We're all not going to agree on the same things, but that's what makes this country so great.

I want to be on a team that's got a chance. That's what's fun. That's what you play the game for.

I've lost a lot. I'm tired of it. It's not fun.

It's fun coming to the ballpark when you're winning.

Control what I can control. Study the pitchers, work hard, put the work in. That's all I can control.

Let's say I have a new respect for guys who come off the bench every day. That's not easy to do.

Obviously, I'm sad to leave Houston. I love the fans and players and everyone here.

Everything happens for a reason.

People are always asking if I was mad at Houston. Honestly, I'm not. The truth of the matter is that when I was there, I didn't perform and they actually did me a favor by cutting me loose. They could have really held me there, not let me leave, bury me in Triple-A, put me behind some prospects and I would never even play.

Sometimes you just need a spark, and then boom, boom, boom, now the bats come alive.

That's the hardest play in baseball, is a line drive right at you.

Whoever's hitting in front of you or behind you is going to determine how you get pitched, but there's nothing you can do.

You have to go up there, and it's you vs. the pitcher. No one's there to help you. That's how I go about it.

To me, I just play baseball, whether I have the contract or not.

I'll never say a bad word about the Astros.

It sucks when you can't play the game you love.

If I'm ready to hit early, if I get fooled, then whatever. I've still got two more strikes.

That's one thing I learned from watching great hitters hit. A lot of hitters, they're ready to hit from pitch one.

When I'm at my best, I'm ready to hit from pitch one. When I go up there and I'm passive, I'm not as successful.

When I fall behind, my swing changes.

I wish I could go up every single time and have guys on base.

I get to play what I dreamed about since I was a kid. So, on that end, I love it. But I also take pride in it.

Obviously, this is a job, it's a grind, but it's what you love to do. It's your passion.

When you're up there and everything feels good and you're competing against the pitcher and the pitcher strikes you out, you're like, 'OK, yeah, I struck out, but that's OK.'

We want the fans to be in it, because when they're in it, it makes you kind of live up to it.

To me, you can always get better.

I think the one thing I have learned the most from all the veteran guys is kinda like not to dwell on a loss or a bad day.

Sometimes what we see, what's going on in front of us, isn't really what's happening.

You know, this league is all about adjustments, and the one thing you kinda notice when you're playing every day is how teams make adjustments. Once you start having a little bit of success, they are going to make their adjustment.

I think that's one of the things you start learning from being hot and playing every day at the beginning, you know. The league, they made their adjustments and their change to you, the way they pitch you, the way they attack you, and just learning and learning from that and making the adjustments the very next at bat or the very next pitch.

I mean, I learned a lot from Houston. And you know what? It made me who I am and there's really no animosity there. In a sense, they did me a favor by allowing me to leave and going to play on another team.

I've always been hungry, but when people ask what drives you - 'How do you stay so driven throughout this whole thing?' - you just don't stop. It's every single day. The people that know me and the people that love me and are in my life see it.

All through Miami, the guys who grew up with me hitting at the place I hit, they all call me Flaco. Nobody calls me J.D. It's like, 'Hey, Flaco.'

Obviously, I have to do what's best for me and my family; I've got to put that first. But I definitely want to be on a team that's in contention.

I've always loved hitting, and even as a kid, I always hit.

I just want to go deep in the playoffs and be put in that situation where I'm locked in and the game and the season is on the line.

I think I'm a funny guy.

I love the game and I love to play. You have to admire fans who are the same way.

I found a place in Boston, a home in Boston, and I'm pretty happy here.

You can ask every coach from Ron Gardenhire to Dave Clark, anyone who has seen me play, they don't know why they say I'm a bad defender.

My preparation and my routine are the foundations to my success.

My parents taught me that in life, you get out what you put in.

My teammate Torii Hunter taught me how to lead and provide encouragement to the locker room.

Paul Goldschmidt, who gave me the confidence to lead as one of the game's greatest players, acknowledged that what I had to say was valuable to my teammates and crucial to winning.

I'm usually rough during Spring Training. My Spring Training numbers aren't very good, but I never expect them to be.

Just kind of finding it, that's what Spring Training is for, to work on stuff and get ready.

I played street basketball for a while and wanted to play competitively, but I was so used to the street-style of game that I would have fouled out by the end of the first quarter.

I started playing ball when I was 4 years old.

I have so many memories of going fishing and camping as a kid, and my dad had season tickets to watch the Marlins - and that's where I fell in love with the game.

Starting in middle school, I would play on two or three baseball teams at the same time, because that's just how things worked in south Florida. I would practice six or seven days each week. I honestly don't know how my parents did it, but my dad always found a way to make it to each and every game.