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Prior to last night’s game, Billy Wagner said 
the following in regards to his comments about teammates speaking with reporters:
“I’m getting all kinds of criticism for calling out a guy and for being racist. It’s a little much. I didn’t even say a name. Now, the fans think I’m some racist bigot who wants to go after my teammates. Like I said, it’s a bit much.”
Well, I’m just one fan, Billy, but, to me, I never inferred that you are a racist from these comments. The thought never once crossed my mind.
In fact, in all of the 316 e-mails sent to me about your remarks, and judging by the comments on my site, I would say very few fans feel this way about you, as well.
What I took away from your remarks had nothing to do with race – it had everything to do with accountability, not language.
Actually, regardless of these comments, and the media whirlwind, my bet is that you are still among the most respected and liked players on the team, as far as the fan’s are concerned.
I never got the impression that he was a racist, either. I just feel like he didn’t appreciate being lumped in with LoDuca’s comments last year, which were also blown out of proportion when Loduca got portrayed as a racist, when that wasn’t the case as well. Billy was just saying these guys are all available to the media when they go 3-4 and drive in a few runs, but when they play a game as pathetic as the one they played against the Nationals on Thursday, they duck out the clubhouse rather quickly or really don’t have much to say.
I think Billy’s a big mouth, but I didn’t find anything wrong with what he said. I got sold that this clubhouse was full of veteran leadership, but I have yet to see it, at least this year. Billy is a guy who pitches one inning. I want to hear from guys who play the whole game. Wright is the only one we fans see, or at least, the media wants us to see. Then I listen to Burkhardt saying Beltran answers questions every day at his locker, but his quotes are bland.
Sometimes, it almost comes across as the media has an agenda when it comes to this team.
I don’t know if the media has an agenda, but they certainly pounce on these opportunities, don’t they? I heard what Burkhardt said, too, and it was very interesting. So, Beltran and Delgado–and essentially everybody else but Wright and Wagner–are painted as “unaccessible” and “unaccountable” when, in reality, the media chooses to only go to Wright and Wagner. Certainly seems like a bunch of pucky to me.
Also, all this talk about players like Beltran and Delgado not providing good quotes…was it not Beltran that gave the “team to beat” quote this past offseason? The more you talk to a player, the more likely he is to give you a good quote, right? It’s all a matter of playing the odds.
I think we should give a nice hand for Wags when he comes home. He needs to know we support him.
He would certainly deserve it. I think his comments have been right on the money on both occasions, this season. Sure, he has a big mouth–but if he is right, he is right. And on this typically lifeless, apathetic team, it’s nice to see someone show some emotion and frustration over the slow start.
Well said, Matt. It also never crossed my mind that Wagner’s comments were racially motivated–although, I do recall seeing or hearing some people accusing him of focusing on the Latino players. The thing is, as everyone often points out, there are a lot of Latino players on this team–and a lot of the stars are Latino! So, chances are, if Wagner is calling out some of his teammates, he has a good chance of calling out a Latino teammate!
The media is fishing for anything to make this story go on as long as possible. Stop biting