Here is yesterday’s Billy Wagner Report with Michael Kay on 1050 ESPN Radio.

About the road trip:

“When you go .500 on a west coast trip that’s good but we could’ve easily went 4-2 on that trip. When you hit and pitch you win ball games, it goes hand in hand. I’ll tell one thing, Arizona has got a fantastic pitching staff, whoever they face in the playoffs is gonna have their hands full.”

On the aftermath of the Oliver Perez stuff and Willie Randolph’s reaction:

“Well, Willie didn’t know that I had spoke to Oliver before that. But how Willie reacted is understandable, he’s trying to protect his players. So, if he thinks it wasn’t handled right he’s gonna say something, Willie handled it correctly. He just didn’t know that I spoke to Oliver and settled it there and voiced my opinion. We had come to the conclusion that I handled it my way and he (Willie) would much rather it be handled a different way. But like he said, I’m Billy Wagner, I’m not the voice of the NY Mets and I don’t have any ownership or any command of that, but as a player I voice my opinion and that was it”

Will this incident muzzle you?

“No, I think they (the Mets) understand, that I wasn’t out there to say that I didn’t like Oliver Perez. I wasn’t trying to be critical personally. I was just saying from a player-team situation I felt we could have used a strong performance. There are times where you can’t go out and say things, you gotta handle it in house. There’s no doubt this was a situation where we were frustrated and felt like we needed a strong showing so I voiced my opinion and that’s all it was.”

Did Oliver ever say anything to you about what you said?

“Nah, no, nah, he never said anything and even though he didn’t fair too well in LA he competed. I mean he took a line drive off his stomach and honestly gave us a chance to win that game. He kept us in the game, with the opportunity to win. That’s what you want, you want to compete and he competed he went out there and gave us a great opportunity. So, after the game I get barraged by the media asking what I think and really it’s not my opinion it’s about what he did for our team. I mean he really stepped up. He could of very easily, after giving up some home runs and some runs, he could of shut it down but he went out there and competed and that’s what you really look for as a teammate. How much are you gonna give us. I know my day is coming when I’m gonna be criticized about a performance and I understand that and I can deal with that from up here from the experience of being a closer, it having been a criticized position.”

Every time Perez pitches the media is gonna ask you for a review:

“Well, that’s ok. That’s fine, we all have to be held accountable and your teammates are the best judge of how you perform and how you work. Your held at a higher standard by your teammates and you just have to be accountable.”

Do you think the fans are being ultra negative this year?

“No, I just think that’s just the nature of being a fan. I mean, when I blow a save they boo but that’s just the nature of the game. I think sometimes it can be malicious. When a guy is battling and trying to do everything he can, I mean you look at Carlos Delgado, the shift is involved and is a part of the game but I mean he hits the ball exactly where your supposed to. He’s been going up the middle and the other way. But he hits the ball hard and it’s right into the shift and a lot of times fans don’t see, he’s doing what he does. I mean if you don’t have that shift there he’s hitting .270/.280 and things are all happy go lucky. I remember in ‘06 before they really started putting that shift on him, he’s hitting .285/.290 and nobody’s saying a word. I mean the fans have to see he’s up there and he’s battling and competing. If the fans get on you to the point where everything you do is seen negatively. I mean Carlos Delgado is a great teammate. He works hard, he goes about his business as a professional. I guess its tough for me to see that type of player get that type of criticism. There are other reasons to boo, when you’re not hustling and you don’t show the effort. That’s when you boo. I mean the effort is there, he competes, he plays hard, he’s fantastic, I mean he really is. He doesn’t get his just do because of the average but you ask any pitcher, they don’t wanna go out there and have to face him. They can’t tell you how many times he hits a line drive right at somebody or a hard ground ball to a hole that the shift has taken away. I think he’s handled it a lot better than most.”

On the fans not forgetting about last year:

“I can understand that to. We should have won our division last year. I mean, the fans are
hungry, they want a championship. So do we, and until we go out there and get to the playoffs that’s not gonna be put behind us and we know that, we know that as a team we can’t let the crowd influence the way we play but we also know we won’t stop hearing about ‘07 until we play consistent baseball and get into the playoffs.”

What does Billy Wager do on an off day?

“Well, right now I’m outside with my kids (you can hear them in the background) who are waiting on me to hit ground balls and probably throw a little BP and just enjoy family.”

Do you bring it hard while throwing BP?

“They let me know when enoughs enough.”

Obviously, Billy’s trying to put the Ollie stuff behind him, he gave Ollie a lot of credit for staying in the Dodger game after getting hit in the stomach, but I get the feeling Billy was trying to take a bit of credit for Perez toughing it out and maybe he’s right.

His points about Delgado and the shift are good but only if the shift was employed often very late in Delgado’s career, Billy seems to think so, I really don’t know. But if Billy is right, that would seem to be tough, I can only assume to make an adjustment from a successful dead pull hitter to a go the other way (on the ground) type hitter has got to be hard. It makes sense, especially when your struggling to just automatically revert back to the things that got you here. I think when people say “just go the other way” or “lay down a bunt” they think it’s easy. We are talking about a guy who has had an extreme amount of success in his career and to ask him to become a different type of hitter, well, easier said than done. It takes a little more thought than “c’mon adjust”.

But that’s the problem with this whole booing thing in general. There is no thought process behind booing it’s pure emotion and immediate gratification. The player or team you root for is not coming through so BOOOO!… I’m not saying that everybody has to weigh all the pros and cons of their reactions at a ball game but if it affects the team you root for and spend your hard earned cash on, it seems to reason that if you can verbally have an effect on the players, positive or negative than you boo birds out there should give this some thought. At the same time that Wagner starts to say he doesn’t have a problem with the fan reaction he then goes into a long explanation about Delgado… No matter what they say, the effect is obvious… It is counterproductive. Be selfish, realize your hurting your team and with the media coverage, talk radio and the internet players know how every fan base reacts to their home team. SI’s Jon Heyman spoke about this exact point while talking about Mark Teixiera and where he may end up. To have a reputation as a “negative fan base” is not good no matter what the rational.

For those interested in sports media there is a must watch on HBO’s Costas Now tonight at 10pm. Bob Costas will host a live 90 minute town hall meeting with variety of different panels from the entire sports media spectrum. It will be broken up into five segments:

• Sports talk radio: A mix of video taped interviews then a live panel with among other’s WFAN’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan.
• The Internet and the Impact of Bloggers: Video interviews: deadspin.com editor Will Leitch, TV writer and media critic Michael Schur and Washington Post columnist and “PTI” host Michael Wilbon.
• Sports Television: Live panel: Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck, ESPN broadcaster Mike Tirico and Sports Illustrated’s Dan Patrick.
• Athletes and the Media: Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, former NBA star and Turner Sports analyst Charles Barkley. Live panel: NBC’s Tiki Barber, Sports Illustrated columnist Selena Roberts and tennis analyst and former tennis star John McEnroe.
• A Discussion on Race:Video interviews: Washington Post columnist and “PTI” host Michael Wilbon, former NFL star Kellen Winslow, Sr. Live panel: former NFL star and current ESPN commentator Cris Carter and Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock.

Looks mighty interesting and the fact that it’s on HBO commercial free for 90 minutes is great. This is something crunched down to say an hour with commercials would just be a waste of time. FYI there are more guests than listed above. For more info check out HBO.com

Today on 1050 ESPN Radio Mets Closer Billy Wagner spoke with Host Michael Kay in his weekly spot,

On his perfect start:

“A lot of luck… Schneider and Casanova have made me look better than I am.”

On using the wind-up:

“I would say it has a lot to do with my success because guys really don’t see the ball as well. I’ve been going out of the stretch for 12 years. So, it’s something they’ll have to adjust to. I did it because I was just too still when I was going out of the stretch. I was creating problems for myself by over thinking situations with my mechanics. I just wasn’t feeling comfortable. Then I went to the wind-up and I was relaxed. There was some type of flow and rhythm, it just seemed to click for me. So, I’ve been able to relax and make a few pitches.”

Was the wind-up suggested by anyone:

“No, in the off-season I tinker with pitches or mechanics. I was working out going through the wind-up and remembered how comfortable the feeling was. The ball seemed to jump out of my hand a little bit, more of a flow and the ball had more life to it. So I said why not take it into spring and see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out just put it on the shelf. I had success so I kept it.”

On Dunaer Sanchez:

“I think his velocity is starting to comeback. We still have to be careful with him. We don’t want to overuse him. It’s a difficult situation because he’s pitching so well. It’s hard not to use him. He’s pretty much doing what he did before he got hurt. You gotta play it safe though. I think Willie and Rick and the organization have done well with him. I think you can use him back to back days, he’s done it once this year and handled it well.”

On dealing with errors made behind you while on the mound:

“I don’t let it bother me and I don’t think most pitchers do. They make so many plays that save you, when they do make an error you want to pick them up. I don’t think the stress goes to, now I gotta get four outs, the stress goes to, I wanna pick that guy up. I want them to know yeah, you made a mistake but I have your back. Just like he’s got yours when you make a bad pitch and they make us look so good.”

On Heilman:

“I think he’s been right where he’s been the last two years that I’ve been here. His first month he struggles with his mechanics. So, he’s up and down the first month or so then at the end of the year he winds up being one of the best relievers in baseball. It’s hard early in the year to be consistent. I think Aaron is fine. Everyone wants to ride his back about not being consistent this early. He’s such an asset, he’s been in 12 games and we’ve played 20. I mean that’s a workload. He’s on pace to be in 90 games. He’s our workhorse. He takes the ball anytime and makes no gripe about the situation. He battles and makes no excuses.”

Has the team found it’s identity:

“No, and we shouldn’t have, it’s only 20 games… I think playing the ESPN game at night then changing time zones really does affect you. I think we were sleep walking through the two Chicago games because your just tired, your just a little disorientated, not on your A level.”

On the team being inconsistent:

“It’s not something you don’t expect in April. In 20 games you don’t expect to be at your peak level. I think we are right where we need to be.”

With Billy putting up nothing but bagels so far this season this picture I found on Google images was a must post.

During last nights Mets-Phillies game seen on ESPN Hillary Clinton supporter’s help up signs that could be seen on TV when a left handed batter was at the plate. According to Philadelphia Weekly’s Will Do Blog, we never saw the above angle again all night.

For ESPN.com, Bob Klapisch officially commences the 2008 rivalry between the Mets and Phillies.  Among other things, he discusses the trash-talk, the collapse and the possibility of a brawl between the two clubs.

He writes:

The two rivals face each other six times in April, which will not only stoke the rivalry, but give both sides a sense of the 2008 chemistry, too. Are the Phillies even better now than in ‘07, as Rollins claims? Are the Mets damaged from the most prodigious collapse in regular-season history? 

Let’s win tomorrow. I’ll be there, and I can’t remember being this excited for an April game.