David Price signs with Red Sox, Zack Greinke reportedly choosing between Giants and Dodgers

And then the hot stove melted your tongue off. You're supposed to lick frozen light poles, you idiot, not hot stoves. No matter, we'll update you: The Giants have one fewer ace to consider. The Giants are that much closer to getting their ace. David Price is gone. Zack Greinke is reportedly choosing between the Dodgers and Giants.

This will affect only the next five or six long, long baseball seasons. Don't read too much into it.

Start with the Price deal, which is for seven years, $217 million. Which is a lot of dough. In five years, when Price is pitching less capably, it will still seem like a lot of dough. But the total contract will have been surpassed and surpassed again, so we'll get used to it. Remember how Jordan Zimmermann signed for close to what Barry Zito signed for, but for two fewer years, and it seemed like a good deal? It's like that, but more so.

But it's still a lot of money, and the Giants couldn't just slough off a disappointment. Well, technically they could, considering they sloughed off Zito's contract again and again and built a World Series winner again and again and again, but think of the offseasons. Those are fun when the Giants can spend a little. This is fun. The Giants are in the postseason of the offseason. They can't do that in future offseasons if they sink $217 million into a pitcher who flops.

The fun rumor came after the Price domino tipped over. Bob Nightengale with the scuttlebutt about Greinke:

Zack Greinke now expected to sign with #Dodgers or #Giants by the end of the week on a 5- or 6-year deal. The #Dodgers still the favorites

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 1, 2015

Before the offseason started, the conventional wisdom was that if the Dodgers couldn't sign Greinke, they'd just move on to Price. That made sense ... until the Red Sox gave Price an ultimatum. Now it's the Dodgers and Giants, and apparently they want some answers.

Now that David Price is off the board, Zack Grienke could sign quickly. #Dodgers and #SFGiants both want an answer.

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 1, 2015

The Giants have always preferred Greinke. And now that it's down to them and the Dodgers, the Giants can take away a couple wins just by outbidding the Dodgers. /mystery team starts playing the organ under the theatre Probably. And really, who outbids the Dodgers? If the Giants are being used for leverage ...

• At least they will cost the Dodgers more money, and ...
• We won't have to be reminded that Californians pay more income tax than other weenie states

The Dodgers had to pay $43.7 million in luxury tax this year, so while we like to joke and cringe about their limitless ability to spend, there probably is a limit. Probably. It might be a billion dollars and we'll never see that limit, but it's possible that the beancounters who bought the team balk at some point.

Possible, but not probable. The Dodgers are still the favorites. But we could know by the end of the week if the Giants are on the Leake + Samardzija consolation plan, or if they've punched the Dodgers right in the Lasorda. Bet on the former. Hope for the latter.