I'm doing everything I can. I care. I'm working at it. Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about it. Nobody has higher expectations for me than I do. ... It's hard to pinpoint. The bottom line is it hasn't been there. There's no reason to make excuses, and I'm not going to sit here and do it.

When the season gets here, you start at zero. I know what I'm capable of; it just hasn't happened so far. It's been a bad spring. What can I tell you? I'm not letting it beat me. I have had bad springs, good springs and in-between springs. This has been my worst. ... When things aren't going well, of course you have to critique yourself. If you don't, you're just going through the motions.

We're just trying to get to know one another, trying to get to know one another's tendencies. The most important part of it is communicating and being on the same page. . . . We're all professionals and you've been playing the position pretty much your whole life.

I was always told to take care of your shortstop. Communicate and take care of him.

This is the first place I wanted to go. I was originally drafted by the Cardinals out of high school in 1995. I'm from Oklahoma and I grew up a Cardinals fan.

The umpire was giving me four or five inches off the plate all day long, so I used it to my advantage.