Tim Wakefield Quotations

It's nice to have a catcher who knows my mechanics, too. That way if I get into trouble he can stop it before I get out of control.

Going through college a Red Sox fan and knowing the history behind everything that was going on back in the '80s and finally getting a chance to win a World Series for this great city and bringing it back after 86 years, it was truly special, and it's one of the highlights that I'll remember for a long time.

There's been times where I've come out of the bullpen thinking I was going to throw a no hitter, and I've lasted two or three innings. So I try not to use my pre-game warm ups as a barometer of how I'm going to pitch.

I'm honored. Really honored that the Red Sox have asked me to possible be on the board of the Red Sox Foundation and do some stuff on their charitable works that they are so passionate about.

Until you get to spring training and see what kind of product you have on the field, then you can make some assessments. Every winter you add some new names and things like that. It's always fun to guess and see what's going to happen.

We've been in this situation before. Now that we're back at home playing in front of our home crowd, there's still a chance.

My approach is going to be the same as it was with any other team during the years. I have to be able to throw strikes and try to get outs, as many outs as I can get. We'll see what happens ...

Obviously the Yankees lineup is one of the best in the American League. But I think if we pitch the way we're able to pitch and play defense, I think we can beat them like we have in years past.

I don't know why it happened the way it happened tonight.

I am happy for Doug. I'm disappointed in a selfish way for myself, but you have to look at the future for Doug, and he's going to get a chance to play every day in San Diego and do some good things for his family.

I felt good. I got some work in and got my pitch count up a little higher than I did last time. I think Josh Bard did a great job back there.

I don't want the headache of running a foundation. I'm not in it for the tax breaks or the marketing benefits.

He did a good job today back there. First time getting in the game is a totally different animal than catching on the side. I thought he did a really good job back there today.

He?s a great friend and a great teammate to have in the clubhouse.

He's almost identical to Doug as far as his hands are concerned, and he's really easy to throw to.

Kevin will be missed. He was the guy that always kept things light and humorous and funny. Baltimore is getting a pretty good hitter and a great teammate, a guy that makes things fun.

I think with Jason as our captain, he can lead us in the right direction.

That ball was smashed. The way the wind was blowing, that shows how strong the guy really is.

My wife and I went out to dinner a few days after it all happened. I wasn't sure what to expect, but people were coming up to us saying, 'Thanks for what you did,' and 'We never would have gotten there without you.' I was humbled by it.

That's the plan. It's worked before between Pedro and Schilling and myself. You'd have to ask hitters if it really makes a difference, but I think if you get in a three-game series with Schilling, myself and (Josh) Beckett, that kind of contrast, I think chances are pretty good if we all have our 'A' games that day.

I wasn't sure. I thought it was a home run but when he called it foul I was thankful. Then when they reversed it, what are you going to do? I didn't see the replay so I can't tell you whether it was or not.

You can get hit anytime. I'm sure he'll be fine.

You just try to minimize the damage and you get your concentration down to one hitter at a time, in and out. I was fortunate enough to get three strikeouts there and get us out of the inning.

You just try and focus on the next hitter and try and get an out. The fourth inning was horrible for me. But our offense did a tremendous job of picking me up.

You always want to get back out there. I had pretty good stuff in Texas, almost too good. I couldn't control it and I couldn't throw it for strikes. When that happens, you start walking guys and it leads to really big innings. Today I felt more comfortable.

You always want to get back out there. I had good stuff in Texas -- too good. Today, I felt more confident throwing balls in the strike zone, even though I hit a couple of batters. My misses were better.

We came in today knowing we needed to win. We didn't want to back into the playoffs by having Cleveland lose and we lose. We came out and played hard.

We didn't back in. How do you back in when you tie the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East?

We would have liked to win the division, ... but we're in. That's all that matters.

With Damon and Millar, all of us had such a good time even when we were stretching. Now it's a little quieter, but we don't even know our teammates yet.

We've been on the other side of this. . . . You really have to sweep a series to gain any ground. Leaving here five up would have been nice, but we're up three and we've got other games to play.

To hold onto Manny's bat in the lineup, I'm glad he decided to stay.

You hate to put your team down that much early, but I can't say enough about our offence. I am fortunate to be pitching on the right days when they have been scoring all those runs.

You hate to put your team down but I can't say enough about our offense. I've been fortunate to pitch on the right day, when we score all those runs.

Everybody that was on that team can take that to their grave.

I've never seen a guy work so hard, and he inspired me to really work at my craft and perfect it as much as possible. In between starts he worked his tail off to get better for his next start. That's one thing that I've carried in my career in Boston.

I've seen a lot of changes over my 12 years here. Some have been great. Some have been bad. I think the change this year is great.

Randy pitched unbelievably today and unfortunately we came out on the short end of the stick. He had his A-game today and it was unfortunate we had to face that today.

Probably the best knuckleball I threw all day. It got away from Josh. It's the nature of the beast sometimes. But I thought Josh did a great job back there.

After playing the Yankees and coming here, we're the most important team in baseball right now,

That's not the reason I do it. It's almost embarrassing to get recognition for things off the field. I feel like I'm supposed to do these things. I have an opportunity to give back to a lot of people who deserve help, who deserve a chance.

A lot of us are mentally tired 'cause it's been such a long road. But it's good for some of the younger guys to see what it feels like to win this.

You don?t think a ball that barely makes the foul pole is going to beat you,

I told Manny, 'You're going to win this thing,' ... And he said, 'No. David said he was going to win it for us.'

It's a huge honor, considering some of the guys who had just as good years as I did. I have to say I couldn't have done what I did this year without the help of every member of my team.

It's not like we're that far behind. We have to play good in Baltimore, and go back home and play great at home.

It's so easy to be thankful when you're on top of your game and everything is going right. But when I gave up the home run to Aaron, I had to be thankful for that, too. It may have been God's plan to make me stronger for 2004.

That first inning, I kind of struggled with my mechanics, then I got the feeling back and then I was able to work out of some jams in the second and fourth innings.

It's incredible how he does things the way he does them. He's Mr. Clutch. He proved that last postseason. He did it again tonight for us.

I made one bad pitch to Gibbons. I felt great. I could have pitched extra innings.

I'm very comfortable with him. He's done a tremendous job. He takes a lot of pride in what he does.

I'm not using that as an excuse. I made some bad pitches.

I'm not worried. They're all professionals, regardless of where they came from.

I had good stuff from the bullpen going into the game. The ball stayed up for Stairs, and from there it was a battle to keep the team in the game the rest of the way. You hate to put your team in a deficit right away. Manny got us back in the game, and it was my job to keep us there.

I'd rather not talk about myself like that. I'm sorry.

I don't think we can get in the other way. I think we need to win the division to get in. There are too many other teams playing well.

He's not the reason we're losing - I am. So get off him.

He's Mr. Clutch. He proved that last post-season.

I couldn't believe he hit it. It was a pretty good pitch.

I couldn't believe he hit it, first of all, because it was a pretty good pitch. But once it left his bat, I was hoping it would go foul.

All three of them have done a great job of catching me. I don't have a preference of who I throw to.

The first inning, I had big trouble in my location. Everything I tried, every adjustment I made did something different. I tried to stop the bleeding as much as I could, then I gave up the three-run homer.

Its nice to have a catcher who knows my mechanics, too. That way if I get into trouble he can stop it before I get out of control.

It's hard to get guys out when you have nothing to get them out with.