One Is Greater Than Five: Ace David Price Changing Expectations For 2016 Red Sox
By Johnny Carey, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Entering each of the past two seasons, the biggest question mark facing the Red Sox has been the starting rotation.
Through 14 games, those fears have certainly not been alleviated.
We've seen Clay Buchholz go full Clay Buchholz, as the incredibly inconsistent starter has alternated between horrendous and dominant starts.
We've seen Joe Kelly (he of the 9.35 ERA, Joe Kelly) head to the DL.
We haven't even seen Eduardo Rodriguez pitch yet.
The only starter with good numbers so far has been Steven Wright, and he wasn't even supposed to be in the rotation. Now with the Kelly injury, the Red Sox will also be forced to call upon someone from Pawtucket.
So among all of the negativity surrounding the Boston rotation, why is there still reasonable hope moving forward? Well, that'd be your $217 million man.
David Price. The ace of the staff. Doesn't it feel good to have one of those again?
Days like Thursday are exactly why the Red Sox needed to sign the former Cy Young winner. Bad starting pitching seems to be contagious, and as we saw last season, when there's no one to break the cycle and start a new trend, it's very, very difficult to win games.
The Red Sox need a pitcher to step up and win when the pitchers around him haven't performed up to par. It is, after all, the role of an ace.
According to Price, that's not a task that fazes him whatsoever.
"Honestly, I think it's tougher to go out there and pitch when your team's won four in a row as opposed to losing four in a row, because then things obviously aren't going well for your team and you definitely want to get them going on the right foot," Price told The Boston Herald.
The expectation, not the hope, is that David Price will dominate Thursday.
An extremely weak Tampa Bay lineup that includes seven batters hitting .250 or lower certainly helps. It also helps that the struggling Rays roster holds a putrid .215 career average against Price.
Add the motivation factor of pitching against a former team, and everything is set up for Price to have a big day.
Price pitched well in his last start against Toronto (another former team), when he tossed seven innings of two-run baseball, while striking out nine and earning the win.
Everything points to Price having a great outing on Thursday, but a win today would have much bigger impact than just the one win -- it would change the outlook of the entire home stand.
A win would give the Red Sox a series victory over Tampa Bay and end the first long home stand of the season at 5-5, which while certainly not ideal, also isn't a reason for panic.
A loss, however, would end a home stand with zero series victories over three division rivals to start the year. The Red Sox would head out on a road trip below .500, completely lacking momentum, and with questionable starting pitching to follow.
Last season, it would be little more than a dream for a starter to come up big in a swing game like today's against Tampa Bay, but that's what should make different about 2016. That's what the David Price effect is.
It may not be quite the same as having five aces:
Clay Buchholz bought the starters shirts that read "He's the Ace". Masterson on the mound today, so he's wearing the "I'm the Ace" version.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 6, 2015
But that's more than OK. Sometimes, one is greater than five.
Johnny Carey is a senior at Boston College. You can find him on Twitter@JohnnyCarey94