As Red Sox Approach Opening Day, David Price Leads Confident, Comfortable Clubhouse
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- With the pressure on the Boston Red Sox to make the postseason as high as it's been under John Henry, it's hard not to focus on getting good results. But as the team approaches Monday's Opening Day in Cleveland, the focal point is not on getting good results but the process required to achieve that.
The focus on the process stems from the calming influence of Red Sox Opening Day starter David Price, who has been inconsistent in the playoffs over the course of his career but in the regular season has been as reliable and steadily dominant as any pitcher in baseball. With Price, you can argue about the results in the playoffs so far - but you certainly can't argue with how he gets there.
"I'm process-oriented. I'm not results-oriented at all," Price said, speaking to WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Jonny Miller. "[You] can't worry about the results. You just need to stay focused on your process and that's what I do."
SEE ALSO: Mazz's 2016 Red Sox Outlook: Is David Price Enough To Push Red Sox Over .500?
Price has earned a reputation throughout his eight-year career as a great teammate and clubhouse leader. As projected in his dealings with local media since signing with Boston, Price brings a calming presence to a clubhouse that has lacked stability and leadership in the years since the magical 2013 World Series championship season - and even the two seasons before that.
Despite the glaring need for Price to lead the Red Sox pitching staff in 2016, he's holding his teammates accountable, too - and he's doing it by injecting them with the same kind of confidence that he has in himself. It comes down to comfort, and some of the team's more talented young players, like Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Blake Swihart, are feeding off Price's poise.
Price likes what he sees so far, and he expects a top-to-bottom effort from the team in their efforts to reclaim the AL East.
"They don't act like they have just a year or two years in this game, they act like they've been here a while," Price said of the team's young core, "and that's good. They look comfortable and that's something that you want. You want everybody to be comfortable in that locker room, especially those young guys, so they can go out and play baseball the way that they can play.
"Everybody has to do their part. ... It's not all on anybody's shoulders [in particular]. We're going to have 25 pieces to that puzzle. ... If all 25 guys can do their part, don't try and do too much, just do what you can do, we feel like we can be very successful."
SEE ALSO: David Price Named Red Sox' Opening Day Starter; Buchholz No. 2
Price's message has clearly echoed throughout the clubhouse, where those key young talents are following Price's lead as they prepare to kick off the season. Swihart said the team can't, "put too much pressure" on themselves and simply need to, "play like we know how we can play." Betts is confident that, "We'll go play the game like we always do and things will come together."
"Comfortable" and "process" seem to be more than just buzzwords in the Red Sox clubhouse: it's practically a mantra. Bogaerts, coming off something of a breakout season, said one of his top priorities is for he and Hanley Ramirez to get "comfortable" working with each other on the diamond.
"Everybody's just relaxed," said center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. "Everybody's kind of getting their work in and getting to know each other, and I think that's a good thing. The more we know about each other, the more comfortable we're going to feel around each other."
"If all 25 guys can do their part, don't try and do too much, just do what you can do, we feel like we can be very successful."
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- David Price on the Boston Red Sox's chance of playoff success.
Betts appears to have adopted Price's approach: "We don't think about the result so much, we think about the process and we think about what we can do now - and I think [that] because that's how we think, we are going to be just fine."
The praise for Price isn't limited to the kids section. Dustin Pedroia commented on the team's confidence in Price as the leader of the staff, stopper of losing streaks, and, hopefully, winner of games in October and beyond.
"He's brought so much to our organization," said Pedroia. "His presence as a big-game pitcher – we're excited to have him every fifth day out there and giving us a chance to win, throwing every big game we have."
SEE ALSO: Roche: David Price Making Great First Impression At Red Sox Spring Training
As high as the expectations always are for the Red Sox, no one puts more on Price's shoulders than himself. Considering Price's surprising lack of playoff success, it's easy to wonder whether he shoulders too much of a burden, if he's too comfortable with a relative lack of results. But Price is still just 29 years old with plenty of time to pitch the way he knows he can well into October, and his consistently even-keeled nature is one that the Red Sox clubhouse needs for its young stars not to press or do too much. He is surrounded by motivated young teammates who are willing to take the same approach and that kind of synergy could propel the team closer to the result Boston has been patiently awaiting.
If Price can continue to pitch like he has throughout his career in the regular season, and his young teammates pull in the same direction, the Red Sox could be back to contending for October baseball. But, like it always has from April to September, it begins and ends with No. 24.
"The expectations that I have for myself far exceed any manager or teammate or fan's expectations for myself," Price said, "so I know if I can just go out there and throw the baseball the way I'm capable of throwing it, I think everybody will be satisfied."
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
