When it comes up with my age, I'm like, let's just end the conversation there. That's irrelevant to me. I'll pitch until I'm 40.

I've heard players, and I'm talking about some of the best players in the league, question whether I've taken steroids or not. Some of the things I hear are pretty funny, and some people are idiots, frankly.

Hamstring flexibility and hip mobility for me are the two most important factors on the field.

I think the average MLB career now is just a few years. The quote that has always resonated with me is 'We're going to be former players a lot longer than we were current players.'

Being in the same sentence as Bob Gibson, that's incredible.

If people call into question my work ethic, that's fine, because I know what I'm doing behind the scenes.

That's why it's so important to have that gap between your fastball and off-speed pitches: then, when you effectively locate your fastball, it plays at a higher velocity.

'ACE' is one of the acronyms I've used over the years. It stands for 'Acting cures everything.' You weren't promised to come to the ballpark and feel great on your start day. Basically, how can you put something on display to the opponent that gives the appearance of 'OK, this guy is locked in today,' whether you are or not?

I eat plants. I eat lean meat. I work out.

I've never had anything to hide.

I watch what I eat, and I train properly.

At this point, I'm just grinding through it, trying to establish strikes in the zone with my pitches, using some information the opposition gives me, and kind of moving forward in that regard.

I was giving some of my teammates a hard time, saying I've got more pop than they do.

I had great teammates. Adam Jones took great care of me. Mike Gonzalez took good care of me.

There's so many things running through your mind. If you can formulate a game plan that works for you and allows you to block outside distractions and get to what matters, that's how the talent is able to come out.

I like to get the body temperature up, the heart rate up. I'll do anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes either on a bike, a rower, a StairMaster, or a combination of the three of those. And then I'll normally run through a 20- to 30-minute session either on the Pilates reformer, the Cadillac, or the Pilates chair.

I care about the integrity of the game.

If two guys want to go see each other, let them be in the middle, let them throw some punches, then break it up.

That's one the main reasons we live in Austin. The weather is so nice for the majority of the offseason, and it's easy for us to get out and ride bikes and get on some trails, to walk together as a family. Sometimes I'll go out for a trail run. We just like to do things outdoors.

I'd like to stay in Chicago, but if they don't want me, somebody will.

I'm not saying I won't make a mistake throughout the game.

Guys want to be compensated fairly.

There's plenty of situations where we'll come up with guys on base, less than two outs, and those are opportunities for us to help ourselves out.

Once I get completely right mechanically and with command, maybe I only use two or three pitches to get through seven innings.