Farrell says he hasn't apologized to Eckersley about Price incident

Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell said Wednesday he hasn't apologized to NESN broadcaster and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, who got chewed out on a team flight in June by left-hander David Price for being critical of Eduardo Rodriguez's performance in a rehab start.

Farrell said he spoke with Price following the incident to reiterate the team's expectations with respect to dealing with the media, but noted that no apology has been made to Eckersley, whom he described as "a little bit more direct and maybe unfiltered" than other broadcasters.

"Eck is critical, as are many commentators," Farrell said during an appearance on WEEI's D&H Show. "But that's the world we live in. That's the position that we hold. We're going to always not appease everyone. There's going to be criticism that does come our way. He happens to be a little bit more direct and maybe unfiltered, and I know there's been situations that have come up in the past where some players have maybe gone to him directly."

Farrell added that he has interacted with Eckersley since the incident, and their conversations have been "cordial," with "professional respect on both sides."

Details of the incident surfaced last week in a report from Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, whose sources said that after Price heard Eckersley react on-air to Rodriguez's poor pitching line from a rehab start with a brusque, "Yuck," the former Cy Young award winner mocked Eckersley in front of other Red Sox players when the analyst boarded the team's charter flight to Toronto.

"Here he is: the greatest pitcher who ever lived. This game is easy for him," Price said, according to Shaughnessy's sources, earning applause from many of his teammates.