The National Mall is a special place for my wife and I. We got married on Signers Island in Constitution Gardens. It's a little spot tucked away on the National Mall. There are lots of places like that where you can find a quiet place to get away from it all.

I came from a military family, so there are a lot of things I think about when the anthem is playing.

By the time I was in first grade, we had settled in New Jersey, and that's where I grew up, outside of Philadelphia, right in the heart of Eagles country.

In an All-Star game the players are having more fun than usual and showing their personalities more than usual. And there are guys in this game -- I'm not one of them -- who are historically good. First-ballot Hall of Famers.

I think my patriotism is strong enough to not be offended when somebody takes a knee during the anthem. That's not something I take personally.

When I step onto the mound for the first time in a game, I remove my cap and look under the brim to read a message I write to myself with a Sharpie each season. It's a private reminder to stop and reflect on how lucky I am to play professional baseball.

You can't have an ego in the bullpen. At the end of the day, we're a group. We're only as good as the sum of our parts. Whatever you're called on to do that day, you've got to be willing to do it for the boys.

When I was a kid, I remember my parents would say, 'Baseball is what you do, but that's not who you are' -- like that might be my job, but that's not the end-all, be-all. I feel like I might even be able to use it to help other people or open some doors or explore more opportunities.

I've pitched in a lot of different roles in my career. I've been the middle-inning guy. I've been a lefty matchup guy. I've closed. I've kind of done a little bit of everything.

You know, I spent parts of six seasons in the minor leagues and I dealt with some injuries there, I saw a lot of things. I had the safety net of being a first-round pick, so I didn't maybe necessarily experience some of that hardship firsthand, but I watched it break a lot of guys. The strain that it puts on you and your family, it's really tough.

I think it's important to realize that the players who are protesting aren't protesting the anthem. They're not protesting the flag. People kind of move the goalposts on them and try to tell them what they're protesting. But as they keep saying, that's not what they're protesting.

As a fan, Kirk Cousins has this very quiet, composed, confident demeanor that seems to be pretty even-keeled. We don't see him show a ton of emotion. I think that's part of what makes him successful, that he's able to not get too high or too low throughout the course of the game and he keeps his head down, keeps plugging away.

I love my job, but it can be a little stressful at times. And reading has become a really healthy escape.

I try to stay involved with veterans' issues. I work with some veterans charities.

It feels weird to say there's more to me than that, like I'm being overdramatic, and a tear rolls down my cheek. But, no -- I do like I feel like there's more to me than just baseball.

An A's fan made me a Darth Vader helmet but painted in A's colors.

The pay in the minor leagues, I think it's terrible, it's disgusting, it's exploitative.

When you're in the backyard as a kid playing and falling in love with the game and you crush the ball? You do a celebration. You stand and watch it like Ken Griffey Jr. You put your hands in the air like Manny Ramirez. You don't hit the ball and put your head down and run as fast you can. That's not fun. It's okay to embrace that part of a game.

To baseball players, our caps are sacred. We integrate our caps into our strange routines and superstitions, removing and replacing them on our heads with ritual precision so they sit just so.

I don't like the idea of this team won a trade or that team did. I think it commodifies players in an unnecessary way. Let's just go win a World Series. How's that?