’d seen enough. David Price was ready to step back on a big league mound. He’ll make his season debut Monday afternoon in Chicago.
“It’s not based solely on the name on the back of his jersey,” manager John Farrell said. It’s not? It certainly should be. These Red Sox are built on names like Price, Sale, Pedroia and Betts. Depth is not their strong suit. They’ve struggled to find production at third base, their lineup has been too top-heavy, their bullpen keeps auditioning set-up men, and the back of their rotation has been a mess.
If there were better options waiting in the wings, those pieces would be in place by now.
The only way to make this team into a legitimate World Series contender — to make the Red Sox as good as they’re supposed to be — is to stop treading water with cross-your-fingers placeholders. Put the highend talent in place, and trust it to perform.
“There’s no replacing the feeling and the adrenaline you’re going to have at his level,” Price said. “To me, this is home. This is my comfort zone. This is where I want to be. It doesn’t matter what level you make rehab starts at, it’s not going to feel the same as up here.”
Think of it like spring training. If Price had a 9.53 ERA in spring training, but was still running his fastball into the mid-90s with an ability to throw all of his offspeed pitches, would the Red Sox hesitate to put him in the big league rotation? Of course not. Rick Porcello had a 9.77 ERA last spring, then he won the Cy Young Award. At some point, players of this caliber are judged by talent and track record, not small samples in unusual settings.
The moment the Red Sox gave Price seven years and $217 million, they committed to a decision like this. They put their faith in Price’s talent and ability to rise to the occasion. Last season was a disappointment, this season hasn’t gotten off the ground, but the commitment is still there.
The Red Sox need Price. They need the name on the back of the jersey, and they need the numbers on the back of the baseball card.
“Granted, we know what’s taken place in the two rehab starts,” Farrell said. “But the fact that our goal setting out was to get him to 90 pitches, he was able to do that (Wednesday) night, and we’re putting him back in the rotation on Monday.”
If Price’s elbow is to blame for his lackluster Triple-A starts, he’s certainly hiding that from anyone who will listen. He impressed the Red Sox with the effort he put into his simulated games, and he checked the last few boxes in those underwhelming rehab outings.
If Price is too hurt to perform, it’s his job to speak up. He’s not speaking up, and so the Red Sox have little choice but to trust him. When a pitcher like that says he’s healthy, looks healthy, and completes the rehab process, there’s nothing to do but put him in a big league game and let him work.
Let it eat, as the pitchers like to say.
“Whenever I’m doing arm exercises or driving home or waking up the next morning and just feeling normal, that’s the body of work today,” Price said. “I don’t feel like that’s ever the problem. It’s that next day or the day after that. We haven’t had any hiccups ever since that first bullpen when I tried to get up and down three times. But ever since then it’s gone good.”
Let’s not forget, Monday is May 29. That’s nearly two months into the season, almost a third of the way through. The Red Sox can’t keep treading water and call that success. Either Price is healthy enough and good enough to be a difference-maker, or he’s not. The Sox aren’t going to find out with another 90 pitches in Pawtucket.
“I’ve never been one to hold anything back,” Price said. “Whether it’s playing catch during a game or in spring training or in a sim game, I want to go out there and pitch full force.”
Do that, and the Red Sox take one giant step toward full strength.