I need to have perspective. That's one of the big things former players told me, to not try to live up to anything, just live up to yourself.

There's a part of me that wants to go streak and run outside and jump around and go swim in the ocean and do everything. The other part of me wants to bear down and repeat this kind of performance next year and in the years to come.

I'm not trying to be cocky, but I set such a high standard for myself. I'm not happy when I pitch seven innings and give up two runs and get a win.

It's not like I'm some kind of veteran and there is this huge age gap. I identify with them more off the field. I need to set an example, which is great, and I look forward to doing just that.

I view my pitching on how confident I was out there, period. And if I lose that confidence, I can become a prisoner of my own mind.

You can be born into a musical family and have an ear for music but being technically gifted, be it playing an instrument or songwriting, takes years to get good at. So for me, I'm excited to start over, and yeah, I have a few talents I can build off of. But I see this as a long process; it's a marathon.

When I'm doing well, it's like I'm in a nice little ballet. Everything is going slow all around me. It's very peaceful.