I think I've been in some good situations where I've been on teams that needed a couple key players but already had their nucleus intact, |
I think it is the cutting (with his weakened ankle), |
I think you truly don't know how it is until you actually get in the game, ... Then you can alter from that. Going in, getting work every day, taking flyballs, running, hitting, whatever, that's not a game situation. ... When it's game time, you've got to go out there and do what you need to do. |
I'm a little sore but it's crunch time so I'll definitely be out there. |
I'm a lot older, experienced -- and you learn how to really house all the emotions that you may go through under the pressure, ... You know, for me, talking with Hal [McRae, the Cardinals' hitting coach], having a game plan and sticking with it and not altering it has been a plus, too. So really, it's just the experience, more than anything. |
I'm feeling pretty good, ... I'm very close, very close. |
I'm from South Carolina and there's not much stuff to do and bowling is like at the top of the totem pole there. |
I'm just out there doing my thing, |
I'm one of those guys who believe things get better with age. This is all about preparation for opening day and I'm feeling good about where things are at this point. |
I'm ready. I don't think I'm going to be tentative at all. When you're injured, you try to get those things out of your mind and focus on what you need to focus on. |
I'm very happy with where I am. If you'd asked me that a week ago, I wouldn't [have said that]. But now, today, it's different. |
I've been hitting and stuff like that, ... That's the real good thing about all this. I'm still hitting, still getting to do the weightlifting, those things. I've been doing the conditioning. I have been doing that. I actually started heavily in Pittsburgh. |
I've gotten a lot better, and things have really been picking up the last couple of days. I know I'm not going to be 100-percent healthy, but I just want to be 100-percent functional. |
I've never been on a team that subtracted players like this one has. |
If the Cardinals have me back, would I love to come back? Most definitely. But that's a long way away. |