I don’t enjoy being right in situations like this. I didn’t want to be right. And maybe by the end of the season, David Price will have proved me wrong. But for now, exactly six weeks into the season, I’m right about him.
Fans were optimistic after Price started the season throwing 14 scoreless innings in his first two starts. But since then, David Price is back to where I expected him to be: bad, veering dangerously into disaster territory. And he’s only getting worse. Since his 1-inning appearance against the Yankees in early April, he’s given up 24 runs (21 earned) on 29 over 23 innings. In his last three starts, his Innings Pitched have plummeted, while his earned runs have increased.
David Price's last three starts:
4/22: 7.2 IP, 4 ER
4/28: 5.2 IP, 6 R (5 ER)
Tonight: 3.2 IP, 9 R (7 ER)— Jen McCaffrey (@jcmccaffrey) May 4, 2018
At this point in the season, the only good thing we can say about Price is that unlike in previous years, he hasn’t been bitching and moaning about negativity this season. But that’s about all you can say, as his hot start has quickly turned about as cold as the Atlantic in February. Before tonight, he was 1-3 with a 6.52 ERA.
For the Red Sox, who have the best record in the league and some of the best hitters, to be losing 11-5 to the last-place-in-their-division Texas Rangers, something has to go terribly wrong. And while you can’t place all the blame on Price, he’s on the hook for 9 of those 11 runs, 7 of them earned. And he dug that hole in less than 4 innings. That’s not a pitcher you can count on against teams that actually matter. Great news for a team that’s facing their bitter rivals in enemy territory next week.
David Price gets paid $32 million per year, which would be ludicrous for a reliable pitcher. But to pay that to Price, who spent most of last season injured, save for a few strong stints as a reliever, and is now back to being a dumpster fire of a starter? It’s an astronomical waste of money that could be better spent in about a million ways.
Price can opt out of his contract after this season, but it’s doubtful he’ll want to. His regular season ERA is now a dismal 8.22, and his postseason record with both the Rays and the Sox is far less than stellar. He’d be lucky to get $20 million per year; no other MLB team in their right mind would offer him what we’re paying. He’s the rotation’s version of Pablo Sandoval; overpriced, underperforming, and Red Sox Nation is over it.
Photo: NBC
One thought on “The Red Sox have a Price Problem. Again.”