Yankees nurturing their own crop of young aces Dan Granino Tuesday, September 04, 2007 重点: 洋基要的是培养自己农场出身的年轻王牌 1. 这是一支从来没有拿过世界大赛冠军球队, 所面临进入季後赛最後的决胜战。开打的 第一战, 情急拼命的水手队所仰赖的是21岁的年轻小伙子, 他可以用右臂投出闪电般 的球速, 而这个人就是Felix Hernandez。赛後Felix表示: "今天我心中唯一想到的就 是'赢球'。无论是要怎麽做, 做什麽, 就是要'赢'。" 这位水手队幼齿的王牌投手是 第一次在洋基球场投球, 他很好运地从丢了一分的第一局中回神了过来, 让洋基在後 面的局数一分未得, 终止了水手队的九连败, 也让水手队在外卡的争夺战中败场数追 平了洋基队。水手的总教练McLaren说: "那是我心目中我们第一号(投手)可以做到的, 能够终止连败。" 2. 当然, 即使Felix就是水手第一号的先发投手, 他实际上还在第一号投手的养成过程 中。McLaren表示: "我认为我们有时忘了他的年纪, 理所当然的认为他一上场时就能 投出吓吓叫的比赛。但是他仍有进步的空间。" Felix是水手队本季能打到现在的成 绩很大部份的原因, 但他也是水手未来的希望。从他的身上, 洋基若能仔细地瞧个 清楚,将可以看到洋基自己年轻王牌的一线曙光。 3. 那不是说洋基有任何一位顶级的新秀投手一定会像Felix一样的好。目前洋基三位大联 盟的幼齿投手中, 从未经雕琢的球路威力看来, 唯一一位可以和King Felix相较的是 张伯伦, 但张伯伦尚未有足够的投球内容可以让我们确定两人有相同的潜质。在三位 幼齿投手中, 唯一比King Felix还年轻则的是Hughes。 4. 重点是Felix给予水手队的就是洋基真正想要的, 希望後续好几个球季洋基会有一个他 们自己签下并从自己农场养成的真正的大联盟投手, 可以让洋基不需要花上大笔钞票 从自由市场去签已过生涯巅峰的老投手, 就像Roger Clemens和Mike Mussina。 5. 洋基一点也不想投入今年冬天投手的自由市场, 因为品质太低, 价格太高。市场上 的老克和希林其中之一或两人全部可能会退休, 这两人以外季後市场上看来最好的 投手可能是Carlos Silva。这结果足够让任何一支球队都望之怯步, 就在洋基望之 怯步的时候, 他们喜欢看到了农场系统养出的希望。他们有Hughes, 张伯伦和 Kennedy已经从农场系统中升上来帮助球队赢球。展望2008年, 这三位中会有一些可 以排入先发投手的轮值, 加上王建民和Pettitte。这种轮值的版本让洋基的决策者 心生笑意,因为这意味着他们开始用正确的方法做事, 以有品质的年轻投手群为基石 建立洋基霸业的基础。 6. 但这不是表明了, 从现在新秀投手的状况到养出真正大联盟投手的路途就会一路平 坦。Felix的养成过程就是一个警讯, 两年前, 他吓死人的爆发力以19岁投出100 miles的快速球。但2005年因手臂的问题缩短了他的球季, 2006年对他则是难熬养经 验的一年, 整个球季他吞下了14败, 拿到4.52的自责失分率。今年球季, 开春有个 亮丽的开始後, 手臂的问题再次让他休养了一个月。即使现在, 他明显身体状况不 错, 已经有68场大联盟先发的经验, 他仍然离完成品有点距离。McLaren评估Felix 昨晚的的投球指出, Felix问题出在让帅哥队长, A-Rod及大门在他身後欲取欲求的 盗垒。Mclaren表示: "他有一条好手臂, 一个大心脏, 又有了健壮的身体, 但是他仍 然有一些部份需要再进步, 有一些是学习练经验时需遭逢的痛苦。我们知道他有一些 时候会开始变得兴奋, 但当这状况出现时, 他的投球会有一些状况, 还好他可以回过 神来继续投下去。" (对Hughes有疑虑的人参考看看, 手好好养给点耐心比较重要) 6. 主要是因为他有100miles的快速球, 所以当他的曲球投到脚那麽低变成坏球时, 会让 打者难以忍住去挥棒。队长说: "对上他是一点都不好玩, 他可以投出100miles的速球, 又知道怎麽配球。当你遇到像这样的家伙, 你没法预期可以得很多分。" 7. 在这一天, Felix的好已经足以打败一个在他出生前就已经拿到大联盟16胜的投手。 Felix和老克是从1994年以来, 两队先发投手年龄差距最大的一次。两个人2007年薪 水的差异则更是巨大。老克是按登录天数依比例领取2千8百万的年薪, Felix则的年 薪是四十二万, 而他却是投得比较好的投手。 8. 那是洋基队的梦想, 找出一个或两个他们自己的King Felix, 靠他们来赢球, 而不 是到外面签下两到三个自由球员。假如这个梦想可以达成的话, 换言之假如未来 Hughes, 张伯伦和Kennedy可以给洋基的是, 像Felix帮助水手赢球的模式让洋基获 胜, 这样的话无论现在洋基打出会什麽样的成绩, 洋基未来的前途都将是一遍光 明灿烂。 NEW YORK -- It is the last stand of a team that was never supposed to have a first one. And to start it off, the desperate Seattle Mariners turned to a 21-year-old kid with lightning in his right arm. "The only thing I had in my mind today was 'Win,'" Felix Hernandez said when it was over. "No matter how, no matter what, just, 'Win.'" Pitching at Yankee Stadium for the first time, the Mariners' baby ace recovered from a fluky first-inning run and shut down the Yankees, snapping the Mariners' nine-game losing streak and moving his team back to even (in the loss column) with the Yankees in the wild-card race. "That's what a No. 1 (pitcher) is supposed to do, in my mind," Seattle manager John McLaren said. "Stop losing streaks." Of course, while Hernandez is the Mariners' No. 1 starting pitcher, he is really still a No. 1-in-progress. "I think we forget his age sometimes," McLaren said. "And I think we take for granted, because he throws a spectacular game, that he's arrived. But he still has things he needs to refine." Hernandez is a huge part of the Mariners' present, but he is also their future. And in him, if they were looking closely enough, the Yankees could catch a glimpse of their own. It's not that any of the Yankees' top pitching prospects will necessarily be as good as Hernandez. Of the three Baby Bombers who are currently with the big-league club, the only one who seems to compare to Hernandez in terms of raw stuff is Joba Chamberlain, and we haven't seen enough of him yet to know for sure. And of the three, the only one younger than Hernandez is Phil Hughes. The point is that Hernandez gives the Mariners the very thing the Yankees are hoping to have in bushels over the next few seasons -- a real, big-league pitcher of their own, signed and developed by them -- who can save them from having to go out on the free-agent market and throw senseless millions at over-the-hill veterans like Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina. The Yankees have no desire to be in this winter's free-agent pitching market. The quality is too low, the prices too high. Other than Clemens and Curt Schilling, either or both of whom may be done, the best pitcher on the market this off-season looks as if it might be Carlos Silva. That's enough to make any team look inward, and these days when the Yankees look inward, they like what they see. They have Hughes, Chamberlain and now Ian Kennedy already up from the system and helping win games. There are some who foresee a 2008 starting rotation with all three of them, plus Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte. That's the kind of vision that makes Yankee decision-makers smile, because it means they've started doing things the right way -- building their foundation on a bedrock of quality young pitching. That's not to say the road from here to there will be smooth. Hernandez stands as a warning on that score as well. Two years ago, he burst onto the scene amid staggering hype -- 19 years old and throwing a 100-mph fastball. But his 2005 season was cut short by arm problems. His 2006 season was a difficult educational year, complete with 14 losses and a 4.52 ERA. And after a brilliant start to this season, an arm problem shut him down for a month. Even now, apparently healthy and with 68 big-league starts under his belt, he's far from a finished product. In assessing Hernandez's game yesterday, McLaren pointed out the ease with which Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon stole bases against him. "He's got the arm. He's got the heart. He's got the body," McLaren said. "But there are still things he needs to refine. There are learning pains. We know he's going to get excited sometimes, but with Felix, when he gets out of his game, he can get back into it." That's mainly because of that 100-mph fastball and a curve that makes big-league hitters wish they'd stuck with football. "He's no fun to face," Jeter said. "He throws 100 and he knows what he's doing. When you face a guy like that, you don't anticipate scoring a whole bunch." On this day, Hernandez was good enough to beat a pitcher who'd already compiled 16 major-league victories before he was even born. The gap between Hernandez and the 45-year-old Clemens was the largest age-differential between two starting pitchers in a big-league game since 1994. The gap between their 2007 salaries is even more staggering. Clemens is making a pro-rated share of $28 million. Hernandez is making $420,000, and he was the better pitcher. That's the Yankees' dream -- to come up with a Felix Hernandez or two of their own, and win with them instead of always having to go out and sign two or three free agents. If they can do that -- if Hughes, Chamberlain and Kennedy can be for them something close to what Hernandez was for the Mariners yesterday -- then the future for the Yankees is bright. No matter how the present turns out. Dan Graziano may be reached at [email protected]. --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 220.132.198.21 ※ 编辑: leddy 来自: 220.132.198.21 (09/05 13:33)