I'm hurting now. All game I was hurting.

There are a couple of other guys here that can play first base and can come in and do the job any time. I just go out there and do the best I can every night. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.

It's amazing in this game, the less you try to do, the better results you have. All I was trying to do was get on base -- whatever, a walk, a chopper, base hit, just to get something going. Then I hit one out of the ballpark. I was shocked.

In order for me to hopefully get going, I have to have a quick start, a good, strong start. I like to get out right away. Today I was fortunate enough that a couple of balls landed in there for me.

When I was a kid, I thought I had my life figured out. I knew where I was going. I was sure of whom I was and what I was. I was wrong. See, life is a journey of twist and turns that mold who we are; however, it is not the twist and turns which mold us, but rather, how we take and handle the twist and turns thrown at us. It was not until life threw me flat on my face that I truly discovered who I am and what I am. I am a perpetual work-in-progress. And you know what? I am quite all right with that.

I would rather die an individual than live my life as a clone.