Alex Rodriguez turns critical eye on David Price
"This version of David Price — when he’s right — has a chance to be better than the David Price I saw when he was younger."
Alex Rodriguez has stood in the batter’s box and faced David Price at his best. He’s looked on from the broadcast booth when Price has been at his worst.
Rodriguez faced Price 72 times in his career and didn’t have much success, with a slash line of .246/.319/.446 and just 2 of his 696 career home runs. Price has faced only five batters more often: Jacoby Ellsbury, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, Adam Jones, and Derek Jeter.
Rodriguez, who along with Matt Vasgersian and Jessica Mendoza will call Price’s start against the Yankees on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball,’’ is as qualified as just about anyone to evaluate the Red Sox lefthander.
So the question for Rodriguez is an obvious one: Does Price, who was hammered for eight runs — including five homers — in 3⅓ innings of an 11-1 loss to the Yankees on “Sunday Night Baseball’’ July 1, still look to him like the pitcher who at times gave him fits?
Rodriguez’s answer is not so obvious.
“This version of David Price — when he’s right — has a chance to be better than the David Price I saw when he was younger,’’ said Rodriguez. “When he first came up to the majors right out of Vanderbilt, he was throwing 98, 99, almost 100, and about 90 percent fastball. For me, I was a little more comfortable against that. I think he’s gotten better with age.
“I say that from my experience, because of the way he attacked me. He learned to pitch to four quadrants, the north-south approach to pitching as well as the east-west.
“His signature pitch that I think took him over the top was burying a bunch of cutters on you as a righthanded hitter. Then he would come with the back-door cutter that out of his hand would look like a pitchout. He got a lot of punchouts with that.
“The key Sunday is pretty simple. He needs to be able to locate his fastball to both sides of the plate. If he can hit his spots in to righties and away from righties, he stretches that 17-inch plate to about 22 inches, and that’s a long night for hitters.’’
While the Sox entered their four-game series with the Yankees with a 5½-game lead in the AL East, there is an importance attached to Price’s start no matter how the previous three games shake out. He’s pitched well since the July 1 meltdown, going 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 25⅔ innings over four starts.
But since signing a seven-year, $217 million contract before the 2016 season, he’s been abysmal against the Yankees. He is 2-6 with an 8.43 ERA and 1.83 WHIP in nine starts against New York since coming to Boston, allowing 13 home runs in 47 innings.
With the Red Sox and Yankees owning the two best records in baseball and on a path that could lead to their first postseason clash in 14 years, it’s imperative, says Mendoza, that Price solves what so far has looked like a pinstripe phobia.
“I think it’s real,’’ said Mendoza, who along with reporter Buster Olney is a holdover from last year’s “Sunday Night Baseball’’ crew. “I’m not saying David Price will struggle permanently against the Yankees and that it’s a complete mental thing, but I do believe it is more than just coincidence. Some of the worst starts of his career have been against that team.
“I would love for him to prove me wrong. You want to see a very strong pitcher be able to compete against a team that is the ultimate rival in the division.
“That last game was uncompetitive. If you take an average fan and say, ‘Red Sox-Yankees, Price-Tanaka,’ you’d get fired up. I want that David Price to show up.’’
Rodriguez is a pivotal figure in Sox-Yankees lore, from the near-trade to Boston after the 2003 season to his iconic eat-the-glove encounter with Jason Varitek in ’04 to his role in the Yankees’ blown 3-0 series lead that October. He’s sure to draw notice at Fenway, even up in the booth, from the local leather lungs, but he’s looking forward to it.
“My two favorite places to play are the old Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park,’’ he said. “I love the fans, the competition, and any time you go to a place with such rich traditions and intelligent, passionate fans, it’s something to look forward to.’’
Vasgersian laughed when asked if he were looking forward to taking in Fenway with A-Rod.
“For all of the [controversy] that he was involved in with the Yankees and the Red Sox, he’s OK with all of it,’’ said Vasgersian. “He talks about it with a pseudo-smile in his eye, because he understands that a lot of it was heat-of-the-competition stuff.
“He occupies a really important place in the lexicon of baseball during those years. I’m sure he’s OK with whatever reception he gets there.’’
