David Price: "We Hate The Yankees. We Hate Them."

It's not a bad thing that David Price is trying to rebuild his tattered image with Red Sox fans, but I don't think I'll ever really like the guy - he was a jerk too many times for too many years before coming to Boston.

Still, offering some perfunctory quotes regarding the rivalry is preferred to being an actual asshole for no coherent reason.

Marly Rivera, ESPN Writer:

David Price when asked whether the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has heated up with the Stanton/Martinez acquisitions (with a big smile on his face): "You guys want it, let's do it, we hate the Yankees. You guys want it, yeah we hate the Yankees. We hate them."

Scott Lauber, ESPN Staff Writer:

David Price describes J.D. Martinez as "quiet" and "different than me." Price claims he "didn't talk anything about baseball" in his recruiting pitches to Martinez. His advice to Martinez on dealing with everything that comes with playing for the Red Sox: "Go play baseball. Just go be yourself."

Scott Lauber, ESPN Staff Writer:

David Price on the potential impact that J.D. Martinez could make on the AL East race: "To add a hitter like that to the lineup, that's good, especially in this division. The Yankees made moves this offseason. To be able to combat those moves with a guy like J.D., that was a good move."

I wish Price had taken his own advice last season when it came to "everything that comes with playing" in Boston. But who knows? Maybe he's gained some insight in the last five months.

Earlier this week, Price told USA Today:

I told J.D. he will love the guys here in this clubhouse, but also told him he'll get booed. He's a quiet, soft-spoken guy, but he'll handle it. Besides, everyone gets booed. I heard Big Papi get booed many times in Fenway. ... Go out there and win. Winning cures everything.