Here's why the Philly media has to miss a guy like Billy Wagner. He'll say anything at anytime; sometimes he sheds honesty, sometimes lunacy.

Here's what he told reporters this weekend in Atlanta regarding the Mets collapse/Phils surge at the end of last summer:

"The collapse didn't come because the Phillies beat us, the collapse came because we played bad," Wagner said. "The Phillies didn't -- I don't know how to say this -- it wasn't like they beat us. A lot of times we beat ourselves, defense or just not doing things [we'd] done all year."

Yo, Billy: the Phillies won the last eight straight games against your team. I think maybe they had something to do with that.

And if you're curious just how the former Phillies closer performed down the stretch, here's the skinny: In the last 14 games, Wagner had a 6.91 ERA, yielding 19 hits, six walks, and 12 runs in 14 1/3 innings.

Opponents hit .317 off Billy Baseball during that stretch.