A lot of things are unexplainable.

The Pirates have now started to mix in some veteran guys along the way, which I think is so important. Guys like Sean Casey and I can take the pressure off of the young guys and take the heat from the media, but also teach them how to keep pushing and how to get better.

Believe me, there's no sense of complacency in here at all. We're going out and giving it everything we've got. Bottom line, we're not getting a lot of love in key situations. We've had some good at-bats and hit balls hard, but we're not getting any breaks. We're going to work our way out of it.

Everybody's at the point now where they're getting mad,

I didn't get drafted my senior year, ... I got offered a contract by the Brewers for $1,500 from Sal Bando. I decided to go to college instead, and it worked out pretty well.

I went to [Kettle-Moraine High School], 20 miles outside the city [in Wales, Wis.], and I've stayed in touch with some of my friends. So it's definitely special coming here. I got to spend time with everybody when I came in earlier in the season [with the Reds], but this is business now.