JUPITER, Fla. — St. Louis Cardinals reliever Chris Perez had a lot of down time during the week he couldn’t pitch because of soreness in his shoulder, so he found other ways to busy himself. One was by listening in on some of his teammates answer The P-DQ list. He said he loved quizzes and puzzles and other time-passers of that ilk, and he wanted to give it a try.

And then he realized it was all questions about him. He suggested I take the list to Todd Wellemeyer.

With ice strapped to his right shoulder and the good news about nothing being structurally wrong with his shoulder still ringing in his ears, Perez sat at the tables in the Cardinals clubhouse and ran through the P-DQ. (One of his answers, if you read carefully, clearly has to do with the news he got from the team trainers that he could pitch a few days later.) As mentioned earlier, Perez went rapid-fire through the questions, but that didn’t keep the righthander from also giving depth to his answers.

And, naturally, he closes strong.

***

Advice you received from a parent that has stayed with you is …

You never know who is watching.

A memorable Christmas or holiday gift you received is …

I’ve had a lot of good gifts. The first one being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pizza shooter. When I was like 4. And then a Super Nintendo, a Nintendo 64 and then a PlayStation 2. All in different years.

The word or phrase you use too often is …

“Dude.”

Favorite superhero?

The Flash.

Best baseball movie?

“Major League”

Your greatest achievement is …

What I’ve worked the hardest for is to be a major-league ballplayer.

Your current state of mind?

Relieved.

Your greatest extravagance or indulgence?

DVDs or Sports Memorabilia. I have a picture autographed by Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays all together.

Favorite ballplayer growing up?

Frank Thomas

First car?

2001 Nissan Frontier

Current car?

2007 Chevy Silverado

Place you’ve got to visit before you die is …

Australia

Most embarrassing song on your iPod?

Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to have Fun.

Movie you’ll stop to watch whenever it comes on is …

I’m a big movie guy. There aren’t too many I don’t like. But the movie that comes on and I’ll watch if from start to finish, “Back to the Future”

Sing in the shower or in the car?

Car.

You know you’re in the minors when …

Meal money is $20 per trip.

I tune out when people talk about …

Negative.

Your greatest fear?

Not fulfilling my family obligations.

What is your treasured possession?

I have a silver dollar that my grandpa carried with him every day of his life. He died before I was born. But I have it. It’s worn down, and you can barely see what it is. He had it in his pocket everyday.

***

Previous P-DQ: Adam Wainwright … CC Sabathia … Skip Schumaker … David Wright … Brian Barton … Ryan Ludwick. … Ryan Franklin. … Brad Lidge … Chris Carpenter. … Brandon Phillips. … Todd Wellemeyer. … Dustin Pedroia. … Jason Isringhausen.

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