David Price attempts a turnaround: 'I could have handled certain situations better and I didn’t'

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- David Price’s first start of the year likely won’t come until March 30, the second day of the regular season, when the Red Sox meet the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

But Tuesday was a new beginning of sorts for Price. He wasn’t on the mound, but it seemed like he was already on the clock. It was time for a new beginning.

Last year, he rehabbed his balky elbow; this spring, he’s rehabbing his image. Or trying to, anyway.

It’s hard to imagine having a worse season than the one Price had last year. He suffered a forearm/elbow injury in spring training and didn’t make his first start until the last few days of May. Then, in July, he was shut-down again with a recurrence of the same issue.

In between, Price led a revolt against NESN broadcaster Dennis Eckersley culminating with an ugly confrontation on a team flight to Toronto and resulting in Price being a target for a frustrated fan base.

And even though he returned in September and October to pitch well out of the bullpen, he remained the symbol of a team which fans grew to dislike, despite a second straight AL East title and 93 wins.

“I could have handled certain situations better and I didn’t,’’ conceded Price. “I said that last year in the clubhouse to a group of you guys. ... Everything I’ve been through the past two years, it’s been a struggle absolutely. I feel like I’ve gotten better from it and I look forward to continuing to learn.’’

As for winning back the support of fans, Price understands the equation. In politics, an operative once summarized the essentials for a winning campaign: “It’s the economy, stupid.’’

For Price, it’s similarly cut-and-dried on the field.

“It’s pretty straightforward,’’ he said. “You know what you’re going to get. If you go out and pitch well and play well, you’re going to have support. That’s something I took from James Shields – ‘if you don’t like it, pitch better.’ That’s always the motto, whether you’re going good or going bad. You can always make things better by pitching better. That’s what I have to do – go out there and throw the ball the way I have before I got to Boston. I look forward to doing that.’’

After this season, Price has an opt-out in his seven-year, $217-million contract, and while he wouldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t take advantage of it, he did say he expected to be back with the Sox next year.

Following two subpar seasons in Boston, Price would have a difficult time topping what he has due from the Red Sox (four years, $125 million). But the brutal free agent freeze-out this winter could serve as further disincentive to give up what he’s has guaranteed.

“I haven’t put any thought into it,’’ he said. “I’m sure there would be a ton of factors that would go into it. I haven’t had that conversation with my wife, my agent or my family or anybody else. I expect to win here and that’s what I came here for.’’

At times, Price has appeared miserable in Boston, uncomfortable with the attendant expectations and the smothering media presence. But he reiterated that he doesn’t carry any regrets over signing with the Red Sox.

"No, there’s none,’’ he said. "I came here to win. I knew how tough it was to play here and to pitch here. I know if you can come here and win, I know all the emotion and things are going to be even better. I look forward to doing that and feeling that.

"It’s pretty straightforward. You know what you’re going to get. If you go out and pitch well and play well, you’re going to have support."

For Price, pitching well is going to be largely dependent on remaining healthy. Even though he was limited by time constraints to the bullpen last fall, he was encouraged by his performance.

"To be able to throw the baseball in October that way,’’ he said, “whether you’re starting or coming out of the bullpen, you’ve got to be able to take something good out of that. Coming off the injury I dealt with last year and to come back and be able to throw the amount of pitches that I did, to be able to throw back-to-back games? That was good.

"I put (questions about his arm) out of my mind. To get to the playoffs and throw back-to-back days and to be able to throw the amount of pitches that I did, in the time span that I did, that really took all of the injury concern out of mind. Honestly, that was probably tougher than getting out there and throwing 90-100 pitches at one time as a starter. To be able to do that and bounce back, that was big."

Price touched on a number of other topics, including the firing of John Farrell, offering a lukewarm and not entirely convincing endorsement (“I didn’t have a problem with Manager John’’) and the Red Sox’ winter-long pursuit of free agent slugger J.D. Martinez, a one-time teammate in Detroit.

"I’ve talked to him a couple of times," Price said of Martinez. "I told him we’d love to have him here. He knows that. He’s going through his process. He put in a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of hard work to get to this point to where these free agents are right now. Usually, you only get to do that one time and you want to make sure you do it right. He’s going through his process."

And Price is going through his. The rehabilitation road continues.