Matt Stairs Quotations

If I was going to play like this all the time, they could've signed me for five years,

He didn't show anybody up, ... He could've very easily thrown up his arms when we blew two double-play balls.

I think it's gotten past the point of frustration for us. When we make a mistake, it seems to beat us. Tonight it was an infield hit. I thought it was a good ballgame and I thought we played well, but we lost.

I think it's gotten past the point of frustration for us.

I think if you look deep down inside you know you're overmatched against the United States, especially when we were younger. We had a bunch of hockey players going out there.

That was back in the days I was playing shortstop. It's ironic I've been around 20 years and get a chance to play in it again.

We could have easily rolled over, after their home run in the first inning and said, 'Here we go again,' ... We had some good at-bats in the first inning. When you score three runs in the first inning that is nice. It takes pressure off the offence.

When you get 25 or 30 Canadians together it's going to be a very loose clubhouse. But it's also going to be a very serious clubhouse. We're going into the tournament very serious and ready for it.

Earlier in the year we would have rolled over and gave up on a game like that. We would have said 'We screwed up and lost 6-5, who cares?' The way (manager) Buddy Bell has taken over and the way things have changed in this locker-room, we know when we get down we have some offence to come back.

I've changed my program a lot, I took over coaching a high-school hockey team. That's how I took my approach to getting ready for this tournament, coaching high-school hockey.

I very easily could've went to a contender, ... but I felt very good about coming back to this organization.

I've made it clear that I love Kansas City,

Offensively we have a very good team but .Ê.Ê. pitching is the most important thing and we lost a few guys.

Offensively we have a very good team but . . . pitching is the most important thing and we lost a few guys.

A lot of guys just smile now. Guys are not going to be sitting around moping and pressing anymore. It's just nice. It's not the turning point of the season, but it's nice to get the media off our back and not be the highlights on SportsCenter whenever anybody falls down.

It wasn't very hard to think about, ... Once the offer was there, it was a 'Yes.'

It's something that we're looking forward to. It's not necessarily to make a big name for ourselves. It's just a chance to put the country of Canada on the map as a place that has some good ballplayers out there.

I've got daughters almost as old as some of these guys,

I want the young guys to sit by their lockers with their heads up. The only thing I can do is try to be positive.

It was his own fault. He came in overweight and out of shape. He's worked hard the last seven weeks. But he's to blame. Maybe it's a learning experience for him. Maybe he realizes now the big leagues are not easy. You have to work at it to maintain success.

Once I hit the guard rail, I lost my semi-balance and it dropped behind me.

How ready are most teams going to be? Besides the Latin countries who play year-round, it's going to be tough.

When you get that nice celebration coming into the dugout and you're getting your ass hammered by guys, there's no better feeling than to have that done.

The good thing is it's not in the belly of the hamstring. The doctor looked at it twice and the second time he saw it, he was very pleased with what he saw.