Another chance to win
Price puts postseason misery on the line
If your name is David Price and at first you don’t succeed, you try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try again.
And if tonight is actually the night when Price hits on lucky No. 10 after eight prior losses, one nodecision and a 5.74 ERA as a postseason starter, far be it from any of us amateur and professional baseball fans to have a clue as to how he flipped the script on his long and undistinguished career in this critical department.
It remains an unsolved mystery, one with almost sinister undertones in these parts considering Price’s overall demeanor before this season and his inability to do his job in his first stab in his first year in 2016.
Price was excellent as a reliever last October — zero runs allowed over 62⁄3 innings and two appearances — but John Henry and Co. did not bring Price to town for seven seasons and $217 million to run in from the bullpen. They brought him here to throw first pitches and win in every month, including October. And while Price did have one strong start as a playoff starter — eight innings, two runs in the Division Series for the Tigers in 2014 — he still lost the game.
Over the last few Octobers, the return of the swallows to Capistrano has nothing on the frequency of the questions to Price about why he hasn’t succeeded as a postseason starter.
It’s a useless line of questioning to ask Price to go all Sherlock Holmes on himself. But like bunting, it’s part of the postseason pageantry.
At least Price has a sense of humor about it.
“I just don’t have an answer for you guys,” he said, almost sheepishly with a sincere grin to boot. “I’ve been asked that quite awhile now. I can’t really put my finger on it.”
He added, “That was my generic answer.”
Generically speaking, what distinguishes Price from the average underachieving postseason starter has been he was too often touchy and testy, starting toward the end of Year 1 and continuing into Year 2. This year, healthy at last, he also vowed over the winter that he looked forward to “being that faucet and not being a drain” this year.
Price lived up to that, and he pitched very well since the All-Star break — 6-1, 2.25 ERA, .200 opponents batting average and 0.97 WHIP over 11 starts.
This being Price and this being the Yankees, there is, of course, a hiccup. The Yanks hammered Price this season, pounding him for nine home runs, a 1.162 OPS and .309 batting average in four starts and 152⁄3 innings.
As much as Price hopes tonight is the night, he would like to point out that there are larger considerations than the David Price narrative.
“Yeah, but if I lose the entire playoffs and we win a World Series, I’ll take that,” said Price. “That’s what I’m here for. I don’t want this to be about me and me not winning. I want to go out there (tonight) and throw the ball well and help the Red Sox win. Whether we’re up 1-0 or down 1-0 or whatever it is, I want the Red Sox to win (tonight). That’s what I worry about.”
If there’s anything Price has learned over his 731⁄3 postseason innings (5.04 ERA), it’s that slowing down games to a crawl in October is essential.
“Just focus on every pitch, take it pitch by pitch,” he said. “Don’t worry about the last one, don’t think about the next one. Just focus on that pitch.”
If Price does not plan to focus on his last pitch, good or bad, he certainly has no intent to pull the shutters of his mind on his history.
“Just another game,” said Price. “Don’t treat it differently than any other game I’ve been a part of this year or in my career. That’s what I need to do (tonight). That’s what I look forward to doing.”
Of course, Price stated similar sentiments in 2016 before his first postseason start with the Red Sox.
“I want to help this team win, that’s the bottom line, that’s the mindset I want to take out there on the fifth day,” said Price before Game 2 against the Indians that year. “Tomorrow I want to go out there and win. I want to be dominant. I want to have that really good postseason game, and I know that I’m capable of doing that and I’m excited to pitch tomorrow.”
He’s excited for tonight again.
“Yeah, it’s been 300-something games, however long it’s been, it has been a while (since the last postseason start),” he said. “I look forward to getting back to that point, going out there and starting a baseball game and giving us a chance to win.”
Just a chance to win. That’s all Price wants.
One more chance.