NEW YORK -- With some help from Dustin Pedroia, David Price believes he may have found the physical reason for his early-season struggles.
But Price knows one thing -- he's not struggling because of anything mental.
When the Red Sox starter was asked whether part of his poor start could be traced to, consciously or not, trying too hard to justify his $217 million contract, he was certain with his answer.
"Honestly, I don't think so,'' said Price. "I really don't. I don't think about the amount of money that I make. Every 14 days, when you get paid, I don't know what my paycheck looks like. I'm not going to ask my agent. I'm not going to sit down and do the math. I don't spend money. I don't live a lavish lifestyle. I wear free Jordan stuff to the field every day.
''The money that I spend is probably on Amazon, and that's stuff that I need for the house and stuff like that. I'm the same guy. I'm not going to let my struggles affect me. The money that I make, I'm not going to change. I can't change. I love this game. I put everything that I have into it.''
Nor, Price added, does he feel burdened or pressured to be the No. 1 guy who can lead a staff. That's familiar territory for him.
"That's the guy I've been since I was 14 years old,'' said Price. "I've been looked at as that guy for as long I can remember. That's not new to me. That's the norm. That's something I feel like I've always been able to handle. I'm not pitching well right now, but I don't think it's because of that.
Boston Red Sox
"I haven't pitched well. I know that I will. I know that my teammates and coaching staff, they have that confidence in me to able to turn it around. This is the worst seven-game stretch I've ever had in my career. For me, I know it's got to be better. It can't get any worse than right now.''
That said, it's clear that Price is unhappy with how the early stage of his Red Sox career has gone.
"It's tough,'' he acknowledged. "This is definitely a time period where I wanted to throw the baseball well. To come here and not pitch the way that I know I'm capable of, with a new team and a team that I've been a rival against for six season...I know my teammates know I know how to throw that baseball and I know our fan base knows that as well.
"To start off rough, whenever you put yourself behind the eight-ball, it's makes it tough. It does. But I'm going to be alright. I'm going to bounce back from this and finish strong.''