Read: Less is More for Wagner
In an article for Newsday, Ken Davidoff relays a brief interview with Billy Wagner, who thinks his late-inning appearances should be more restricted.
Wagner, as quoted by Davidoff:
“There’s no doubt, the older you get, the more you have to take care of yourself, and ownership has to take care of you, too. I don’t have the ability I had five years ago. I can still dominate a game. I can still do my job.”
“But you can’t overexpose. You can’t go out there and throw meaningless innings. You have to be used in your element, in your role, and not abused.”
…i agree with billy’s argument in that an aging ballplayer shouldn’t be overused in the wrong situations, but statements like these make me wonder about wagner’s stamina in a long season with at least 162 games…
Davidoff also writes:
“Wagner is working on a second breaking ball, a changeup and pitching from a windup. It’s the time of year for experimentation and discussion. Come October, we’ll see what stuck, what worked and what didn’t.”
