C.J. Wilson

Interesting interview -

DAN PATRICK: How was the celebration after the ALDS compared to last season?

C.J. WILSON: It’s a little more subdued the more times you go. I don’t even know how the guys on the Yankees do it anymore. In Texas we do the ginger ale thing for me and Josh [Hamilton] because we are both alcohol-free.

DP: How long have you been sober?

CJW: I’ve been straight edge my whole life. I’ve never had a drop of alcohol. I have STRAIGHT EDGE tattooed on my ribs. It’s a lifetime commitment to be drug- and alcohol-free.

DP: Are you ever curious?

CJW: I do so many other things, whether it’s race car driving, shooting machine guns or jumping off cliffs into the ocean. I do a lot of other fairly extreme things.

DP: What did you learn from being in the playoffs last year?

CJW: I think a lot of us know what to prepare for. You watch it on TV, you don’t see a lot of the stuff that goes into it. But it’s really more of a circus than people understand. We have a better method for staying in our routines. It’s just baseball. You have to peel away the hype and that really annoying [music] on Fox and TBS.

DP: Watching Tony Romo up close in Dallas, would you want to change places with the Cowboys’ quarterback?

CJW: No, I wouldn’t want to. I don’t even like football. I like watching racing on Sundays.

DP: Could you deal with the pressure of being evaluated every game?

CJW: The thing is, those dudes get killed. He’s out there with broken ribs and a punctured lung, and people are bagging on him. Hey, guys, remember last week when he was the hero for playing through a punctured lung? Now you hate him. Baseball is much more even-keeled.

DP: What did you learn from former Ranger Cliff Lee about approaching free agency?

CJW: The biggest thing is that it’s going to take care of itself. I’ve been around other guys—Carlos Lee, Gary Matthews or even Mark Teixeira—who were a lot more contract-focused. Cliff was more performance-focused. It enabled him to just let loose and play the game. Literally, since the first day of spring training, I’ve gotten the same questions every day: What are you going to do? Where are you going to go? How much money do you want? If I play well, everything will work itself out.

DP: Are you still dating a swimsuit model?

CJW: No, Dominique [Piek] and I broke up in July. It wasn’t working out. In the end I had to make a selfish decision and make baseball more of a priority. It was getting to the point where [the relationship] was beginning to be a bit of a distraction.

DP: What’s the worst part of dating a swimsuit model?

CJW: [Long pause] Nothing.

DP: Which ring do you get first—wedding ring or World Series ring?

CJW: I’m single right now. I heard Olivia Wilde just got divorced.

DP: Minka Kelly is out there.

CJW: That would be fairly awkward.

I dunno…not sure this guy would be Yankees material…