Raul Ibanez Quotations

Wow, I had no idea. This is a shock. This really takes me by surprise. I thought he had a lot of baseball left in him.

I am ecstatic. Seattle is where I wanted to be...it's where I've always wanted to be. It feels like home to me. I am excited about the direction of the team, and am very, very happy to be here.

He is an unbelievable human being and probably the best teammate I have ever had. I want my son to grow up and be just like Dan Wilson.

He hit a home run off Paul Byrd to right-center field when we were playing against him. It's the farthest opposite-field home run I've ever seen a right-handed hitter hit at Safeco Field. It probably went 15 rows back. He did the bat flip and the whole thing. I got to second base later and he told me that was the first hit he ever had off Byrd.

He's a funny guy. He definitely likes to keep things light. He's a force in the lineup, too.

He could dish it out like nobody, but he could take it too. He had that sarcastic sense of humor. When you first become his teammate, you see some things and wonder, 'Is he serious or is he joking?' He was always joking.

I think it's very important very important. We feel pressure a little bit with having to win some games, because we feel we are a better team than what we've been showing.

Later on in the game our at-bats get better, and I don't know if it's a mental thing. I don't know.

I was just thinking about that to myself a minute ago. It seems like, later on in the game, we start squaring balls up a little bit more. We do a better job of hitting late in the game. The secret would be to be able to do that all game long. And we haven't been able to do that. I can't put my finger on it. I really wish I could.

Our pattern has been to succeed as a group or not succeed as a group, but you hope that's not a pattern for the whole season. We believe in ourselves as an offense, and I don't think we lost that belief over the past few games.

Part of our game is being patient. You work the count, a lot of things can happen.

Our offense has a nice pace, a nice feel right now. We're being aggressive when we have to, being patient when we have to. Good balance up and down the lineup, good approaches at the plate.

I was excited. He's really good, and he's been around a lot of great hitters.

It doesn't feel like we're swinging the bat a whole lot better against right-handers. We're not swinging the bats well collectively.

That was awesome. That was really cool, getting to meet one of the great power pitchers in the history of the game.

That was an emotional one. He (Betancourt) was down 0-2 and battled his tail off. Willie's stolen base was unbelievable. He's as good as I've ever played with.

I wasn't going to let him go back there, no way.

We needed that. That was a big game for us. With the way things have been going, the way tonight had gone, we had to have it. We had to scratch and claw, but we got it.

When I was growing up, it seemed like it was probably the most realistic movie about baseball life. Now that I've lived it, I can say that it is the most accurate.

We've put together big innings the last two nights. We swung the bats well this series.

We won a series from a very good team. That's a good club over there. They can score runs and they have solid pitching. When you can win a series from a team like that, it's a good thing.

That team you saw in the last two innings, hopefully that's the club that we are and the club that you'll see.

About then you're thinking that maybe (the losing streak is over).

It's a great win. I don't know if it's so much a sigh of relief, but we came back and beat the world champions.

That's absolutely the way it is, riding the minor league buses. It's one of those movies I could watch over and over again.

It's definitely frustrating. It's aggravating. It's all of those things. At the same time, they say it's not how many times you fall off the horse. It's how many times you get back up. We're going to keep getting up and keep fighting at this thing.

It's hard for me to watch them go through this. It's painful, really. It's a great baseball town. A great city. Loyal fans. And then to watch them go through this. ... You wouldn't wish this on your worst enemy, much less an organization that you respect and are fond of.

It was good to finally be sitting at the adults' table. My first few years here, I wasn't part of it at all.

I look at it as if I'm supposed to be out there. That's what you train for and hope for. You're mixing hard work with some luck. But I want to come to work every day and do the best I can.

I look at it as if I'm supposed to be out there.

I heard where he hadn't been all that sharp this year. Well, he was sharp tonight. When he wasn't throwing slider he pounded fastballs in.

I just try to improve a little bit each day. I don't necessarily feel comfortable at the plate yet.

He sits in the cage for hours upon hours upon hours. That's all he thinks about. That's all he really cares about. Hitting. All he wants to do is be in the cage and be in the video room. Cage, video room, cage, video room.

He's really good about putting his words into actions. He can also show you what he means. If you don't get it, he'll sit there with you and walk you through it, but he's not a pushy guy. You've got to want what he's giving you. He won't come after you that way. You have to want to pick up what he's saying.

I don't know if it's a sigh of relief. But this is a great win for us.

I didn't even know that was a steal. It's a cheap steal.

I didn't see the stop sign at all, and then I didn't see that (Barajas) was blocking the plate until it was too late. If I slide, maybe it's a one-run game.

He always said if he could no longer perform up to his standards or be an everyday player that he would walk away. I enjoyed having him as a teammate, that sarcasm and humor. I have the utmost respect and admiration for what he has done in this game.

All he cares about is hitting. He's really watching, and he sees all the little things in your swing. He's a highly intelligent man.

Aggressive is good, but have we been overly aggressive at times? Probably. It's a good question. We're trying to make things happen, but when you're not hitting, everything stands out.

The last two years have been rough, but I know that we're headed in the right direction. We've brought in new personnel and we're improving ourselves. My family wants to be here. There's no place else I want to be.