Fresh off a solid rookie season during which he batted .288 with a .377 on-base percentage, outfielder Travis Buck entered the 2008 campaign as one of the young faces of the A's franchise.

The team was rebuilding from within, and Buck was something of a poster boy for the new approach. He got off to a miserable start, however, and a variety of injuries -- from shin splints to a concussion to post-concussion syndrome -- contributed to a disappointing season for Buck, who spent a big part of it at Triple-A Sacramento.

Yet having bounced back late in the year with a torrid finishing kick, batting .367 (18-for-49) with four home runs and 12 RBIs for the A's in September, Buck seemed to re-establish himself as a big part of Oakland's future, and he's at Spring Training with a shot at securing a starting job in right field.

Buck recently sat down for the second installment of oaklandathletics.com's weekly "Q's with A's" feature, addressing what went wrong in 2008, what he hopes to accomplish in 2009, and a variety of other subjects. Here's what he had to say:

MLB.com: Given what you went through last season, did you feel the need to change your approach to the offseason?

Buck: Not really, but this was the first offseason I've had in about two or three years where I haven't had to rehab something, so I had about a month of a head start on what I normally do. I started hitting it pretty hard with lifting and running early in the offseason, and then baseball activities at the end of December or early January, so I'm as ready for camp as I've ever been.

MLB.com: What did you learn last season that will make you better this year?

Buck: It was a great learning experience. I was disappointed that I kind of let it get into my head, being put out there as one of our main guys. I just didn't handle it very well. But I proved a lot to myself by getting through everything, and I'm really glad I finished the season on a pretty high note, knowing that when I'm healthy and my mind's right, I played up to the best of my ability."

MLB.com: The addition of Matt Holliday closed one door in the outfield; he'll play pretty much every day in left. The addition of Jason Giambi means Jack Cust might see time in right. Ryan Sweeney is penciled in as the starting center fielder. How do you feel about your place on the team?

Buck: I was working out when [the Holliday deal was] announced, and when I got done I had about 10 text messages and five or six missed calls. The first thing that I thought of when I heard about it was if I was part of the deal.

I figured it was a good sign that none of the texts or massages were from the A's, though, and when I finally heard exactly what the deal was, I was definitely glad I was staying. As for what it means for me, I don't really know. All of that will play out, and I know having Matt and Jason will make us a better team, and that's the most important thing.

But I do expect to make whatever decisions they have to make, as far as I go, pretty easy. And it'll make it that much more special when I get back in there as one of our main guys.

MLB.com: Your general manager, Billy Beane, basically gave you a huge vote of confidence during the offseason, and your manager, Bob Geren, mentioned you as a potential leadoff man way back in December. How good does that feel on the heels of last season?

Buck: I've always known they have confidence in me, and I didn't hear any of what you just mentioned, but it does mean a lot to me. They've told me from Day 1 that they're confident in me, and that's a great feeling as a young player. I'd like to stay here a long time and be a part of a bright future for the organization. I think I'm going to be an asset to the organization.

MLB.com: It looks like the bulk of your playing time will come in right field this year, but you did play some third base at Arizona State. If something happens to Eric Chavez and his backups, would you be able to handle the hot corner?

Buck: I didn't play third base at all in Minors, but I did it my junior year at ASU and held my own pretty good. Last year when I was called up, Bob made me take a few ground balls over there, so you never know. The more positions you can play, the better. I'd absolutely be comfortable if I had to go over there. It brought back some good memories for me when I was taking grounders. And none of them went through my legs, so hey, give me a chest protector and I'll be fine.

MLB.com What do you need to do better this year?

Buck: I learned a lot last year from being hurt again, so I've done a lot of work on my lower-body flexibility, my hamstring, shins, calves. That's where quite a few of my injuries have come, so I'm taking better care of my legs. And I need to learn when to pick my spots a little more in the outfield, knowing when to lay out or dive for a ball and when to play the ball back.

MLB.com: What kind of impact do you think Holliday and Giambi can have on all the young players on this team?

Buck: It'll be huge. I can only take it back two years ago, when we had so many veteran guys, and how much I learned from them, watching them play the right way. It brought out my ability. The one thing with Billy is that you always know he has something going on, and he's definitely a master at his craft, so when he makes a move, you know it's the right one. It'll be great to learn from those guys.

I can only speak about myself, but guys like Sweeney and [Kurt] Suzuki are young guys who represent a big part of the future, too, and I think they would probably want to be under the radar a little bit and not be in the limelight, so to speak. [Holliday and Giambi], they know what it's like to be the face of a franchise, so we can all take a step back see how they're dealing with it, and learn from it.