Mailbag: Who is on the way up? 08/13/2007 1:23 PM ET By Alyson Footer / MLB.com 原文出处 http://0rz.tw/1f2XV Where do the powers that be stand with Troy Patton? Do they think he's ready for the big leagues? And when September comes around, would the club bring him up without a rotation spot, putting him in the bullpen for the remainder of the year? -- Jimmy A., Houston 问︰Troy Patton的优势在哪？太空人队认为他有能耐上大联盟了吗？另 外，九月的时後，球团会不会升他上来，却不安排先发，而是在接下 来的球季让他担任牛棚後援的角色呢？ I think the odds are favorable that you'll see Patton in Houston in September. He may or may not be ready for the big leagues, but there's only one way to find out. Sometimes pitchers will start out in the bullpen to get their feet wet for a couple of weeks before moving to the rotation. It's too early to tell what they may do with Patton, or Juan Gutierrez, who they're also likely to take a look at next month. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the rotation, especially if Brandon Backe comes back in September. Could be a bit crowded, and a couple of pitchers may get bumped. 答︰我认为九月份看到 Patton在休士顿投球的可能性是乐见的。也许他还 未有能耐在大联盟的舞台上，不过有个唯一的方法能够发现。那就是 有时候投手在拉到先发前，会担任中继几周，先初试身手。 现在要知道太空人怎样安排Patton或 Gutierrez还言之过早，下个月可 能还要再看看他们的表现。看看到时先发轮值会有何改变相当有意思， 尤其是如果 Backe九月份归队。先发位置可能有点拥挤，而且有些投手 的空间会被取代。 Are the Astros interested in acquiring someone like Torii Hunter in the offseason? -- Cody A., Beaumont, TX 问︰球季休兵期间，太空人有意签下 Torii Hunter之类的球员吗？ I would love to see them pursue Hunter, but I don't see them spending that kind of money. The Twins appear to be intent on making an extension offer, but it may not be enough to keep him from exploring the free agent market. Hunter is going to cost a bundle, and the Astros already have three extremely high-priced players -- Oswalt, Berkman and Lee. Taking on another huge contract may not be the way to go. 答︰我也想要太空人去签 Hunter啊，但我不希望太空人砸这麽多钱在他身上。 双城队似乎有意与他续约，不过这无法避免他去寻求自由球员市场。 Hunter 的价码所费不赀，而且太空人已经有三个极高薪的球员了—Oswalt、Berkman 跟 Lee。又去签笔巨约不是眼下的任务。 But certainly, an outfield consisting of Lee in left, Hunter in center and Hunter Pence in right would be pretty exciting. 不过说实在的，左外为 Lee，Hunter守中外，而右外是Pence所组成的外野阵容 一定让人兴奋不已。 Are the Astros looking for a good catcher to back up Brad Ausmus? He has to be close to retiring and Eric Munson, though a good hitter, is not very promising. -- Suzi P., Houston 问︰太空人有在寻找能够顶替 Ausmus的好捕手吗？他也差不多快退休了，虽然 Munson打击不错，但并不是有多大前景。 The catching position is a big question mark. They're high on J.R. Towles, but it's still unclear if he can step into the No. 1 spot next year. Not sure they're completely sold on Munson as the front-line guy. He has a potent bat and his defensive skills have greatly improved over the last year, but can he be a No. 1? I'm not so sure. But I like him as a backup. 答：捕手位置是目前相当重大的问题。太空人对 J.R. Towles寄予厚望，然而 要说他明年可以顶上No.1的位置仍然是未知数。我们也不确定太空人能否 全然信任 Munson作为第一线的捕手。他的打击火力拥有水准，而且守备在 最近这一年来精进不少，然而，他真的有实力担任第一号捕手吗？这我不 得而知。我比较希望他当替补捕手。 Come September, who do you think will come up from the Minor Leagues? -- Ryan S., Houston 问︰九月要到了，你觉得小联盟有谁会被升上来？ Look for Towles, Patton and Gutierrez. Nothing is definite, but they're the top candidates to receive September promotions. 答︰注意Towles、Patton和Gutierrez吧。其实确切的球员名单还不知道，但他 们是九月拉拔上来的主要候选人。 The farm system has received a bit of negative press lately. The rap is that they don't have much in terms of top prospects coming up through the Minor Leagues. The front office strongly disagrees, and it appears we may be able to judge for ourselves, soon. 农场系统近来收到一些负面消息。这些责难在於他们没有太多能从小联盟可 升上的顶级新秀。而管理部门并不同意这 项说法，但很快，我们自个儿就 能做出判断了。 Mike Lamb wasn't traded at the deadline. Why not sign him next season? I'm not sold on Wigginton, and I still think Lamb should be the third baseman now and next season. -- Sasha S., College Station 问︰Lamb在截止日没有被交易出去。明年何不签下他呢？我对於 Wigginton 并不信任，而且我仍旧认为 Lamb才应该是目前与明年的三垒手。 Lamb is a free agent after this year and there are no guarantees that he would re-sign here. He has no idea what he'll command on the open market, but he's looking forward to finding out. Wigginton is under club control for another two years, and he won't cost a fortune in arbitration. This is how teams maintain payrolls. Players price themselves out of the market and other players -- younger and less expensive -- are brought in. 答︰Lamb今年球季结束後就是自由球员，而且事实上并不保证他会续约。他 并不清楚在开放市场上，能够掌控什麽，不过他盼望能有所发现。Wigginton 在球团的掌控下还有两年，而且，在仲裁中他不会让球团花一大笔钱。 这就是球团稳住薪资总额的手段。 球员哄抬自己的身价的话，这时其他比较年轻又便宜的球员反而会受到 青睐。 But all logic aside, this team will miss Lamb if and when he moves on. He's a tremendous hitter in the clutch and there are few players I'd rather see stride to the plate in a late-game, RBI situation. 说个题外话，一旦 Lamb离开，这支球队就错失他了。他是个得点圈 有人的关键时刻会将队友送回的可怕打者，我见过很少球员能在比赛 後段上场代打建功的。 What does the "player to be named later" mean with the Morgan Ensberg trade? -- Troy W., Austin 问︰在 Ensberg的交易案当中，什麽叫做〝稍後指名球员〞啊？ Toward the end of the season, the Padres will submit to the Astros a list of players -- mid-level Minor Leaguers -- who are available. If the Astros don't like any of the options, a cash amount will be exchanged instead. 答︰季末快到来时，教士队会提交给太空人球员名单，这些是换到的小 联盟球员。如果太空人对提交的球员都不满意，那麽就会以现金 兑换。 It's highly unlikely the Astros will receive a top prospect. The deal between the two clubs allowed the Padres to make a low-risk deal, and the Astros were able to save some money. If Ensberg had cleared waivers, he would have become a free agent and could have signed with any team. That team would have had to pay him a prorated portion of the Major League minimum, with the Astros having to absorb the bulk of what was owed. 太空人绝不可能从中获得顶级新秀。这两支球团的交涉使得教士队可 进行低风险交易，而太空人也能从中省下一大笔钱。倘若 Ensberg clear waiver，那他就成了自由球员，可跟任何球队签约。那支 球队就要付给他大联盟规定最低限度比例的薪资，而剩下部份则由 太空人埋单。 Instead, the Astros and Padres split the remaining $1.4 million on Ensberg's contract. And the Padres obtained a player who may or may not help them in the stretch run, but who was definitely done in Houston. Win-win for everyone. 太空人与教士在 Ensberg的合约中，要共同分摊剩下的$1.4M。 教士队得到的球员不一定能在拼季後赛阶段给予帮助，可是他在太空 人队很明显已经混不下去了。这样的安排是让每个人各得所求。 What do you believe are the top three priorities for the club in the postseason to bring them back into contention for another World Series run? -- Greg M., Indiana 问︰你认为对一个球团来说，在季後如果要与敌队厮杀，打进世界大 赛，有哪三个要点是必须做到的？ Well, as one very wise baseball man said recently (and I'm paraphrasing here), for 140 years, pitching and defense has won championships. Every once in a while, teams get away from that and stock their offense while ignoring the other two categories, and lo and behold, they very rarely win. 答︰恩，根据一个很有见识的棒球人跟我讲的﹙在此我叙述一下﹚， 这140年以来，拥有强投与坚强守备赢得冠军。有时候会有球队 忽略这两项要素，单单加强攻击火力，然後你看喔，他们很少赢 得冠军。 When Phil Garner began his managerial career back in the early 1990s, his old skipper, Chuck Tanner, gave him this piece of advice: get as much pitching as you can, and just when you think you have enough, go out and find more. 回到1990年代初， Garner开始执掌兵符的时候，他的老教练 Chuck Tanner 给他一些忠告︰尽可能用多些投手，只要你认为投手数量够了， 再去寻找实力更强的来。 Case in point -- in 2000, the Astros broke every offensive record in the history of the franchise. They also lost 90 games and finished fourth. In 2005, they had one of the worst offenses in the league, but the best trio of starters and a stellar bullpen, and they made it to the World Series. 举个实例来说︰在2000年球季，太空人打破队史各项打击纪录。同时 该年他们输掉了90场比赛，屈居第四。2005年，他们打出联盟最烂的 打击成绩之一，可是却有最强的三巨投及耀眼的牛棚，所以他们打进 世界大赛。 The priority needs to be pitching. Defense should be a close second, but I have a feeling if Chris Burke is a regular at second, if Adam Everett resumes his position at shortstop, if Lance Berkman plays first exclusively and if the Astros obtain a solid right fielder, the defense will fix itself. 打进世界大赛的首要考量是投手。守备应该是位居第二，不过我想如 果 Burke是先发二垒手， Everett重返游击， Berkman专守一垒，而 且太空人得到一名超强右外野手的话，守备问题即可解决。 Tim Purpura claimed he couldn't deal Lamb or Loretta because not enough was being offered. I don't believe that, but I'm curious what we get in terms of draft compensation if they leave as free agents this year? And why have we had so few upper-round picks in recent drafts? -- Richie E., Friendswood 问︰Purpura声称无法交易 Lamb或 Loretta出去是因为他们不足以被交易 ，我不认同这样的说法，我很好奇如果他们今年以自由球员身份离开 球队，我们在选秀的补偿有何所获？还有为什麽在这几年的选秀当中 ，怎麽鲜少能在前几轮选到新秀？ At the end of the season, the Elias Sports Bureau will rank the potential free agents based on a two-year statistical average. They have a formula to determine if a player is type "A" or "B." 答︰在季末 Elias Sports Bureau会以两年数据平均为基础，把可能的 自由球员分级。他们有公式来决定一个球员是属於 type "A" 或 "B"。 的等级。 Lamb and Loretta appear to both be Type A's, but that's to be determined. Should the Astros offer arbitration, and assuming Lamb and Loretta reject the offer, the Astros will receive high-round draft picks for both. It's a gamble, because of course, either or both could accept the arbitration offer, which essentially makes them signed players, with salaries to be determined. Lamb跟 Loretta两人好像是 Type A的球员，但那还要被裁定。假使太 空人提出仲裁，假定 Lamb跟 Loretta拒绝 offer，太空人就能从二者 中获得较高轮次的选秀。这是场赌注，当然两者或其一可能会同意仲裁 ，所以使得他们必须签约，同时薪资就此抵定。 But if they accept arbitration, they'll be committing to a team that cannot guarantee them starting positions. I would guess they'll reject the offers. This is going to be key for the Astros. They have lost a ton of top draft picks in the last five years because of several free agent signings, including Jeff Kent, Andy Pettitte, Woody Williams and Carlos Lee. These are the kinds of things that don't hurt the club immediately, but can decimate the system later on. We're seeing some of that now. 不过如果他们同意仲裁，就把自己交给未必能让他们先发的球队。 我猜他们会拒绝 offers。对於太空人来说，这项动作是个关键。过 去这五年来因为签下一些自由球员导致他们输掉一堆首轮选秀，包含 签下 Kent、Pettitte、Williams以及 Lee在内 这在短期之间不会 伤害球团，但在之後可以瓦解整个农场系统。我们现在就见证到了。 The Astros have to draft high for the next couple of years and get some talent into the system. Progress doesn't happen overnight, but a strong farm system is the most important element of a winning Major League team. And it played a huge role in the Astros making six playoff appearances in nine years. 太空人在接下来这几年必须选到前几轮的球员，让农场系统要补进一些 有天赋的。整个进步过程不会在一夜之间就出现，然而有坚强农场系 统提供兵源是一支大联盟常胜军的关键要素。 而且该成果对这九年内太空人六度打进季後赛占有举足轻重的地位。 How about we give Ty Wigginton a nickname like "Wigs" or "Wiggy?" What do you think? -- Kyle C., San Antonio 问：我们帮 Wigginton取个绰号叫 "Wigs" 或 "Wiggy"如何？ I believe his teammates refer to him as Wiggy. Seeing that I just met him, I think I'll just stick with calling him Ty for the time being. I'll keep you posted. 答︰我认为他的队友会叫他Wiggy。目前我遇见他，还是会继续称呼他Ty。 我会随时让你知道他的绰号。 This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. ============== 翻很烂 如果有翻错的部份 我再修改 --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 218.172.208.229 ※ 编辑: mysunny 来自: 163.32.77.102 (08/15 08:56)