PHOENIX -- Eight years ago, Davey Lopes was conducting his first spring training camp as the Brewers' manager when he looked across the diamond at portly second baseman Ronnie Belliard and bellowed: "The guy looks like a catcher!"

Jason Kendall almost never hears that sentence slung in his direction, which is somewhat strange because he is, in fact, a catcher and has been for 13 years.

Though he is listed in the media guide as 6 feet and 204 pounds, Kendall seems smaller than that in person. When standing around the batting cage with teammates, he looks, at least from a distance, like an infielder.

Behind the plate, he's all catcher.

"I feel more comfortable squatting than I do standing up, which is probably sad," said Kendall, 33. "I'm not a big catcher like (Boston's Jason) Varitek," he said. "By big, I mean 6-3 and 230 or 240 (pounds). That's a lot of weight on your knees when you're squatting. I've been the same weight since I started in the league.

"I feel just as good now as I did when I was 21. I've had a few surgeries over the years that I can tell when the rain is coming, but I feel as good as I did when I was 21."

We caught up with Kendall recently and discussed catching, his big-league family roots and the Brewers' outlook for 2008.

OnMilwaukee.com: It had to be a touching moment at the beginning of camp when you gave Gabe Gross a Rolex for giving up your jersey number (18).

Jason Kendall: Absolutely. In all honesty, I didn't even know he wore 18.

OMC: Manager Ned Yost said earlier in camp that you were working on some throwing mechanics. What did that entail?

JK: There are a couple things I do. It's a footwork thing. You need to throw the guys out that you can throw out. I have the best catching coach in the world in my father (Fred), who played for 12 years. If anybody is going to know your game inside and out, it's your old man. I went home and worked with him and talked to Ned and (bench coach) Ted (Simmons) and kind of correlated everything.

OMC: Making it to the major leagues puts you in a small fraternity. The group of guys whose fathers played in the majors is even more exclusive, but you're now playing with Prince Fielder and Tony Gwynn, Jr., who also grew up at the ballpark. What's that like?

JK: It's definitely an advantage. If you ask Prince and Tony, they'll say the same thing. It's definitely an advantage growing up around the clubhouse and being able to pick the brains of the guys my father played with. I add that to my game.

OMC: It wasn't that long ago that you were one of the young guys in the game. Now you're looked at as a veteran who is expected to provide leadership on a team full of younger players. How long does it take to get a feel for the clubhouse and how do you go about being a leader?

JK: You just kind of fit in. I think I can fit in pretty much anywhere. I'm not a big rah-rah guy. I've been in certain situations in the game. I haven't seen everything, but I've seen a lot. I'm not afraid to speak up, but I've always tried to lead by the way I play the game.

OMC: How would you describe this clubhouse?

JK: We have a good group of guys. I'm not just saying this to pump up the town of Milwaukee. This is my 13th year and I've only been on two teams that everybody gets along. This is one of them. You can see everybody is getting along. Everybody plays the game hard.

OMC: You have a reputation for being good with pitchers. How long does it take you to get to know the guys on the staff. Is it a matter of learning what makes them tick more than what finger to put down?

JK: It's everything all thrown into one -- what he can and can't do in certain situations. What can he do on a 2-1 count? How much does his ball sink? How much does his ball cut? That's what spring training is for, to figure out those things.

I've caught everybody two or three times now, so we're definitely getting on that same page. I think we're getting to the point where we're ready to get going.

OMC: There has been a lot of talk about you hitting in the No. 9 spot, behind the pitcher. What do you think about that?

JK: I don't care. You can see reporters and everything trying to pick at me. I really don't care. If it works, great. If it doesn't, I'm sure Ned will try something else. I was telling someone the other day that he game has changed. There are so many front office people now in baseball that hop on their computers and do whatever they do and come up with stuff like this. If it works, great. I guess it all kind of makes sense. As long as I'm in the lineup, I don't care where I'm hitting.

OMC: The latter part of camp can start to drag, especially for veterans. How do you feel right now and how is your health in general?

JK: I feel just as good now as I did when I was 21. I've had a few surgeries over the years that I can tell when the rain is coming, but I feel as good as I did when I was 21.

When I was 21 or 22, you could go out and eat Taco Bell and McDonald's all that stuff and have as many beers as you want at night. But, I've learned how to take care of myself. I want to play the game as long as I can. They're going to have to take the uniform off me. I still enjoy the game and I'm excited to go out and have a good year and see what happens and hopefully be in a pennant race in September.