Price said he wants to move on from the issue but claims Eckersley won't let it dieGETTY IMAGES
Red Sox P David Price said he is "shocked" that his confrontation with NESN's Dennis Eckersley in '17 continues to resurface, according to Nicole Yang of the BOSTON GLOBE. What "bothers Price the most is that Eckersley has voiced interest in moving on and, though he hasn't yet talked to Price face-to-face, still discusses the matter in interviews." Most recently, Eckersley said in a Boston Globe Magazine piece that he "doesn't plan on saying 'a word' to Price" about the incident on the team plane following a game in '17. Price: "He continues to go on the radio or do interviews about it. If you want to move on, move on" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/18). In Boston, Peter Abraham notes Price prior to yesterday's game against the Blue Jays "attacked Eckersley by saying it was telling a recent MLB Network documentary about the Hall of Famer included none of his former teammates." Price: "To me, that's all you need to know. That tells the entire story right there. My teammates will vouch for me. My coaches will vouch for me. He doesn't have that." Abraham notes the documentary actually "featured several of Eckersley's teammates and was, by design, intended to be more of Eckersley reflecting on his career and tumultuous personal life." Price has "never been afraid to voice an opinion," but this was "one time he needed to just let it go." Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski and NESN President & CEO Sean McGrail "should order Price and Eckersley to meet at Fenway Park" today and "say what has to be said behind a closed door." If they "don't want to do that," Red Sox Owner John Henry "should." Abraham: "Get this over with" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/18).
STILL DOESN'T GET IT: In Boston, Chad Finn writes in regard to his Boston Globe Magazine piece with Eckersley, "In probably three hours of conversation over two days at Fenway, we talked about the Price situation for maybe two minutes." The piece was published Tuesday, and Finn writes he "didn't hear a word about Eckersley's Price quote ... until Wednesday." Then Price "sent out a couple of deaf-tone tweets about it." Price said that if Eckersley ever does want to meet, he will "apologize for what happened" in '17. Finn: "Count me as skeptical that he even realizes what he should apologize for, from his airplane ambush two years ago, and from his clueless Wednesday too" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/18). Also in Boston, Michael Silverman writes Price "knows next to nothing" about how the media "should do its job." Price "still sounds fragile, uninformed and kind of petty when it comes to learning and understanding the not-so-complicated task of the media" (BOSTON HERALD, 7/18).
