Massarotti: David Price Takes Big Step Backward For Himself, Red Sox
BOSTON (CBS) -- If and when the Red Sox truly start to spiral, April 21, 2016 should stand out in your memory. That was the day that $217 million ace David Price pushed the Sox backward. And that was the day he might have started the events that led to the demise of his manager.
Dramatic? Of course. But with the Red Sox, once again, everything is. And so Farrell is being scrutinized Friday for staying too long with William Cuevas, the latest in a string of decisions that grows exponentially faster when a manager is on the hot seat. But the simple truth is that 95 percent of yesterday's painful 12-8 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays rests squarely on the shoulders of the man who is supposed to save Farrell, not serve him up for sacrifice.
Losses like yesterday leave a mark, and David Price knows it.
"That's unacceptable," the Red Sox ace said after coughing up a 5-1 first-inning lead to a Tampa lineup that is among the very worst in baseball.
SEE ALSO: Rays Beat David Price, Red Sox 12-8
Say this for Price: he understands his role. The best aces usually do. Price was brought to Boston as a theoretical savior, particularly for Farrell, whose "five aces" of 2015 pitched far more like five ass… er, donkeys. The 2015 Red Sox pitching staff was under water from the start, never recovered in time, and buried another Boston baseball season in Davy Jones' locker.
Price was supposed to fix that. Aces are supposed to end bad streaks, protect the other starters in the rotation, save the bullpen. Instead, Price yesterday did precisely the opposite, cutting the legs out from under a Red Sox team – and manager – that had caught its breath only 15 or so hours earlier.
Let's replay the approximate 27 hours entering yesterday's game. Joe Kelly took the mound, hurt his shoulder and dumped nine innings onto the Sox bullpen which did a yeoman's job while the Sox offense had its worst day of the young season in an eventual 3-0, extra-inning loss. Rick Porcello then came out and made everything right in the world, giving the Sox seven innings, allowing the bullpen to catch its breath, evening the Sox' record at 7-7 entering a series and homestand finale against a Tampa Bay team the Sox must beat, especially at home, if they are to make any hay in the C-level American League East.
So what did Price do? He stood in front of his teammates yesterday and kicked them squarely in the groin, costing them a game, a series and the chance at a winning record – the Sox are now 7-8 – as they head into a three-game series at Houston, against the Astros, who are regarded as one of the best teams in the American League this season. Price acted far more like one of the five donkeys than he did the indisputable ace, and John Farrell must be wondering whether he can possibly catch a break.
Farrell obviously gets his share of the blame when this team loses, and yesterday's had its share of curious decisions, good and bad. For one, after batting for Travis Shaw against left-handed pitching as early as the sixth inning this season, Farrell let the youngster bat against lefty yesterday, in a key situation. Shaw doubled. He later batted Josh Rutledge for Brock Holt – and Rutledge doubled. Chris Young got what seems like his required at-bat, substituting for Jackie Bradley. He walked.
And yes, Farrell sent Cuevas back out for a second inning of a work in an 8-8 game, at which point the Rays scored and never looked back.
So far this season, Red Sox relievers have piled up 56 innings, second-most in the American League to only the Oakland A's, who have 57. (Oakland has played one fewer game.) Koji Uehara already looks overworked. Ditto for Craig Kimbrel. Entering yesterday, Junichi Tazawa had pitched on three consecutive days and the Sox were playing musical chairs with the final spots on their pitching staff – Noe Ramirez, Heath Hembree and Cuevas dancing around chairs until the music stopped.
Has the manager been a little too aggressive with his bullpen thus far? Perhaps. Sure. Yes. But the Sox also have played a succession of close games that have resulted in his relief corps already piling up five losses, tied for most in the American League. Price isn't the only one who has let his manager down. Kimbrel has, too.
SEE ALSO: Are John Farrell's Managerial Decisions Costing The Red Sox?
During his career, Price hasn't been a slow starter so much as he has been a mediocre one. Last season, he didn't fully hit stride until late May, after which he posted an ERA just a little over 2.00. For his career, April has been his worth month. In other years, Price's mediocre or slow starts might have been far more tolerable because we all know that the baseball season is a marathon and not a sprint. But given the events of the last four or five years, particularly the last two, this Red Sox season has been different from the start, and everybody knows it.
John Farrell's job depends on it.
And yesterday, David Price did not push the Red Sox forward, as he is supposed to do.
He kicked them squarely in the jaw, knocking them back.
