Four More Years!

As I'm sure you've all heard by now, David Price declined to exercise his option so he will be with the Red Sox for the remainder of his contract. (Quick side note. I'm amazed the “opt outs” have become so standard in contracts since they're so one-sided towards the player.) As you might expect, I'm excited about the idea of having Price for another four years.

I was never one of the people who considered this a three year contract when he signed it. I know there were a lot of those. “This is a good signing if you consider it a three year deal, and assume he opts out.” Because, if he was amazing enough to opt out, you had to assume the Sox would have to spend the same money or more to get him back, or sign his replacement. So, when I liked the deal when he signed it, I still like it now. (With the same caveat. If the Sox can't sign Mookie and Xander to extensions because of this, I'm not a fan.)

Some people certainly wondered if he would ride his playoff success off into the sunset. Frankly, that probably wasn't very realistic unless he wanted to take a pay cut to do so. I'm not sure anybody would hate it here that much. And, even if he had been tempted to do so, his playoff performance probably changed his mind. If you're going to make the money here, why not try Boston while holding all the cards? If you can make it through three years of being a “bust” in some people's eyes, I bet you can make it through four years as a World Series hero.

Hopefully this will help get Price off on a better foot as well. (Although, frankly I doubt it.) If the championship afterglow buys him some good will, I think he’ll be able to take it from there. Naturally, some media members are using this decision as an excuse to be really awful towards Price. After all, now he’s staying here knowing full well what it will be like. So, apparently, playing in Boston means being hounded mercilessly so if you choose to play under those conditions, you can't complain no matter how awful the EEIdiots are. They're just looking for ways to be awful to him at this point.

David Price reminds me of the couple you see at weddings who took dance lessons the month before. You see them on the floor mouthing the beat to themselves, and moving robotically following the steps they've memorized. Clearly they know “how” to dance, but they're not “dancers”. Price seems like that when he deals with the media. It seems like his agent told him how to deal with Boston media, gave him some tips and techniques...but it's just not “him”. So he tries to joke with the media like Pedroia does, but it falls flat. He tries to be honest like Papi did, but it doesn't work. He tries using clichés like everyone else, but it comes off unbelievable. He's trying to be someone he's not. Hopefully by sticking around, and having that shiny new ring, he'll be able to be himself. Because, it seems like he's a pretty likable guy. His teammates adore him, which is probably all he cares about.

So I'm looking forward to more chances to have Sale and Price at the top of the rotation. I'm looking forward to seeing how a relaxed and confident Price performs. I'm looking forward to seeing if the media members realize they're the only one who dislike Price. (I'm not holding my breath on that one) I'm looking forward to getting the Price the Red Sox signed.

Because that will be a lot of fun.