McAdam: David Price is a bundle of contradictions

NEW YORK -- As the Red Sox clubhouse opened to reporters at 3:35 p.m. Thursday afternoon, David Price was one of the few Red Sox players present. He was seated in front of his locker, facing the center of the room and arms crossed a bit defensively, ready to take questions he surely knew were coming.

For slightly more than 12 minutes or so, Price stood and answered everything asked of him, most of it good-naturedly and often with a slight smile on his face. He patiently reviewed the tests performed on him Tuesday in Boston, relayed what he'd been told by medical personnel and outlined his plan: "I'm pitching ... the rest of the year,'' beginning Saturday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Price can be an engaging pleasant sort and that's been his demeanor for most of this season, a rather stark contrast to last year when the pitcher was too often semi-combative and petulant, or at the very least, condescending, as when he went out of his way to cite "Manager John'' — his less-than-respectful name for former manager John Farrell.

Then again, Price has always run hot and cold, not unlike his performance on the mound since signing with the Red Sox. As a pitcher, he's had stretches of brilliance, mixed with periods during which he's greatly underperformed.

On and off the field, he's run hot-and-cold. Even Thursday, within his brief session with the media, Price frequently contradicted himself.

Sensing his fondness for playing video games had come under criticism on both social and traditional media and cited as a contributing factor to his mild carpal tunnel syndrome, Price seemed to tackle the issue head-on.

"This is just something that happened over time,'' he offered. "This didn't stem from any one thing. I'm born in 1985, so that's the video game generation. Being a (member of the) Red Sox is the least amount of video games I've ever played being in Major League Baseball. It's a very common thing, especially with my generation of that age. That's when video games really took off. It's not just something that happened this year. This is a spot that I've always had to work out. It just got a lot worse and more aggressive than it ever had. It's something we can take care of. We've got a lot of ways to combat it and we're doing everything.''

Price, then, claimed he's played video games less this year than any other since getting to the big leagues. And yet, in a story written by the Associated Press on the popularity of "Fortnite'' among MLB players, Price said he'd played more this season -- not less.

Price went on to say that players partaking in video games is "very common. A lot of teams, a lot of guys, are really into it.''

But presumably, they're not being diagnosed with "carpal tunnel syndrome,'' which should give Price -- you should pardon the pun -- pause when it comes to continuing to play.

Price's response to all of this is to refrain from playing video games "at the field. That's already caused enough noise. That's not the issue, I promise you that.''

Of course, if the condition has been brought about by playing video games, where Price plays isn't the issue; it's that he's playing at all, perhaps to his own detriment and that of his team.

Asked if he believed playing video games was the reason behind the carpal tunnel, Price said: "If that was the cause of the problem, then it started back in 1997 when I got my first PlayStation when I was 12-years old. I've always played video games. I've always played with my teammates, in the off-season, at the field, at the hotel. It's kind of my generation. That's what we do.

"If I need to shut down video games and pick up a new hobby, so be it. But I do not think that's the cause.''

So, having acknowledged that his condition may have been exacerbated by the playing of video games, Price vowed to keep playing -- unless he chooses a new hobby -- but won't play them in the clubhouse, where it's visible to others.

Got it.

Even the origin of his scratched start Wednesday remained something of a mystery. While Alex Cora noted in his media session that Price first alerted him to an issue with his hand and wrist Sunday in Texas, Price continued to maintain that the reason he was cut his bullpen short in Arlington was an allergy attack.

"Oh man, I couldn't see,'' said Price. "My allergies, that's something I've always had to battle with as well. Allergies are something I've always had to battle, whether it's fresh-cut grass, or cats or (I) found I'm allergic to dogs. Probably the weather was a part of it as well. It was cool the day before and then that last day was warm. So it's just part of it as well.''

That's in keeping with Price telling WEEI.com Sunday his bullpen was cut short by allergies -- a contention backed at the time by both Cora and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. But why, then, did Price mention the wrist to Cora on Sunday and report to Yankee Stadium on Monday, an off-day, for treatment if the allergies -- and not a sore wrist -- short-circuited his side session?

(The suggestion by some that Price has twice purposely "ducked'' the Yankees out of fear of embarrassment is, frankly, ridiculous and an ignorant take. Professional athletes don't feign injuries to avoid opponents. They relish competition and embrace challenges. Price has had success against the Yankees before -- he shut them out for eight innings last summer at Fenway -- and they've been successful against him, too. Life goes on.)

There are no easy answers here, but then, there seldom are with Price, who remains an occasionally dominant, occasionally underachieving pitcher on the mound, and off the field, enigmatic and inscrutable.