So August has arrived, which can only mean that it's time to answer some more member questions and comments.

First up, since we've just started a long west coast road trip, a very timely questionfrom my man, Ryan.

"It looks like you got to stay home for much of July. How are road trips to the west? Do you like to get away or do they wear you out? - Ryan Gunderman"

It's true, road trips to the West Coast are very tiring, but I'm still having fun because baseball is what I love to do.

"My softball team is currently 0-10. Every time we have a game my team thinks we are going to lose so no one tries. Is there anything that you do to help your team with confidence? - Sami"

Sometimes, you learn more from your failures than your successes. Try and take something positive from every game and get your team focused on that before the next one.

"Why don't you wear sunglasses during day games? - Lille Marie A.A."

Good question. I do wear them on occasion, but not all that often. It's just personal preference, I guess.

"One thing that I love about how you play is that you never make excuses. Where did you learn this? - Raymond Sherman"

My parents taught me that you have to be accountable for your actions, and I've always lived by that rule on the field and off.

"What do you miss most from a "normal" life without the paparazzi and media and everyone coming up to you away from the Stadium? - Ariel Epstein"

Mostly, I miss my privacy, but I wouldn't trade this job for anything so I can't complain.

"Do you mind when people politely ask for your autograph or a pic - is there a right time or place when it's not too bothersome? - Mary Jane Bauer"

The only time it bothers me is when I'm eating in a restaurant with friend because I feel like it's an inconvenience for the people I'm with.

Sorry I can't get to answer more right now, but I'll be back on soon, so keep those questions coming. Take it easy,
Derek

So big day today! I'm not just talking about the start of our four-game stint with the Red Sox (which is huge), but it's also a big day here on Weplay too. I just heard that the official contest where the winner gets to meet me is now up and running.

http://www.weplay.com/meet-derek-jeter-contest

Are you kidding? The winner of the contest gets to come to New York and hang out with me? At a Yankees game? With his or her family? It's more like being STUCK with me! I guess they couldn't find someone better.

No in all honesty, knowing that fans and Weplay members are going to be entering for a chance to meet me, that's flattering.

I really do appreciate it, that people would enjoy the opportunity to meet you. So thanks, everyone. Hope you've entered already. I know that when I was younger, if there was a contest to meet any athlete, I would have definitely jumped at a chance to meet Dave Winfield. He was my favorite player growing up. So yeah, it easily would have been him.

But there was obviously no Weplay when I was growing up, though I wish there was. It's a great idea and I think people are going to really, really enjoy it. Aren't you having fun already?

Alright, back to baseball for now, but good luck to everyone out there and I'm looking forward to meeting the winner.

Well it's June and summer is here. After a great comeback win today, we know we've still got our work cut out for us. The injuries have taken a toll, but I've been saying that you can't sit around and wait for guys to come back. You really just have to find ways to get it done.

It seems like our division is stronger this year, especially the way Tampa has been playing. It gets to a point now where you can't just say it seems like Tampa has a good start. They have a good team and that's the bottom line. Toronto has been in town all week and they are always tough, too. If their pitching staff stays healthy, they are as good as any team in baseball.

So we need to start winning because we don't want to dig ourselves into a hole.

We need to play well. I really think we've been playing well the last couple weeks. We'd like to have won some more games but I think if you continue to play well, the wins will come. We just need to win.

For me, the game of baseball has never been about personal accolades. I never really sit down and reflect on anything like that. It's something you do maybe when the season is over, but when you're playing every single day, I really try not to get caught up in that too much.

Personal accolades are great. Don't think that I don't appreciate them and don't think that I don't enjoy it. But the bottom line is that I'm trying to win.

Of all the stats I'm most proud of, it's that we've won 4 times. And I'm trying to win again. I've said that time and time again. When you play a sport, trying to win is the only thing that should matter.

Wins, man, that's it.

Thanks again to you guys out there for the support, my #1, #2, #3 and all the fans on Weplay.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. This is such an important day in our nation to pay tribute to our soldiers and veterans. These brave men and women are true heroes and deserve our respect, gratitude and admiration today and every day.

We are in Baltimore to start out this road trip with a day game today. The team is really starting to play well now having won a few games in a row and a weekend sweep at home. Before we head over to start loosening up, I had some questions from my weplay friends that I was meaning to answer but didn't get around to yet.

Coach Bill Mooney asked about my mental approach when stepping into the batters box.

For me, I just try and stay focused on the pitcher and try to block out everything else the crowd noise, the opposing team and just focus in on the upcoming pitch.

Next one from Matt Delay in Florida.

Hey, My name is Matt Delay, I live in South Florida and I have been playing baseball for about 13 years. I'm really hoping to play baseball on a college level, and then eventually the professional level, any advice?

Hey Matt, So in addition to practicing your game, my best advice for you would actually be to make sure you keep up with your schoolwork. Skills is important, but you have to maintain your GPA to get and keep an athletic scholarship.

Finally, a question from Taylor. He writes: Hey,I love baseball alot, but i'm hardly good at bat and i was wondering if you could give me some tips on how to hit a little better. Please write.

Since you asked so politely, the most important thing I can tell you is to maintain your balance, keep your eye on the ball, keep a level swing through the strike zone and let the ball come to you.

Enjoy this great weather and I'll catch up with you soon once we're back in New York.

Hey I'm back, as promised, this time writing to you back at home, where it's always good to be after a week on the road. Of course, being in New York takes on extra special meaning this week as we prepare for a weekend series with the Mets. Let's just hope it stops raining soon so we can get out there and play.

In the meantime, let's answer a few more of the questions you posted to my weplay page.

The first question is one from Eddie Acosta, who asked what position or player I would be if I could.

Thing is, I have always wanted to be a shortstop and can't really imagine playing any other position. Sometimes you just know.

A good one came in from big fan Nicole Fecht, who asked: If you could travel back in time, which yankee would you like to meet and why?

I'd have to say Lou Gehrig. He just epitomizes what a Yankee should be.

Ernie Singh wrote me with the following question. My son loves baseball but I think he is too young to start training as a player. How old were you when you started playing baseball?

I'm not sure how old your son is, but there are different levels of involvement for different ages. For me, I was five years old.

I actually have a lot more pictures of me playing from when I was that young that I'm going to go post on weplay right now.

That's it for me, at least for right now. Keep those questions coming and I'll get back to you soon.

Hey everyone, especially all my weplay friends out there. Thanks so much for all of your questions and comments. Right now I'm here in Detroit for a weekend series with the Tigers. I always love coming here since this is where I grew up and knowing that I have friends and family in the crowd gives me an extra boost.

So I don't have too much time here since we have to get to the park, but wanted to get in and answer some of the questions you guys sent in and posted on my page. Then in a few days or so I'll get to a bunch more. Sound like a plan? Alright let's do it.

Question from McKinnley -- have you ever got hit by a pitch if so what did you do to stop thinking about getting hit your next time batting?

The answer is yes, I've been hit a lot. It's still in the back of your mind the next time at the plate, but you just have to focus on the next pitch, not the last one.

Chelsea wrote in - Hey I am a die hard softball player and this year I'm DH for the whole season and have been struggling a bit, because my confidence has gone down. Is there any way I can work at getting better?

You can't change anything that's happened up to this point, but you can take positives out of every performance going forward. Concentrate on what you're doing well rather than beating yourself up about mistakes, and get in extra batting practice whenever you can.

And I have to take this one from Ariel Epstein-- I have a question..... who inspired you to be a shortstop?

The answer is that it was my dad, because he was also a shortstop in college.

Erik Gaffron posted a question asking if my stance changed at all since little league.

You know, it hasn't changed that much. Everyone's stance is a little bit different, you just have to find something that makes you comfortable.

I know there are more questions out there and I'll check back in soon to answer some more. Keep them coming and take care. See you soon.

Well after a few weeks on the road, we're back in New York again. It seriously felt like we were gone forever.

So like Ryan did, I am putting out the invite for everyone on here to send in their questions and I'll start answering them as they come in. I probably won't be able to get to everyone, but if you make yours stand out and ask me something really good, I'll tackle those first.

More to come in the next couple of days.

Hey, welcome to my weplay page! I'm pretty excited to be here, playing around on weplay.com! And I'm really looking forward to connecting with all of you out there. I have already gotten to know a lot of the fans in New York, but I am looking forward to making new friends all over the country.

The Major League Baseball regular season is finally here and I'm anxious to get started. It's the last season ever in Yankee Stadium, and nothing would be better than to end the year with another World Championship. Of course, we've got 162 regular-season games to focus on first, but I'll be sure to keep you updated throughout the year on weplay.com. I'm might even share a little behind-the-scenes information from time to time.

Even though I've been busy with spring training and getting ready for the season, I was still able to dig up some good stuff to post here. I bet you didn't know I wasn't just a baseball player when I was a kid. There are some of my pictures and home movies up here already, playing everything from basketball to soccer ... and even a little baseball, too. But I didn't want to put it all up at once plus I'm sure there's a lot more I haven't found yet. Which means you should definitely check out my personal weplay page frequently to see more.

I'll even make some time to keep you updated with a blog here and there, some games, fun facts, schedules and a whole lot more. And if you upload videos and photos to your weplay page, I can check you out and see how you're doing, too. I love my teammates in New York, but this is your chance to make me your teammate here at weplay. So I'll see you around the weplay block! Now let's play ball...

Derek