※ [本文转录自 Cardinals 看板] 作者: azure0920 (WS Champ STL Cardinals) 看板: Cardinals 标题: [翻译] Ankiel is closing in on big leagues again (1) 时间: Sat Jun 23 01:24:26 2007 By Joe Strauss ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 06/22/2007 MEMPHIS, TENN. — Those who saw it still talk about "the bomb" Rick Ankiel drove over the right-field fence last month, over a berm and past a walkway at Round Rock's Dell Diamond. They talk about his right fielder's arm, center fielder's speed and his aptitude for learning a proper drop step needed to run down balls hit over his head. 上个月,那些还在讨论"不定时炸弹" Ankiel的人,都被吸引到德州圆石镇Dell Diamond 球场右外野的全垒打墙边. 他们谈论那个有着右外野手的肩膀, 中外野手速度的选手. 还有他学习接飞过头顶高飞球的能力. And lately, the only organization Ankiel has ever known has pondered the proper time for promoting its former star-crossed pitcher to St. Louis as a position player. As the talk grows louder, Ankiel reminds himself not to listen. 在不久之前, 那个Ankiel唯一待过的球团仔细考量过, 何时才是把曾经是投手丘上的 新星带回圣路易的好时机. 当人们的讨论的声音越来越大, Ankiel却是尽量的不想去 听它. "I just get excited about being successful," he says. "I try not to get too excited about where I'm at now because you never know what's going to happen." No one is more entitled to that philosophy than Ankiel. "我对於目前的成功感到相当的兴奋", 他说到:"我尝试着对於我的未来不要兴奋过 了头, 因为你永远不知道接下来事情会怎麽发生". 没有人比 Ankiel 更了解这个 道理了. Ten years after being drafted, seven years after winning 11 games as a too-young-to-drink rookie lefthander and six years after virtually vanishing from the major leagues, Ankiel is close to accomplishing the truly Ruthian feat of moving from a major-league starting rotation to outfield. In between he has experienced a lifetime's worth of professional and personal angst. His return would represent an organizational as well as a personal triumph. 自从被选秀会挑中已然十年经过. 那个在大联盟拿下11胜的左手新秀已然从 20岁 变为27岁, Ankiel 正踏着先人 Babe Ruth的脚步从大联盟的投手丘迈向外野手. 在这些年里, 他经历了职业生涯的最高峰与个人的最低潮. 他重新的挑战大联盟 代表了红雀队球团, 更是他个人的另一个成功. "I want to go up there and stay there and play for years," Ankiel says. "I don't want this to be a novelty where people say, 'Wow, look, he made it back' and then I go away." "我想升上大联盟, 我想待在大联盟打上好些年的球". Ankiel 提到, "我不想被人 当作小说里的题材一样, 升上大联盟, 然後就没有了" Ankiel has had enough of being someone's novelty. He lived it for the last five years of his pitching existence, until his inability to retain command of his brilliant assortment proved too much to carry. Ankiel 已经经历太多小说中夸张的情节了. 他坦然接受曾经在投手丘上辉煌过五年, 却因无法维持投球动作的协调性而被迫离开的事实 Now a month shy of turning 28 and one of only two remaining players in the organization from the 2000 NL Central Division championship team, Ankiel is ready for something else. 在还有一个月要满28岁的现在, Ankiel成为唯二 2000年国联中区冠军还待在红雀 球团的球员. 他已经准备好要再度挑战大联盟了. "I'm 27 now," he says. "I need to prove I can play or get out of the way." Proving himself was no problem a decade ago. Or has it already been an eternity? "我才27岁, 我必须要证明我可以在球场上竞争, 不然就是彻底离开球场", Ankiel说到 12年前他就已经证明过一次了. 或者我们应该这样说, 证明Ankiel的能力从来不是 个问题 USA Today named Ankiel its high school player of the year in 1997. Two years later, managers in the Texas League and Pacific Coast League named him the top prospect in their respective loops. 1997年 Ankiel被USA Today 选为最佳高中球员, 两年後, 他被德州以及太平洋小联盟 　的总教练们选为顶级的新秀 Ankiel reached the major leagues after 52 appearances spread over four affiliates, where he had struck out 416 and allowed 225 hits in 298 2/3 innings. Now he is trying to progress just as quickly as a hitter. 仅仅在小联盟出赛 52次, 待过四支球队後, Ankiel被升上大联盟去. 他在小联盟 298 2/3局的投球中, 三振 416次, 只被敲出 215 支安打. 现在他以同样惊人的 速度在小联盟以打者的身分发光发热. Two years after the experiment began, and one year after missing an entire season because of a knee injury, Ankiel is pushing for the Pacific Coast League lead in home runs (19) and RBIs (53). 在正式弃投从打的两年後, 其中还包含一年因伤膝盖受伤无法出赛, Ankiel 正领先 　AAA 太平洋联盟的全垒打(19) 以及打点成绩(53) Yet he remains at Memphis mostly as a matter of inconvenience. 有着这样的成绩却只能留在Memphis 是因为一些无法避免的麻烦 If Ankiel were promoted and struggled, the Cardinals would be unable to return him to Memphis without first putting him through waivers. Any team could then pluck Ankiel for nothing except the waiver fee. 如果Ankiel升上大联盟不能维持这样的打击成绩, 红雀队无法把他轻易送回 Memphis 的小联盟. 在把Ankiel 送回小联盟的wavier 过程中, 任何一个球队可以不需要付出 高额代价的把Ankiel 挑走 The club acknowledged this week that if it had remaining options on Ankiel, he probably would have been promoted to replace disabled center fielder Jim Edmonds. Ankiel must instead wait, likely until at least mid-August. 红雀球团承认, 若不是因为Ankiel已经没有任何 option 可以无条件通过wavier, 那麽这个礼拜因为Jim Edmonds 进DL而填补空缺的就会是他. 而如今 Ankiel只能 期待八月中的45人球团扩编了. "We discussed it, but we felt that Rick needs as many at-bats as he can get and to experience a lot of situations," says Walt Jocketty, who was in his third year as Cardinals general manager when the club selected Ankiel in the second round of the 1997 draft and subsequently signed him for $2.5 million. "We had talked about giving him 400-500 at-bats, then bringing him up in the fall. But if he continues to progress as he is, we may bring him up sooner." 球团经理Wakt Jocketty 谈到, "我们和Ankiel讨论过这件事, 我们认为Ankiel 目前 需要的是更多的实战打击机会, 以及处理更多的飞球". 在Jocketty 担任球团经理的 第三年, 他以两百五十万美金的高额签约金把 1997年第二轮选秀的 Ankiel签了下来. "我们谈到 Ankiel 需要四百到五百个打数, 然後在秋天的时候把他升上大联盟. 但是 以他现在的这个成绩保持下去, 等不到了那个时候他就会被升上大联盟了" Manager Tony La Russa offers a bit more conservative estimate, insisting "the more at-bats he takes, the better his shot is here. He's learning every game he plays down there. It is Triple-A. He's learning. He's adjusting. He's hitting .280; he's not hitting .380. It would be great to leave him there all year." 红雀队总教练 Tony La Russa 给了一个比较保守的意见, 他说: "有越多的小联盟 打击经验, 他能待在大联盟的机会就越大. Ankiel 还在小联盟中学习如何当一个 称职的外野选手. 他的打击率是 .280 而不是 .380. 让他有个完整的小联盟球是 相当重要的 The Cardinals have done everything possible to retain the rights to the one-time prodigy, including conspiring with Ankiel's agent, Scott Boras. As he passed through waivers shortly after his position switch, Boras warned prospective takers Ankiel would not pitch for them. 红雀球团已经用了各种方法去留住这位曾经辉煌的天才球员, 包括和大牌经纪人 Scott Boras 仔细商量过. 在 Ankiel 被降回小联盟决定弃投从打之後, Boras 警告任何想要交易Ankiel 的球团, Ankiel不会再回到投手丘上. (个人幻想, 要是那天Spiezio, Ankiel已经在大联盟中, 他会想上来投吗? XD~) Only a portion of the salvage plan is dedicated to seeking a return on a 10-year-old investment. 在挽救Ankiel球员生涯的计画中, 只有一小部分是让他重新登上投手丘 "I have a very strong feeling for him as a person as well as a player," Jocketty says. "It was unfortunate he came to a point in his career where he couldn't go on as a pitcher and was ready to go on in a different direction. "我对於Ankiel 不论是个人,或是担任球员的时候都充满信心", Walt Jocketty 说到: "很不幸的是他不能以投手的身分继续球员生涯, 但是他已经做好准备往不同位置前进" "I knew he was a great athlete. I'd seen him hit. I knew he was athletic enough to play the outfield. He was interested in doing that. It just came down to giving him time to develop." "我了解他是一个相当优秀的运动员. 我很希望他能成功转换成一个打者. 我知道他 有着足够的能力去担任外野手的工作. 他对於这个改变很有兴趣, 我们需要的只是 给他足够的时间去做准备" THE DARK DAYS On the day Ankiel announced his retirement from pitching, La Russa voiced remorse for his unconventional handling of him during the first round of the playoffs in 2000. 黑暗的日子 在 Ankiel宣布弃投从打的那天, La Russa 发表了自责的声明, 因为他的特异的调度 把这个左手菜鸟排进了 2000 年季後赛的第一场先发名单. Trying to protect Ankiel, who was 21 then, La Russa had veteran Darryl Kile attend a news conference for the presumptive Game 1 starter. 当初为了要给Ankiel 多一点保护, La Russa 让老鸟 Darryle Kile 代替Ankiel 参加季後赛第一战先发投手的记者会 (这样翻对吗? 我没看过记者会..) The ploy backfired the next afternoon when Ankiel, the Cardinals' true Game 1 starter, suffered a loss of command that marked the beginning of the end of his promising career as a starting pitcher. 这个记者会的安排, 到了下午有意想不到的後果, 红雀队真正的先发投手Ankiel因为 丧失的投手的协调动作而被迫离开投手丘 From there, Ankiel's career went into free fall. His next four seasons became a series of closeted practices, false starts, injuries and doubt. 自此, Ankiel的球员生涯就像自由落体般不断沉沦. 接下来的四个球季就是一连串的 练习, 失败, 受伤和质疑 "I don't want to be guessing about what he was feeling," La Russa says. "I'd rather stay away from that." "我不想去猜测他有什麽样的感受" La Russa说到: "我不想去揭人疮疤" Ankiel's struggles became more pronounced shortly after his father, Richard Patrick Ankiel, was sentenced to six years in federal prison for his role in a Bahamian drug trafficking ring. A half-brother also had entered the penal system because of a drug offense. Shortly after Richard Ankiel's drug conviction, Ankiel's parents divorced. Ankiel 的磨难不久又因他的父亲贩毒,被判六年监禁後又被加深一步. 他同父异母 (还是同母异父?) 的兄弟也因为药物问题而受到惩楚. 他的父母也因此离异. The spiral led Rick to heed Boras' advice to leave Florida after the 2000 s eason and stay for two months in Newport Beach, Calif., with a former teammate, infielder Adam Kennedy, whom the Cardinals had dealt to Anaheim. 这一连串的事件让 Ankiel去听从经纪人 Boras的建议搬离佛罗里达, 在2000球季後 到加州Newport Beach 跟他的前队友Adam Kennedy 住了两个月 "It's been seven years," Kennedy says. "I got to see him enjoying baseball again, running around the outfield again, hitting and stuff. Off the field this spring, he was more calm and a lot more focused." Kennedy 提到: "那是七年前的事情了, 我希望能看到 Ankiel 再度享受棒球的乐趣, 不论是在外野奔驰, 站上打击区, 或者其他的事情. 在这个球季前的春天, 他显的 比以前更要沉稳也更专注於工作" If seven years have dulled anyone's memories, Kennedy remembers well the first impression Ankiel created. "To this day, a healthy Ankiel is better than anyone I've ever seen," he says. "The best fastball, the best curveball, the best changeup I've ever seen. All in one guy." 即使经过七年的时间, Kennedy 记得他对 Ankiel的第一印象. "一直到现在, 健康的 Ankiel 比我看过的任何人还要优秀", "他有我曾见过最棒的速球, 最棒的曲球, 最棒 的变速球, 我在同一个人的身上看到了全部" (待续...) --

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