Josh Beckett Quotations

We're going to need some luck. We have to have some people lose.

We've still got little more than half a month to go, probably three-quarters of a month actually. We've got to keep winning. This thing ain't over yet.

Let's talk about the outing. I felt pretty good today, let's start with that. I don't want to fill it up with stuff like that, negative stuff. Let's be positive here.

Right now it's going to come down to whoever scores more runs, because the starters aren't going to be out there as long,

I felt like when I needed to, I did a pretty good job. Everybody here likes to play in these kind of games, because you're playing for something.

I felt good, I felt strong. I executed my pitches.

I always prided myself in those situations, trying to get out of them. It builds a lot of character, to pitch yourself into that situation and get yourself out.

He's Barry Bonds. There's nothing else you can really say.

He does that after Carlos hits a home run. I'll just say this: You've got to be a little more careful in those situations. You reap what you sow.

He was here for so long, it's a shame this is how it has to end. Obviously something was really bugging him.

He can't even give me a week to enjoy my home run. He has to hit to a shot in the upper deck. He sure can steal the show, can't he?

Jack was right, ... He should have taken me over his knee and spanked me.

Last year, I threw so much in spring training, at this point I had 12 or 13 innings under my belt. It was ridiculous. I'm excited. I threw 60 pitches already, how many more do I have to have? Seventy-five or 80 in my next start, and from there I can go to 100, really.

I was kind of fired up about my situation, and it was escalated when I heard they were stealing pitches, and that's my fault,

Just another game. I've got to go out there and help my team win the game. But it's nice to come home. I've got to just keep my head on straight and execute pitches, and that's my whole thing. Nothing else.

I think experience means a little something, ... I guess being there in (crunch) time makes it not easier, but it makes it easier to look back on something and say, 'Hey, I've had success in this situation before.'

Pitching against a guy like (Zambrano), you can't give up five or six runs. You just can't do it. He's going to have a day every once in a while where he does, but they're going to be few and far between.

Spring Training is just a fun time. I really don't know how to explain it. Everyone's got new jokes and everyone is having fun with each other. You get to have your cake and eat it, too. You get to have a life. During the regular season, you don't because it's all day long -- baseball is at the end of the day. But here it's at the beginning of the day and then, with me, I'm going to go out and play golf every day for the next six weeks.

That can become a distraction, ... If you don't get it out of the way, it's difficult to concentrate on what you need to concentrate on. I know it's been hard for him.

I think I've always been prepared for this. I know what I have to do. You can't make rocket science out of it. You just have to execute pitches. Don't let exterior distractions in. It just takes away from what you're trying to do.

That was bull, hitting our first baseman after he hit a home run.

That's the way we feel. We'll see how things play out. I hope they don't tear this team apart and we have to start all over. I know we have some good young guys coming up, but it would be tough for a lot of us to swallow if we have to start over.

That's what he should do, right? ... He's a home-run hitter.

You know, I felt intense, I felt focused today. Days when you have great stuff, you probably shouldn't give up any runs, and I still found a way to give up two.

We're kind of back to our old ways, making fun of one another. It's pretty cool. It takes a while for things to jell.

We had some guys who had been starting and batting in different spots in the order,

We won the series - that's the main thing. It would have been nice to sweep. It's just one of those deals. You can't give up that many runs to that good of a pitcher.

We're trying to get to the playoffs. I know this team needs me. It needs all of us.

There are a lot of us that were on that 2003 team, so it's not like it's showing we know how to win. We've got to win games, we've got to score runs and we've got to pitch well. We need to get everybody back on track. It's nice to come back and score all these runs after the worst loss I've seen since I've been in Florida. It was nice.

Fifty percent of me says they'll keep mostly everybody here and 50 percent says they won't. I know the stadium is a big issue. Jeffrey wants to win more than anybody I've ever met, but at what price? I mean, how long can you afford to keep doing this? There are no prospects of getting us a stadium. We've won two world championships and we can't get one. It's crazy.

We've got a lot of games against other (teams), too, that we've got to win,

Either one of those guys can easily tie the game or put them ahead. You're happy with however you get them out.

Coming from Florida, opening day is sometimes the only day you have like that.

There's got to be some kind of deal you learn from this. I'm definitely going to go home and think hard about it and try to correct whatever it was.

There's no excuse for tonight. It was brutal, brutal, brutal.

I've always believed you make your own luck. I wouldn't say I had bad luck today. I just didn't execute pitches when I needed to. Pitching against a guy (Zambrano) like that, you can't give up six runs.

That's huge. I mean this guy hits a double there, then we are down 4-0 instead of 1-0.

That's my fault. It was kind of a heat-of-the-battle thing. I probably should have just let it die and gone on about my business and let him go on about his, but I didn't. That's all right. I'm sure I'll face him again sometime down the road.

This ain't locked up for anybody. Every game is crucial from now on. There's not an easy game left for us.

It's kind of cool. I got my whole left side of the infield.

It's a shame that that's how it has to end. Obviously, something was really bugging him because you just don't speak like that out of emotion.

It was fine. I threw 48 pitches and that was about it. The numbers could have been better, but we'll save all the good breaks for the season.

It's about scoring runs. Pitching, your top three pitchers are going to be out there but besides that, they are going to be yanking guys pretty quick. All the teams will do this, Houston, Philly.

I told him he's going to hit 40 homers, 38 of them when I'm pitching,

I tried everything. You name it, I probably tried it.

It's not like I wanted to fight. I just wanted to make the point that you look like a jackass when you do that and you're out.

It's kind of probably normal stuff that everybody goes through this time of year. We're going to treat it the best we can. As long as I'm helping the team, I want to be out there.

Everybody has new jokes. It's a fun time. I don't really know how to explain it. You get to play baseball for a living and get paid very well and you get to have a life. During the season you don't have a life because baseball is all day long. Here it's at the beginning of the day and then I can go play golf every day.

It's a new chapter in my life, ... It's a challenge I'm looking forward to.

It kind of shocked me. When I read it, I can't lie, I did chuckle. It wasn't chuckling at anybody really, it was just because I know Ozzie. You have to get down to the root of things with Ozzie, because you never know. You don't know if he was serious, if he was joking -- you just don't know. He could've just been trying to get a rise out of those guys.

I've got a Minor League game on Friday. I just need to keep the intensity and stay focused and get out there and get my work in.

It was one of those nights, just brutal, brutal, brutal.

It's weird seeing Luis in another uniform. I think he signed with the Marlins when he was like 4.

It's tough. I definitely put every bit of the blame by me. I know I didn't end up with the 'L' beside my name, but it's totally my fault. I can't explain it. I'm quite embarrassed about it.

I wanted to make a point. You look like a jackass whenever you hit the ball like that and you're pimping it, and you're out. I'm kind of about respecting the game, and I'm not the type of guy to not say anything.

It takes a while for a team to jell, and I think it's starting to come together now. It's really tough when you're losing and not doing well to jell like that.

Any time you put pressure on the defense, that's good. You get a throwing error, the guy can end up with a triple, and then a fly ball gets him home.

I'm going to miss him. No doubt about it. It's a tough business, though. You've got to deal with the good times and the bad. He's dealt with them, and it's time for him to move on to another venture.

I'm not going to feel that good and pitch that bad very often. ... I guess I can take that as a positive point. I made some mistakes that shouldn't happen. You learn from it and move on. It was all about executing pitches. I didn't.

I learned he's good with numbers. That's about it. I think some of our philosophies are a little bit different.

I made some bad pitches and it was just one of those deals, I guess. That's what big-league hitters do when you don't executive pitches. They hit them hard. It's a tough lineup over there. It was just one of those things.

I'm about respecting the game. Even if it is a home run, I don't think it's the right thing to do. It's not like I wanted to fight the guy, but I wanted to make the point that you look like an idiot when you do that and it's an out. It was my fault. I should've let it go. He didn't do that last year when he was hitting a bunch of homers. I guess one season changes you.

I'm playing the game right. I didn't appreciate that.

I?m happy, I?m 3-0 and that?s really all that matters. We?re 3-0 in my starts. That?s what it all comes down to, is winning games for your team.

I know I was (a factor). I hung out with him just about every day.

I haven't heard anything yet, ... Actually, I'm a little excited about it.

I haven't felt good for a while, ... I was pitching for a purpose. I think I did my job when I was hurt trying to get us in. We came up a little short.

If you think about the result, it corrupts the process.

Honestly, I think they were taking it on purpose. They heard me and (Brown) talking about it the whole time.

He threw probably 100 fastballs, ... and I don't think he made a mistake with one of them.

He's a professional, and he doesn't deserve that.

If I don't make it to the big leagues, nobody's going to remember I threw a no-hitter in Double-A.

I figured it would probably end up being a deal where I don't want all of the comparisons. I want to be my own person and create my own deal. I felt at first it would be fun to have (21), but it ended up being that I'd just rather have 19. This is the number I was in the minor leagues and in high school, so growing up, this was my number.

If he chooses to come back, I have no problem with that at all. You can't blame the manager. It was us. There were a lot of game we should have won this year.

If getting out of here makes him happy, that's his deal. It's the last year of his career and he wants to be closer to his family.

I can't worry about all the other stuff. I just have to execute my pitches.

I'd rather have a 1-2-3 inning every time but I was fortunate to make some pitches there. I always prided myself in those situations and trying to get out of them. Builds a lot of character.

I don't think he even knew he had the ball.

I just don't see me going through that rehab and coming back to pitch at this point in my life.

What you do during the offseason is, first, build a base. That takes about three weeks, and then you try to get as strong as you can before you go to spring training. Once you get there, you taper down and it's just a maintenance program for the next six or seven months.

I'm the best. That's why I'm so relaxed out there. You've got to have some arrogant bones in your body, especially to be a pitcher in the big leagues.

Any strikeout record worth having is in a Texas pitcher's pocket. I might come join them one day.

Pitching is pitching. I've been doing this since I was eight-years-old, playing in my backyard with my dad. The things that work in Double-A will also work in the majors.

The thing about throwing a fastball is, you want it to be easy, you want it to be effortless.

I've definitely always wanted to be the guy they tell, 'Here's the ball. Go do it.'

I want to be that good. I want to be Barry Bonds. I want when I pitch to be 'Win Day.' I want my teammates to relax on the days I pitch because they know they only have to get us a couple of runs. I'm totally prepared for that.

I'm confident in myself, either way. I've pitched big games all my life.

I make too much money to play a game I love to ever feel sorry for myself.

There are no days off in our division. Even a team like Tampa Bay can beat you up.

Alex Gonzalez could have won the Gold Glove in the National League the last three years.

You've got to be a little more careful in those situations. You reap what you sew.

The last pitch I threw to Michael Young, that was about all I had left. I wanted them to call that a strike so bad.