I stunk. It was embarrassing. Down 6-0 in the first, I didn't give the offense a chance. I take the blame for the offense not doing anything.

I was a little nothing. My brother Kurt was a lot older. Mark had three years on me. They were all better. But maybe I learned a lot in those games. We had leagues where we'd imitate big-leaguers.

He'd get frustrated. I'd say, 'O.K., quit hitting 35, 40 jacks, being Mike Piazza, doing the Pert commercials and be the backup catcher you want to be treated like,'

It's different. But I was definitely ready, and I was charged about it. How could you not be?

I look at this as a second life. Every game feels like an event. Every pitch matters. I need that. It elevates your aggressiveness.

I stunk. What went wrong? Everything. I was terrible. It was embarrassing.