I kept thinking my father would come back, But he never did.

It is hard to ignore that is reality. But, at the same time, it still comes down to sound baseball decisions, farm systems and then execution on the field by the players. There are a lot of components to that (other) than just saying it is the highest salary.

I had a great year and left my guts out on the field.

I want to be the best, and the best work. You have to earn what you get, and you have to work to keep it.

Be respectful. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Respect the lowest rank and the highest rank and you'll never get in trouble.

I love the challenge of the game. I love the work. My goal right now is to have a season next year that will make people forget about this one. I'll use things like this for motivation. I'm pumped. I'm hungry.

I've never felt overmatched on the baseball field. I've always been a very strong, dominant position. And I felt that if I did my work as I've done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn't have a problem competing at any level. So, no.