I truly believe my job starts the minute I leave the baseball field. Going out and catching ground balls and hitting, that's a job, and that's what I've wanted to do ever since I was a kid. But when you think about leaving that field, that's when the job and the demands really start. In New York, Seattle, every city. The community, the media, business stuff. You have to stay on a narrow path.

With what has occurred in my life, the baseball field is where I feel most comfortable. That's what I feel I was born to do and it's what I do best.

This is how I define grace: youre on the main stage, and it looks like it has been rehearsed 100 times, everything goes so smoothly. Thats where I get my confidence and success, from knowing that I have an edge because I know Im prepared.

If my life depended on it - if my daughter's life depended on it - I'd want Mariano Rivera closing. Wouldn't you?

I want to build a positive image that will last my career.

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