Chris Widger Quotations

Ninety nine times out of 100, there's no way I even put that ball in play. Somehow, it hit the barrel of my bat. I don't know why I hit it, or how it happened.

Oh, yeah, it's been noticeable for a while now,

I can live with that start 35 times a year.

For us to play as well as we did, that was like the 're-turning point' in our year. We got back to being ourselves, and it's carried into the playoffs.

I don't think people give him enough credit for being as smart as he is, ... Now we're talking about that instead of something negative about the team, so I guess that's a good thing.

What we have here is a checks-and-balances system. Ozzie says whatever he wants. And Kenny is the voice of reason.

He just tried to wipe the last two starts out, and he went out there and tried to start over.

He's always in the middle of any controversy, so it couldn't happen to a better guy because A.J. is used to it. He can handle it better than everyone.

He's always in the middle of some kind of controversy, ... It couldn't have happened to a better guy. Because A.J. is used to it, so he can handle this better than anyone else on this team can. ... It's just fitting. If you're going to write a story and say who's going to be in that spot, it's going to be A.J.

I thought it was better to at least play some Triple-A and wait for an opportunity than to not play at all.

I think he was 100% correct. We all knew that. It wasn't a surprise. It's probably surprising he held it in that long.

I think he battles out of tough spots now and it's not a matter of him throwing a pitch and hoping he gets the guy out. I think now you're seeing the real Jose Contreras coming out.

Yeah, I've played for seven or eight years. I'm in two or three leagues, including one here and with friends at home. We pick lineups each week, and ...

We'll do more down the road, but this will help as a quick fix.

There are a lot of reasons why I like it here, but the biggest is because it's home. I love the people . . . and I wouldn't want anything else.

We've got David Carr and Michael Vick at quarterback. We've got Marvin Harrison and Roy Williams at receiver. ... Hey, A.J., who's our running backs?

You play with him and you realize that it's all part of his fire. You take the good with the bad.

I had an opportunity to play in the World Series and actually play in a game and get meaningful at-bats. To be in that situation . . . it didn't sink in until I got home and sat down.

It's disappointing to not get this one in. We ran into a red hot team that's swinging the bats well and they're playing well at home.

He still can be just as dominating when he wants to. I think sometimes now, when he makes a mistake, it may get hit a little bit more often, because he doesn't throw 98 or 99 now. But he's still a dominating pitcher.

I probably will go get a copy of that film and keep it, just so I can say I did it one time. Honestly, in this game, you get lucky sometimes, and sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

I pretty much did it last year anyway, so there's no real difference. I've done it before in Montreal. It's actually easier for someone that doesn't play every day to handle it, so you have time to take care of certain problems. I don't mind doing it. I like to know what's going on. We didn't always have that when Mark was doing it.

I didn't play on any of the other teams in the past 88 years here, so I'm not part of that history, ... I'm on the 2005 team and that's all I really care about.

I didn't realize it was up around my shoulders. If he makes that pitch 99 more times, I probably strike out 75 times and pop up the other 24 times. I just got lucky, I think.

He's the kind of guy, if you're on the other team, you hate playing against him. When he's one of your teammates, you know why he does certain things.

They'll both be OK. Right now they're both going through the dead-arm period that they would normally go through in the spring.

It was a combination of us not swinging the bats and he was throwing it well.

As far as him quitting, I hope not, I'd like to come back here next year, but he has to do whatever's best for him, best for his family and best for his health.

(The Daily News report is) just someone trying to stir something up and cause a problem who was flat-out lying in the paper.

You can't ever do it on your own. In my case, just getting back here, a lot of people had a hand in that.

You know people. Everybody wants to see a train wreck.

Forget winning the World Series. I enjoyed playing baseball for the first time in a long time.

It's one of those freaky things that happen. It'll probably never happen again.

It's nice to get out there and get back into the flow a little bit. Try not to think of the memories of last year. It's a new year, and we have a lot of work to do.

There were 26 the other day when he spoke to pitchers and catchers. He spoke for five minutes. He was doing well, and then he strung together a few at the end. He gets excited and animated. He's not going to change because that's what makes him who he is.

It's another game off the schedule, ... Until they tell us it's clinched or everybody else is mathematically eliminated, we'll try to win every game.

It's been about a month that he's changed on the bench. He's not as loose and happy go-lucky as he was but, hey, that's the way it is.

Theresa tells me things happen for a reason.

He's not as loose and happy-go-lucky as he was but, hey, that's the way it is. When you're a manager, the team lives and dies on your decision and at the end of the day you have to answer for the way your team plays, ... As far as him quitting, I hope not, I'd like to come back here next year, but he has to do whatever's best for him, best for his family and best for his health.

I do feel badly for (Eddings). I know that's part of it, that when you're an umpire you take (garbage). You're always going to be wrong whether it's for one team or the other team. He could have made 200 calls right that game, but that play is the one that's going to be talked about because it came in such a crucial situation. It's a tough job.