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Price, Rays pounded by Rangers, drop third straight

Associated Press

Rays pitcher David Price rubs his face after walking Texas Rangers' Marlon Byrd in the first inning Saturday.

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TBO.com

Published: July 4, 2009

Updated: 07/05/2009 12:08 am

ARLINGTON, Texas As he rose up through the college and minor-league ranks, mostly dominating hitters at every level, David Price found he could live by a simple philosophy.

Here it is – hit it.

A fastball in the mid-90s and a nasty putaway slider were sufficient to get the job done no matter who he faced, and he found that formula largely held true even in his big-league cameo as a reliever late last season.

It may still be enough, with help from a changeup he has worked hard to develop at the Rays' insistence, but Price seems to have gradually psyched himself out of letting that happen.

He admitted as much Saturday night in the wake of a 12-4 loss to the Rangers that could be attributed directly to his worst start to date. Price lasted only 12 batters, walking more of them (five) than he retired (four) before departing in the second inning.

That alone tells you his fastball command was the primary issue, as it has been most of the time since Price was recalled from Durham in late May. He has walked at least five batters in five of his eight starts since then, and no one involved believes his problem is anything but mental.

"I think he's thinking about too many things," said Manager Joe Maddon. "His focus is too broad of a spectrum right now and we've got to fine-tune that and pretty much simplify things."

It makes sense, but it's all new and rather unwelcome to the 23-year-old prodigy, who isn't used to having to fight this hard just to be average. Simply put, he has gotten into his own head.

"I'm out there on the mound and I'm just thinking about everything I should not be thinking about," Price said. I've got to think about, 'Here it is – hit it.' That's what got me to this level."

There is a caveat there, and it was in evidence Saturday night. A major-league hitter can hit a fastball no matter how hard it is thrown if he has an idea that it's coming and will probably be in the strike zone because a pitcher is so desperate to deliver a strike.

That was the case with the two big blows the Rangers struck against Price on Saturday, a three-run homer by Andruw Jones in the first inning and a three-run double by Michael Young in the second. Both of those hits were immediately preceded by back-to-back walks from Price, leaving him at the mercy of the next hitter when it came to pitch selection and location.

Though the Rays made an effort to respond, with Jason Bartlett hitting a solo homer in the second inning and Dioner Navarro a three-run shot in the fifth, the deficit was too much to overcome and left plenty of cleanup for the bullpen.

Lance Cormier relieved Price one out into the second inning and pitched three innings, and Jeff Niemann took on the same workload to close the game. Each allowed three more runs, sealing this one as a rout.

Though Price had pitched well his previous time out, his body of work since being recalled has not been terribly impressive – particularly those 23 walks in 29 innings. But it doesn't sound as if the Rays are ready to send him back to Durham to work out the kinks.

"Everybody expects him to be finished artwork by now and that's just unfair; he's not ready for that yet," Maddon said. "But he's not far away from it either. That's the problem with being David Price: the expectations are so high. But I also believe he's definitely got the shoulders and the mindset to handle it, too. Patience is a really important word with this fella."

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