Quote: Wagner continues on ESPN 1050
Just moments after his comments to reporters following today’s game, which you can check out here, Billy Wagner talked to ESPN 1050 in his regularly-scheduled, weekly interview.
During Wagner’s discussion with Kay, he had the following to say regarding his earlier comments to reporters…
“Well, I mean, I was not a participant in the game, and the guys that had participated were gone. I mean, we’re all upset, we’re unhappy with things that are going on, and how we’re playing, and I just felt like I hadn’t even played. I had no role in the game. David Wright is always there, and the same guys are always there. But there needs to be other guys that are accountable. It gets a little old when the same people keep getting interviewed even when they don’t participate…If you’re not there to answer the questions, the reporters can write whatever they want to. They can write you stunk, you sucked, whatever. But if you’re there to say, ‘Hey man, I wasn’t very good today. I came up and I had a chance and it didn’t work out.’ Well, you’re accountable. When you’re not there, it gets a little ridiculous…
…Paul Lo Duca’s comments from last year, about certain players avoiding the media, and suggesting that other players speak English too…
“I think it’s just certain guys. I don’t think it’s Latin or white or black. I don’t think it’s a color thing. I think it’s just as a whole. There’s guys that need to stand there and take the bad with the good.”
…whether or not he has talked with Willie Randolph or Omar Minaya about this…
“I think they understand. They know what goes on and I’m sure they’ve talked to everybody. That’s just a situation where I’m sure some of this stuff will be brought up tomorrow and see where we’ll go from there. I’m not saying it’s like earth-shattering. I’m just saying that I’m the closer of the baseball team – I’m not the captain. There’s other guys on this team that need to stand there and answer the questions during the tough times too.”
…he brings up an interesting point, in that by not speaking to reporters, it allows those reporters to frame reality however they see fit…and those stories, like it or not, tend to frame the discourse that goes on in the street, on talk radio and on blogs…and, this would not be such a big deal, but given how frustrated the fans are and how blah the team has been, it would make sense for the players to try and grab the wheel as much as they can…
To listen to Wagner’s entire interview, go to ESPN 1050.
