At age 33 and with nine years of major league experience, it would seem there isn't a lot for Michael Young to learn. But he still found a new challenge in the offseason: figuring out how to deal with an injury.

Young missed almost all of September recovering from a strained hamstring suffered on Sept. 1. He tried to return to the lineup after just two weeks, but he aggravated the injury and had to miss another two weeks. He returned only to play during the last week of the season.

Six weeks into the offseason, Young said his left hamstring was fully recovered and he's working harder than ever to insure that he makes himself as invincible against injury as is possible.

"I feel great," Young told mlb.com. "I've already begun my full offseason workouts. My leg lifts that I have been doing are fine. I'm doing a couple of things this winter that I want to do the rest of my career that will help me stay ahead of the curve and make sure I'm able to stay on the field for 155 games.

"I'm making sure I do a lot more stretching and really focusing on my core and my flexibility. So far so good. It's early in the offseason, but I still feel good."

The other thing different about his offseason workouts is that they are taking place without the presence of hitting instructor Rudy Jaramillo. Jaramillo signed a three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs after turning down a one-year offer with a minimal raise from the Rangers. Jaramillo, who had been the Rangers' hitting instructor since 1995, was the only major league hitting instructor under whom Young studied.

Young, a career .302 hitter, has had a couple of quick conversations with new hitting instructor Clint Hurdle. They expect to establish a rapport this winter.

"It will be different," Young said, "but I've always said that a player is his own best coach. You can't rely on a coach to get you out of a slump or do your job for you. I loved Rudy. He was loyal, a friend, always positive and a hard worker. I still love him. The Cubs are lucky. They are getting a great hitting coach."

On his conversations with Hurdle: "I told him what I think our team goals should be, and he has some ideas, too. I told him if he needed an extended voice in the locker room to get his message across, I'm his guy.

"We just talked about team offense a little bit and understanding game situations; understanding when to be patient and when to be aggressive, when to step on the gas and when to take your foot off the gas, understanding what the game calls for in any particular situation."

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