I have family and friends who are strong Cardinal fans, and they are having a tough time since I signed. They want to root for me, but rooting for the Cubs is next to a sin.

I was kind of a slap hitter, trying to get base hits, hit line drives, stay below a certain trajectory with my ball.

In the minor leagues, previous to 2008, I took a lot of pitches. I prided myself on on-base percentage. I made sure that I made the pitcher work.

I did the utility thing at first out of necessity to find a place on the team.

I might have a great game hitting, but if I'm not having a great game fielding, if I feel like I let a guy get an extra base that I could have stopped, that's something I've got to do better, got to get better at.

Out in the field, I feel like I'm flexible enough to where I'm comfortable at different positions, wherever they want to put me.

What I need as a player is just to get at-bats, I think.

I've always loved the infield, because I came up as an infielder.

I love second base.

There were always kids better than me. Because of that, I had to learn to be a role player and do my part.

I was never the star of my team, not even in my small town.

I'm not the best athlete.

I'm not the most powerful. I'm not the fastest. I don't have the best arm. I don't have any of that, but put it all together and do the little details well, and you're going to be a very productive player.

My dad used to do it when we were little, and I tried it when we played around in the back yard. Eventually, I got a bat and a real ball and played around to see if I could hit left-handed.

Wiffle ball was my first experience hitting left-handed.

When you get moved around, it can be jarring, but it helps to fine-tune your focus in the middle of the season, when other guys are getting a little lackadaisical.

When I move to second after playing right field, I feel like my action has gotten too deliberate, and I have to switch back into that quicker, boom-boom infield mode.

You want to be comfortable, but it's also good to stay on your toes, especially in the midst of a long season.

Outfield to infield is the most jarring because in the outfield, you have much more time to throw.

A lot of times, if you stay in the present and focus on getting the most out of yourself today, then things work out the way they're supposed to.

I didn't think I'd be getting a contract at 34. That wasn't in my mind.

You used to be taught to let the ball go as far as possible and then drop it on the runner, whereas now it might be even more advantageous to direct the ball in front of the bag and get the guy on the leg.

You have to catch the breaks.

If we just focus on stats, we're gonna eventually not have them.