Ankiel is older, wiser and wary By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports August 15, 2007 This is supposed to be a new beginning. But it feels so familiar, and that terrifies Rick Ankiel. He knows what it means to be baseball's great new sensation, its odds-defying wonder, and he also knows where it landed him the first time. Ankiel wants to believe that place no longer exists, that the wild pitches and walks and self-doubt – the remnants of his old career as a pitcher – are decaying in some faraway place. Someday they might. For now, they remain close, reminders of what was, harbingers of what can be. 在大联盟闯出名号似乎对目前棒球界中轰动的人物Rick Ankiel来说是个全新的开始 ，但其实对他来说，这件事是很熟悉的，也曾经让他害怕。而且他仍然记得这份恐惧感是 如何在他刚上大联盟时打击了他。 Ankiel相信那个令他恐惧的地方再也不存在了，当他原本的职业生涯身为一个投手时 ，留下了无数的暴投、保送跟自我怀疑。而这些东西已经在遥远的地方腐朽了。或许有一 天，它们会让我们想起过去的历史，也同时又是某些事情的预告。 Without all his failures, Ankiel would be nothing. With them, Ankiel has been everything – a wunderkind left-hander who came from a broken family with a recidivist dad, sparkled in the big leagues at 20, started Game 1 of the 2000 playoffs for the St. Louis Cardinals at 21, crashed and burned with fits of bad command immediately thereafter, smoldered for years, quit, returned as an outfielder, trucked it in the low minor leagues, shook off a season-stealing injury, morphed into a power-hitting monster and then, in his major-league debut as an outfielder Thursday, crushed a home run, and followed two days later with two more homers. And still, the most he could muster Tuesday, after trying to absorb the enormity of his week, was a smirk. Success once was his analgesic, and Ankiel won't let it numb him again. "This feels similar, and maybe that's helping me deal with it better," he said. "I'm more mature. I'm older. I look at things differently. I see things through older eyes." 如果没有过去的那些失败，Ankiel将不再是Ankiel。就是有了过去的阴影，才造就 了今天我们所看到的Ankiel---一个从累犯父亲的破碎家庭中脱颖而出的年青优秀左打者 ，在年仅二十岁时就在大联盟发光发热，并且在二十一岁时就担纲了圣路易红雀队2000年 季後赛的第一场先发。但控球的问题让他非常痛苦而随即失去了信心。经过数年的沉淀， 退出，以外野手的身分复出，在低阶小联盟平稳的行进，摆脱了终结球季的伤势後，他转 变成为一个具有长打能力的怪物打者。星期四在他以外野手出赛的大联盟处女秀，就击出 了全垒打。过了两天之後，再追加了两支。 在星期二，在经历了对他来说意义重大的一个礼拜之後，最能让他振作的其实就是一 笑置之。过去的成功对他来说是个止痛剂，Ankiel不会再被它麻痹了。"过去的经历是那 麽的熟悉，也许它也帮助我更容易去面对我的职业生涯。"他说，"我已经更老也更成熟了 。看事情的角度跟以往不一样了，我现在是用更成熟的态度去面对。" He squinted those eyes. The beginnings of crow's feet formed around them. Though Ankiel still looks Gerber young, his skin has worn a bit since the baseball world last saw him. It's a sad image to revisit. Ankiel fell apart like one of those cars in a cartoon that disassembles piece by piece. First a wheel. Then a door. The tailpipe. A chunk of engine. And finally, the whole thing collapses in on itself. Ankiel threw five wild pitches in the third inning of that Division Series game against Atlanta. The Championship Series against New York was as bad. 他学会冷眼相对，即使他开始受到如乌鸦群聚般的关注，Ankiel看起来还是像嘉宝婴 儿广告上的婴儿那麽年轻，其实他已经比上次棒球界注意到他时稍微老了一点了。 那是个不堪回首的回忆。Ankiel就像卡通里被撞的支离破碎的汽车一样，先是轮子， 接着是车门，排气管，引擎，最後整台车子崩解得不成车形。Ankiel在分区季後赛对上勇 士队的第三局投出了五次暴投，在分区冠军赛对上大都会的比赛也一样糟糕。 Even if he was the most talented lefty in a generation, and even if he did rake in a $2.5 million bonus to sign out of high school, he was a kid, and he was vulnerable, and no one knew why. For five years, he tried to figure it out. When Ankiel couldn't, he quit. The Cardinals asked him to return as an outfielder. He agreed. If he wanted to bury the past, he would need to reinvent himself. 即使他被视为是近年来最有天份的左投手，而当他被球探发现并且从高中以两百五十 万的价钱被签下来时，他还是个小孩子。接着忽然他的弱点暴露出来，没人知道原因。 过去的五年他都在找答案。当Ankiel没办法再投球後，他退出了。後来红雀队希望他 以外野手的身份回来，他同意了。如果他想要埋葬过去，所需要做的就是重新发展他的 潜能。 When the Cardinals sent Ankiel to rookie-league Johnson City in 2001 to regain his control, he played designated hitter part time and hit 10 home runs in 105 at-bats. They wanted to believe this wasn't a fluke, and Ankiel started his return at Class-A Quad Cities. "I don't even remember which of the cities I lived in," Ankiel said. "That was so long ago." 2001年，红雀队把Ankiel送到约翰市的新人联盟希望改善他的控球，而当时他偶尔 兼差打指定打击，并且在一百零五个打数里打出了十支全垒打。红雀队为了证明这种表 现不是运气好，於是让他重返奎德市的一A联盟。 "我甚至不记得我以前住在哪个城市了。"Ankiel说"那是好久以前的事情了。" Just two years, actually. Ankiel hit 21 home runs that season and had a shot at making the Cardinals' roster in 2006 before the fraying of a tendon in his knee sidelined him for the season. St. Louis still promoted Ankiel to Triple-A to start this season, and he grew into the minor leagues' most dangerous power hitter. Every day, it seemed, Ankiel hit another home run. He hammered 32, including three in one game. His swing, once an inconsistent uppercut, looked like that of Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, his front leg lazy and open, his bat waggling slightly, plumes of energy whipping it through the strike zone. 就在两年之内，Ankiel打出了二十一支全垒打，得到了在2006年加入红雀队大联盟 名单的机会，但是膝盖肌腱的伤势让他缺席了接下来的球季。接着这季红雀队把他升到 三A先发，也让他成长为小联盟里最危险的强打者之一。 几乎每天他好像都击出了全垒打，他击出了三十二支全垒打，甚至有一场三轰的纪录 。他的挥击，有点不协调的向上挥，就像洋基的二垒手Robinson Cano，前脚开放式的缓 缓摆动，棒子轻轻的摇晃，像羽毛一般轻快而且在快速挥击通过好球带的球时展现出了挥 棒的能量。 Still, the Cardinals hesitated to recall Ankiel. He is out of options. If they brought him up, then sent him back to the minor leagues, another team could claim him. The absence of Scott Spiezio to deal with substance-abuse problems opened up a roster spot last week, and the Cardinals, suddenly just 4 ½ games behind first-place Milwaukee and three behind Chicago, no longer could keep an impact bat buried at Triple-A. So Ankiel, traveling last week in buses and living off a scant per diem, batted in front of Albert Pujols on Tuesday against the Brewers. 不过，红雀队仍然在犹豫是否要把Ankiel重新叫上大联盟。他的选择权已经用完了。 如果红雀队把他升上大联盟，之後又把他降下小联盟的话，别的球队可以把他挑走。不过 上礼拜因为Scott Spiezio必须处理财务问题的缺席给了Ankiel一个机会。而这也让还落 後分区冠军酿酒人队四场半的跟落後小熊队三场的红雀队不会把他们有潜力的打者继续埋 没在三A。 所以上礼拜还在比赛场地间辛苦旅行，领着小联盟微薄薪水的Ankiel，礼拜二对酿酒 人的比赛中被排在Albert Pujols前面打击。 "It's exciting. It's draining. It's so many different things," Ankiel said. Gratifying and exhilarating and, yes, terrifying. Because he is so wary, so loath to celebrate, Ankiel instead appreciates the last week the way a connoisseur does a bottle of wine that waited for years in the cellar. "You should never be surprised when you have that kind of a magical moment," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "You look around baseball: When guys have talent, special things happen." "这真是刺激又费力，大联盟跟小联盟有很多差别。"Ankiel说。 让人高兴振奋又满足，是的，而且可怕。因为他是如此的小心翼翼，不愿意庆祝他的 成就。取而代之的是他用监赏家欣赏藏在酒窖里陈年美酒的方式来赞赏上礼拜的表现。 "当你有个这类如此神奇的时刻，永远都不该感到太过惊奇。"红雀教练Tony La Russa说"当你环顾棒球界，可以发现，只要你有天份，惊奇的事情就会不断发生。" It was special. It was innocence recaptured and demons conquered. And it was, in all likelihood, fleeting. Ankiel, remember, still is learning. In four of his five games, he has struck out at least twice. On Tuesday, Chris Capuano caught him looking on an 89-mph fastball and made him flail on a 76-mph punch-out curve before Manny Parra blew a 93-mph strike-three fastball by him. In two more at-bats, Ankiel hit weak groundouts to an infield already shifting far right, seeing as he hasn't hit a ball to the left side in 22 at-bats. In his other at-bat, Ankiel hit a slow grounder toward first baseman Prince Fielder. Fast out of the batter's box, he churned down the line. Parra was a step late toward the base. Ankiel was safe. A hustle single, the kind that keeps a guy in the good graces of his manager. 这是一趟奇妙的旅程，就像重温童年的纯真跟征服魔鬼般令人惊奇，而它仍然有不同 的可能性，也可能只是昙花一现。不过请记住，Ankiel还在学习中。在他总共五场出赛中 的四场，Ankiel都被三振了至少两次。星期二的比赛，Chris Capuano先用了八十九英哩 的速球让他无法出棒，接着漂亮的七十六英哩的曲球让他挥了大空棒，最後Manny Parra 用一个九十三英哩的好球把他三振。接着的两次打击，Ankiel在防守方往右半边移位的情 况下打出了两个软弱无力的滚地球，而在二十二个打数中，Ankiel似乎一次也没把球打向 球场的左半边。 在他的另一次打击时，Ankiel打出了一个朝一垒手Prince Fielder而去的缓慢滚地球 。他迅速离开打击区，开始沿着边线猛冲，最後安全上垒，一支靠速度跑出来的安打。这 种态度也会让他的教练留下好印象。 Earlier in the day, the Cardinals held their usual meetings before the first game of a series. The pitchers gathered first, and it was odd to see Ankiel trolling around the clubhouse, sitting on the couch and watching "Napoleon Dynamite" with the rest of the every-day players. He lounged, comfortable in his place for the moment, and only that. "I had my minute in the sunshine," Ankiel said. He smirked again. "Now, I have a career to make." 在这天的稍早之前，红雀队在系列赛第一场开始之前举行了例行会议，首先是投手的 集合。但有点古怪的是看到Ankiel在休息室里跑来跑去，坐在沙发上跟其他每日先发的选 手一起看"拿破仑炸弹"。 Ankiel懒洋洋的躺在沙发上，在这个时刻他感到很舒服，而就这样了。 "我正在做日光浴呢。"Ankiel说。 接着他的脸上又露出了笑容，"现在，我还有职业生涯等着我去完成呢。" -- http://www.wretch.cc/album/randyorton A-MUSEing Myself --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.122.110.220 ※ 编辑: sucka 来自: 140.122.110.220 (08/16 15:21)