Billy Wagner Quotes (51 Quotes)

They finally caught on that this guy's for us, not against us. Charlie's a positive person. And playing in Philadelphia, it's not a positive situation. A lot of these guys haven't played under that positive influence. And when you meet somebody like Charlie, who is truly and sincerely interested in you ... it took awhile for them to kind of understand that.

Definitely coming from a different organization and taking a big step, I want to get comfortable and not be living out of a suitcase for the whole spring training and having my family do the same. It was a move that I felt was good for me and for my family.

Right now, we're very confident. We're not letting one loss turn into two.

I told him, 'How's it feel to be a part of the best bullpen in baseball I know he was upset, that's what he wanted to do. But hey, you've got a chance to make us 10 times better and you've got a chance to be a part of something special. It's not a knock to go to the bullpen anymore.

I don't know, I would like to. We will see how it reacts (today) and go from there.

Protecting a 3-2 lead in front of a packed house, it's tough.

The guy who has stood out as being special is Howard. You don't walk in and just replace Jim Thome, but you can't possibly do any better than he has.

One thing we don't want to do in emergency management or in the weather service is to go backwards. And I can guarantee you this is a step backwards.

We both move forward pretty much as much as we can. But when he lets it go, you know it's coming out of his hand about three feet closer to the plate than mine.

I would never have thought in an off day that the big story would be music. Involving me.

Everyone wants him to break it, but everyone wants him to quit, too. He's the best thing going in baseball.

It's a real honor to go there and represent your country. For me personally, I want to go out there and show that my country is the best. With the talent we have in the United States, it's going to be like playing in the Olympics.

If Pat had gotten there earlier, I think he could have gotten something done. He didn't have much time.

I've been fighting for a permanent location for 25 years now.

Trust me, I'm going to do my best to beat them if I do get in there. I've got some lifetime friends over there in Craig Biggio and Baggy Jeff Bagwell. We can chat all we want when the year is over. This is business.

And that's exciting when you know the resources and the things that they're capable of doing.

I'm excited about the opportunity. I expect great things.

Gerry would be a fine fit in Philadelphia. I know Gerry, and I know what he's capable of. He's one guy that can go out there and get things done. He's fantastic, and he'll go out there and find that piece that's missing to get you over the hump.

After you lose the first game of a series, the pressure is really on to win the next two. This team stepped up and focused and stayed consistent.

I made some pitches. I just didn't make enough of them.

I don't know how close we are in salary, in no-trade clauses, I don't know anything about that. If my agent gets what he thinks is a good deal, he'll call me. It's not my job to negotiate. My job is to close games out on the field.

I don't know anything about this rivalry. It seems like every team in the National League has been after them. I can't get caught up in the importance of a game in April. Games that really mean something, that starts in August.

Gerry is a solid baseball man. He knows what he's doing.

This coaching staff has allowed us to grow. We didn't have that leadership last year. Charlie Manuel and his group have been as inspiring as they can be. Last year, guys went out and put a lot more pressure on themselves in situations like these.

I just didn't feel like I was ready yet. I didn't feel like I could, in good conscience, go out and try to push myself to that next level in early March. It's something that could turn out and I could hurt myself, and that's something I want to stay away from, because I want to go out there and do what's right for me and my future.

It's unfortunate, but that's how society is today. They want to see the big man fall.

I didn't want to go out and blow it out because I haven't thrown in about a week or so. It felt pretty good.

It's in there. We just gotta get it out before it's too late.

Dude, listen to me. You're the best. It happens to all of us. It'll happen again. You have to be able to deal with it.

Actually, I thought I threw the ball decently. I just felt in good conscience I wasn't going to be able to turn it up to that next level. I'd say my velocity was anywhere from 92 to probably 96 mph. But that's not as consistent as I need to be to face the competition we're going to have. I couldn't in good conscience go out there and put myself into that situation.

I think if I had an opportunity to play in New York four or five years ago, I probably wouldn't have been as receptive to it. After the trade of going to Philadelphia and playing there, I believe that's made it that much easier to handle the media, the pressures.

I don't want to go up there and be a bad apple. I'm just not a very good spring pitcher. I don't want to hurt my team by going out there and not being as effective as I want to.

They do. If you give up nothing for a while, when they do come, they'll come in bunches and bite you.

I want to be there. But if this does flare up or something, I'd much rather be out the first week of the season than be out two, three times during the season.

There's not a lot going wrong. There's just not a lot going right.

It's not serious. We didn't want to make it worse.

He's the greatest player I've ever played against. For him to break it, it's good for the game.

He's not the old (Bonds), but he can still hit. I still think he's the best player I've ever played against or seen. He's at about 85-90 percent, but he's better than any baseball player out there.

I want to be comfortable and not live out of a suitcase for the whole Spring Training and having my family doing the same.

I tried to get it up, but that's his zone. You have to make sure it's up enough.

I tuned that all out. Obviously, there was a lot of stuff going on. But it was just a spring training game to me. It was fun for the Latin crowd.

I think it's a great idea. I think it's good for baseball, I really do. I just think it's not good for Billy Wagner.

I hope they allow him to go out and face that guy the next time. He might give up another home run -- but I doubt it. In fact, I'd take that to the bank. This kid is destined for greatness. If they stay with him, and he's on teams that get him to the playoffs, he's the next Mariano Rivera , without a doubt. Ever see the hitters' faces when they come up to hit against him They're just hoping to find one ball they might put in play. He needs to remember that now.

It's too early to think about the standings. I don't think you can make too much out of it.

I think he's got a great mentality, a great situation here where he has so many leaders and experienced guys to show him. And he doesn't have to be a leader, but they're grooming him to be one. I think he's just going to be a fantastic player for a long time.

I knew they wouldn't match all the Mets had done. They were still worried about age and all that stuff organizations worry about.

We know how important this month is. Guys turned it up for the second game. We're going to have some tough losses, but we didn't let one tough loss turn into two.

Everybody's got soreness. Don't make no (stuff) up.

First of all, we're going to stop using the word 'devastating' because it's not devastating. New Orleans is devastating. We have Florida coming in now. This is not the end of the world. I'll be out there. This team will be out there. And we'll play hard like we did Wednesday.

I don't know if Philly is my first choice, but I like it enough to come back. They still have time.