Quotes by Mike Stanton

“In baseball, you never like to say must games. But these next two are important. I hope Joey [Eischen] and I saved some of the bullpen tonight so were ready for this weekend.”

“The magnitude of this calamity is beyond comprehension, ... Its like Sept. 11 all over again.”

“Jim [Bowden, Washington GM] said there was interest on both sides of that rivalry.”

“I was pretty surprised by the trade, ... I found out on Wednesday that something was going on. I guess [the Red Sox are getting me to face the Yankees]. Im throwing the ball pretty well, and Boston is a great place to play.”

“I enjoyed playing for the Nationals, ... They have some young players that could play. Im going to leave my options open.”

“Its always nice to be wanted, even at this late date. When I found about this it actually made me laugh.”

“Its a little strange. You never figure something like this happening with just a couple of days left in the season, but as soon as you think youve seen everything, something else comes up, ... Im happy to come over here and help them out.”

“I got to pitch. I just didnt have very many opportunities [for the Yankees], and a lot of opportunities in the first half were just one hitter, ... Im not laying blame or anything like that. Thats a simple fact. I got to go out there on a consistent basis and I felt like I pitched OK.”

“Its always good to be wanted. Its not something you really expect. I dont know if this has happened before this late in the season.”

“Theres going to be some bumps. I just hope theyre not big enough to throw this thing off.”