My curveball is a blessing. My father taught it to me. He felt that it was a pitch he wanted me to learn, right on the side of the house, and it just ended up working. I never asked what the tricks were, or anything like that.

I've never used performance-enhancing drugs of any kind, and I never will. I've never met or spoken with Tony Bosch or used any substances provided by him. Anything said to the contrary is a lie.

I remember when I started off, my first car was a Kia Spectra. With a spoiler kit and some rims.

I'm Cuban-American, everybody says. I have a Cuban background, Cuban blood.

I couldn't throw a knuckleball if my life depended on it.

To be a small town kid from Hialeah, Fla., pitching in Miami and representing Team U.S.A., that says it all. It's a kid's dream. Don't pinch me. I don't want to wake up.

At 19, I was still figuring out how to throw a fastball.