Mike Rizzo has two years to get the Nationals to the World Series. http://goo.gl/OYLJr8 By Chelsea Janes February 10 As Mike Rizzo enters his ninth season as general manager of the Washington Nationals and fifth with the additional title of president of baseball operations, his team has established an excellent regular season reputation. Five years ago, that would have been a compliment. Now, it feels backhanded. 今年是光头担任国民GM的第九个年头，也是兼任棒球事务部总裁的第五年。 他将球队打造成季赛常胜军。五年前，这是赞赏，如今却有些讽刺。 Three 95-win seasons in five years — as many or more than a third of major league teams have in the history of their franchises — cannot reasonably be considered failure. But because the Nationals have had three chances to do more and have failed to do so, three division titles do not feel like enough. Rizzo and the Nationals have come so close to glory, they made it easy to forget how far they came to get here. 五年里三度至少95胜，大联盟史上只有三分之一的球队曾达到同样或以上的 成绩。实在没办法说这样是失败。但因为国民有三次机会走得更远却全都失 手，三次分区冠军似乎还不够。光头跟国民如此接近荣耀，他们作起来好像 很简单以致於人们会忘记他们走了多远。 The Nationals became winners with an unorthodox combination of fiscally careful owners, a bare-bones franchise and a complicated baseball town. They were led to success by a raw and fiery former scout in a position usually defined by polish. A hard-nosed and hard-headed baseball lifer took a midrange payroll and built a perennial winner from scratch. But will this team become more? 国民的经营层组成方式异於传统，对财务也十分谨慎；国民是一支简单的球 队，身处架构复杂的棒球城，他们在这种环境下成为赢家。国民选择一位生 疏但热情如火的前球探，坐上通常由经年累月淬炼後才能扛下的大位，而国 民也在他的领导下走向成功。一个精明而固执的棒球人从零开始将这支薪资 中等的球队打造成常胜军团，但除此之外还能带来更多吗？ Rizzo’s vaunted rotation is aging, and Max Scherzer and Tanner Roark will be in their mid-30s when Rizzo’s contract expires after the 2018 season. Bryce Harper’s contract expires then as well, as does Daniel Murphy’s. Jayson Werth is a free agent after the 2017 season. Ryan Zimmerman’s recent struggles foster uncomfortable questions about whether he will ever be the same again. Dusty Baker is under contract through this season and has not said whether he would like to continue to manage after that. 光头赖以自夸的轮值群年岁渐长，当光头的合约在2018年期满时Scherzer与 Roark都将步入35岁前後，Harper和Murphy的合约也将於届时到期；Werth的 约到2017年结束，Zimmerman 当下的挣扎促使国民面对他还能否恢复过往身 手这个难题。Baker 的约也只签到今年，而他还没松口是否打算继续执教。 Can Rizzo’s model buck baseball’s ebbs and flows and produce a World Series winner? The answers will come in the next two seasons, and with them, more clarity about the general manager whose fingerprints are all over one of this half decade’s winningest major league franchises — but who cannot shake the questions about why it has not won more. 光头打造的模组能否俯冲过棒球的起起伏伏，并且打下一座世界大赛冠军？ 结果将於两年内揭晓。而於此之下，这支由光头一手建立、大联盟史上五年 内最会赢球的队伍之一，一直无法摆脱为什麽他们赢不了更多的质疑声浪。 答案也将渐趋清楚。 Smoothing the rough edges After eight seasons as general manager, Rizzo is like a shortstop’s glove in its prime: not so broken in that the original shape is lost, but molded over time to fit its owner. 经过八年GM生涯，光头就如同一副进入最好状态的游击手手套那样，不能说 原来的形貌已经丢失，而是越来越符合拥有者的手掌。 When former Nationals president Stan Kasten vetted Rizzo for the position of assistant general manager to Jim Bowden in 2006, he heard more than once that all Rizzo wanted was to become a general manager. Some executives would mark that as a sign of disloyalty. Kasten, who became the youngest general manager in NBA history with the Atlanta Hawks, saw no reason to deduct points for ambition. 2006年助理GM Jim Bowden升职後空出职缺，时任国民总裁Stan Kasten开始 审查光头的资料。Kasten不只一次听说光头目标直指GM的言论，某些人会将 此归类於不忠诚的警讯，但後来加入亚特兰大老鹰成为NBA史上最年轻GM 的 Kasten，并不认为雄心壮志能成为扣分的理由。 “That was the only knock I could find,” Kasten said, “other than he had rough edges.” ＂这是我唯一在鸡蛋里挑到的骨头，＂ Kasten说。 ＂其它都只是小瑕疵而已。＂ Those edges dulled somewhat as Rizzo, now 56, grew into the position. Kasten said Rizzo is smoother now, a “little more sophisticated” after years of straddling the border between the corporate and baseball worlds. He has gotten more comfortable with the media, mastering the skill of using many words to say very little. Rizzo rarely speaks publicly about his team’s plans, or shares specific internal evaluations, careful to disclose exactly what he wants and nothing he doesn’t. The scout in Rizzo knows even the smallest piece of information can be an edge. 现年56的光头随着职位成长後那些小瑕疵都已经过修整，Kasten说光头现在 圆滑多了。经过几年在经营层及棒球界之间斡旋协调後，光头更懂得应对进 退，面对媒体不再那麽不自在，也会言简意赅地表达意见。光头很少公开阐 述他的球队计画或分享特殊的内部评估报告，对一字一句都很斟酌小心。球 探出身的光头非常清楚最微小的部分都能成就优势。 But glimmers of his competitiveness often slip through his more calculated exterior. He challenges reporters who ask grating questions. His voice peaks and his chest puffs somewhat when his judgment is questioned or his players are criticized. Rizzo might be more polished than he used to be, but he was never meant for tiptoeing. 不过就算拥有经过许多算计形塑出的样貌，些许斗志满满的迹象还是会流泄 出来。他会指责记者们过於尖锐的提问，当他的判断受到质疑或球员遭到批 评时，他会拉高声调、胸部膨胀。光头也许比过去更成熟，但他一直以来都 如此理直气壮。 “You can’t fake it,” Rizzo said. “You’re on stage too much. You’re in front of the camera too often to not be yourself. Your true personality and attitude comes through, whether you’re trying to fake it or not.” ＂就是假不了。＂ 光头说。 ＂你站在舞台上越久，面对的麦克风越多就越能保持自我。你真实的个性跟 态度会显现出来，不管你想不想掩饰。＂ Rizzo does not have the typical background for an MLB general manager. He jokes about his college education in Illinois, not the Ivy League schools attended by many GMs. Instead of slim-fitting suits and thin ties, Rizzo wears blinding green Nikes. Instead of Starbucks, Rizzo carries a styrofoam Gatorade cup of coffee out to the batting cage each afternoon. Instead of sitting in his office in the hours before batting practice when the stands are empty and the speakers silent, Rizzo makes phone calls on the outfield grass. 光头的背景跟一般大联盟GM不一样。许多GM都是从长春藤盟校出身，他则会 拿自己在伊利诺州念大学的经历开玩笑。他穿刺眼的绿色Nike衫，而非合身 西装打细长领带；每天下午他现身打击练习区时都拿着用开特力塑胶杯装的 咖啡，而非星巴克；当观众尚未入场、播报还没开始时，他会在外野草地拿 着手机讲电话而非坐在办公室里好几个小时。 Rizzo also has a reputation as being slightly more involved with on-field happenings than most men in his position. Major League Baseball fined him for that involvement, specifically for accosting the umpires on the way to the Citi Field clubhouse in 2011. 光头也因比多数GM更融入比赛状况而闻名。他也为此被大联盟罚过款，特别 是2011年某场在Citi Field的球员休息室他跑去找裁判理论那次。 Last year, again in New York, Rizzo met Jim Joyce in the tunnel to voice his displeasure with the veteran umpire’s interpretation of the slide rule. Sensing a pattern, Citi Field security guards now hold visiting executives and media behind the doors that lead to the tunnel until the umpires reach their locker room — “the Rizzo Rule,” unofficially. 去年，又是纽约，光头在走道堵到Jim Joyce时大声表达自己对Joyce於滑垒 规则解释上的不满。为了预防同样情况，Citi Field安全人员现在会把客队 高层跟媒体挡在门後，一直到裁判们通过走到抵达他们的休息室为止。这条 规则有个非官方通称叫＂the Rizzo Rule＂。 “He’s not in the current trend, but it’s great that he is there and that successful because it makes the point that I’m always making — there’s more than one way to skin a cat,” Kasten said. “You can do it new school, you can do it old school, you can do it with a combination. Mike is an example.” ＂他不照现有趋势走，但他能走到这一步而且如此成功真的很棒。因为这证 明我总在说的，要达成目的不只一种方法。＂ Kasten说。 ＂你可以新潮也可以老派，或两者兼备。光头就是例子。＂ ‘When I call, answer’ Rizzo combines competitiveness with conviction, namely a strong belief in the power of the right people, and his ability to find them. When former Marlins GM Dan Jennings joined the Nationals in January 2016 as a special assistant, he chatted with Rizzo about expectations. Rizzo told him he had one rule. 光头的竞争力也伴随强烈信念，也就是对正确的人的高度信任与找到他们的 能力。2016年一月前马林鱼GM Dan Jennings 以特助加入国民时，Jennings 与光头谈到光头对Jennings有怎样的期望，光头说自己只有一条规则： “When I call,” Rizzo told him, “answer.” ＂我提问，＂ 光头告诉他， ＂你回答。＂ Rizzo built the Nationals’ front office from a bare-bones conglomeration to a deep and loyal group of experienced baseball lifers. Instead of MBAs or math majors, Rizzo has surrounded himself with people who reached the highest levels of baseball management. 光头把国民制服组从一个只有骨架的聚合块揉捏到兼具深度与忠诚的棒球人 群体。他不用MBA 或数据专家，他身边围绕的都是到过业界顶点的棒球人。 Last month, he added former Diamondbacks senior vice president of baseball operations De Jon Watson, also as a special assistant. His front office now includes seven former scouting directors, three former major league managers, a former president of baseball operations and a former general manager, most of them with playing or scouting backgrounds. 上个月光头也聘请前响尾蛇棒球事务部资深副总裁De Jon Watson 担任特助 。目前光头的制服组成员包含七位前球探大头、三位前大联盟经理人、一位 前棒球事务部总裁与一位前GM。他们多半都有打过球或具球探背景。 “A lot of people don’t like to have strong, opinionated people around them. They’d rather surround themselves with yes men,” Jennings said. “He’s done just the opposite.” ＂很多人都不喜欢身边有个性强烈或固执己见的人，他们宁愿找应声虫。＂ Jannings说。 ＂光头选择反其道而行。＂ At first, Rizzo wanted to control everything. But many of his key assistants — scouting director Kris Kline, assistant GMs Doug Harris and Adam Cromie, vice president Bob Boone and many others — stayed with him from the early years. Continuity laid the foundation for trust, and Rizzo realized he could let go. 一开始光头想掌控一切，但多数他的得力助手，球探大头Kris Kline、助理 GM Doug Harris与Adam Cromie、副总裁Bob Boone与其他许多人都从一开始 就跟了他很多年，持续以信任建立基础，而光头也了解他可以放手。 “That was the most difficult aspect of the job for me to grasp. You can’t see everybody,” said Rizzo, who developed ways of vetting prospects or big leaguers from afar. ＂对我而言这份工作中最难控制的面向就是你没办法看遍所有人。＂ 光头说。他发展各种方式从远处调查新秀或大联盟球员。 He grills scouts with questions and tests their commitment to players in question. He also studies his staff. Rizzo knows which scouts grade hard and which grade easy. He knows that when one scout says “that guy’s a pretty good player,” that player is probably a future all-star. He knows which scouts pound the table more often, with a little more zeal. He knows which scouts see pitching best, and which know hitters. And he knows how important it is to give them freedom to scout their way, beholden only to that one phone call they must never miss. 他会对球探们严加提问，提出质疑测试球探对球员有多少信心；他也会研究 他的团队，光头了解哪位球探给分严格而哪位宽松。他知道当某位球探说＂ 那家伙是个非常好的球员＂，这位球员也许就是未来的全明星。他知道哪些 球探比其他人更常拍桌子、具有更多热忱。他知道哪些球探擅长观察投手， 哪些对打者比较拿手。他知道让球探们自由地以他们的方式观察球员有多重 要，而球探们唯一的义务就只有别漏接电话就好。 “There’s no shrinking violets in the room. They tell me exactly what they think,” said Rizzo, who has been known to eschew classic four-letter words for more creative, multisyllabic linguistic experiments in dealings with top assistants — then laugh about it with them later. ＂房间里没有弱鸡，他们有话都直说。＂ 光头以避免说出那经典的四字母单字闻名，他会选择更具创意的多音节语言 学实验面对他的头号助手们，然後再跟大夥一起大笑。 “My background was in the construction business, and I now know words that I didn’t know then,” special assistant for major league operations Harolyn Cardozo said. “[Mike’s] been my vocabulary coach.” ＂我念的是建筑经济学，现在我学到很多以前不知道的单字。＂ 大联盟事务部特助Harolyn Cardozo说。 ＂光头是我的词汇教练。＂ Rizzo’s network of scouts, built by a scout, gives him the information he needs to find steals in the draft or value in trades. But Rizzo also takes chances. Sensing an opportunity to preserve value by keeping players healthier, he led an overhaul of the team’s medical staff. Feeling the tide turning toward data, Rizzo has expanded the Nationals’ office of baseball research and development. Cardozo was surprised to see Rizzo not only taking their information but asking questions to shape it. 光头的球探网路由过去也是球探的光头建构，让他得到能在选秀或交易中偷 到好手的资讯，但光头也会冒险。为了让价值非凡球员们更健康，他带头大 修球队的医疗团队。感觉潮流转向资料化，光头也扩充国民的棒球研究与培 养团队。Cardozo 很惊讶光头不只吸收他们给的资料，他还会提出问题使之 更为具体。 “He’s become more of a nerd than anyone would ever expect. He’s able to digest the analytics better than he ever thought he would be able to,” Cardozo said. “But the surprising part is that he likes it.” ＂他变得比任何人能想到得更宅，消化资料的能力好到他自己都想不到。＂ Cardozo说。 ＂但令人讶异的是他还蛮中意这样的。＂ Always reliant on human evaluation, increasingly willing to trust data, Rizzo and his staff developed a reputation as smart drafters and smart dealers. 总是仰赖由人做出的评估，同时越来越愿意信任资料，光头与他的团队靠精 明的选秀与交易声名远播。 “You keep a scoreboard, and his track record is pretty damn good,” said Jennings, who said he discussed many trade possibilities with Rizzo over the years, but never made a deal, in part because Rizzo would establish a value for a player and would not budge. ＂你拿着记分板看看他的记录，实在是他妈的赞。＂ Jennongs说自己数年间与光头谈过好几次交易但从没成功过，一部分是因为 光头会给球员堆积好价钱而且从不松手。 “I think Mike sets his mind early on about what’s right and you’re not going to get him to vary off it, even if he’s wrong,” Kasten said. “If he feels strongly about it, he’s going to stick to that, and move on if he doesn ’t get the deal.” ＂我觉得光头早就设定好怎样才是正确的而你无法改变他的想法，就算其实 他是错的。＂ Kasten说。 ＂如果他的意志很强烈他就会坚持到底，不能成交就继续前进。＂ When Rizzo feels something is right, he does it, regardless of the industry-wide consensus. After the Nationals picked injured-and-plummeting Lucas Giolito in the first round of the 2012 draft, Jennings texted Rizzo to say that taking chances such as that one is what leads to greatness. 当光头感觉到什麽是对的他就去做，无论整个业界是否认同。2012年国民在 选秀会上选进因伤身价暴跌的Giolito 後，Jennings传简讯给光头说这样的 赌注能成就非凡。 “My grandfather used to say all the time, ‘You can’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is,’ ” Jennings said. “Mike Rizzo is not afraid to go out on a limb.” ＂我祖父老爱挂嘴边的一句话，如果害怕截去树枝就得不到甜美的果实。＂ Jennings说。 ＂光头就不怕。＂ So when Rizzo decided Adam Eaton was a better fit for the Nationals’ outfield than Andrew McCutchen, he traded Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez — both elite pitching prospects — to Chicago, a move that was openly criticized by many at the winter meetings. Rizzo’s legacy could well pivot around the deal, considering the talent he gave up and the increasing pressure on the Nationals to make more of a postseason run. 因此当光头决定Eaton比McCutchen更适合国民，他便将Giolito与Lopez两个 顶尖投手新秀送去芝加哥；这个举动在冬季会议招致一片批评。考量光头放 弃多好的才能与国民将为了季後赛能走更远而增加多少压力，这次交易将成 为光头功过的轴心。 Financial limitations As Rizzo walks the fine line between conviction and stubbornness, he bends for almost no one. But he is not an independent operator, and in his job, conviction only goes as far as the money supplied to fund it. 光头以信念与坚持为伴勇往直前，几乎没人能让他屈服。但他并非独立的操 盘手。就他的工作来说，资金有多少信念才能坚持多久。 The Nationals’ managing principal owner Ted Lerner and his family try not to attract the spotlight, but for all their public reticence the Lerners are deeply involved in baseball operations. Rizzo is in charge, but he works within their financial parameters. That arrangement is the norm around baseball. But the Lerners are more careful spenders than most. 国民主要持股人Ted Lerner与他的家族试着避开镁光灯，尽管Lerner家族在 公众前保持沉默，他们对棒球事务其实涉入甚深。光头在管事，但光头还是 受到Lerner家族设下的财务限制。这种限制在球界稀松平常，只是Lerner家 族花钱比大多数人更小心。 The Lerners do spend. They committed nearly $150 million to their roster for each of the past three seasons, a payroll right in the middle of the major league pack. They chipped in an as-yet unclear amount to a new (and rushed) spring training facility. They committed $210 million to Scherzer and $175 million to Stephen Strasburg over the past few years, and long-term deals to Werth, Zimmerman and others. Lerner家族会花钱。这三年国民的薪资总额都约有150M，在所有大联盟球队 里位居中间。他们捐助至今仍为数不明的款项给新落成的春训设施。过去几 年间，他们付给Scherzer高达210M、小史175M，还给Werth、Zimmerman与其 他人长约。 But after the Nationals spent just $4.9 million on free agents this offseason, agents grumbled about the family’s unwillingness to pay when their roster seems a player or two away from title contention. 但今年季後国民只在自由市场上花4.9M。经纪人们抱怨国民明明只差一两个 球员就能角逐冠军却一毛不拔。 Rizzo always insists the Lerners give him the money he needs to field a competitive team, and for the past five seasons, they have. In the process, he and the Lerners have maneuvered through many tests. Rizzo, for example, threatened to quit in 2014 when the Lerners balked at giving up three players, including highly regarded prospect Robbie Ray, in a trade for pitcher Doug Fister. 光头总是坚持Lerner家族给他足够的资金去建立一支具有竞争力的队伍，过 去五年的确如此。但过程中光头却与Lerner家族交手过好几次。举例来说， 2014年当Lerner家族否决用包括评价极高的Robbie Ray在内的三名新秀去交 易Fister时，光头就曾以辞职逼迫Lerner家族就范。 Rizzo’s contract includes club options for this season and next, and the deadline for extending those was last June. The Lerners waited until mid-May before doing so, and the wait became a league-wide topic of discussion. Neither side, however, gave any indication of trouble. 光头的合约包括今明两年两个球队选择权，大限则是去年六月底。Lerner家 族直到五月中才选择执行，这段等待时间也成为联盟中广泛话题，然而双方 都没指向任何问题。 “As time passes, it might be easy to forget that Mike was the first significant hire our family made after assuming ownership of the team,” principal owner Mark D. Lerner wrote in response to questions about Rizzo, shared through a Nationals spokeswoman. ＂当时间过去，也许很容易忘记光头是我们家族接手球队以後发出的第一张 重要聘书。＂ 主要持股人Mark D. Lerner在回应关於光头的问题时写道。这段留言由国民 女性发言人发表。 “But I think about that fact a lot, because it was the starting point for so much of what our team has accomplished. From that day, he’s been absolutely integral to what we’ve built.” ＂但是这个事实让我思考许久。因为这是我们的球队之所以能成长到今天的 起步点。从他加入的那天起，他绝对就是不可或缺的一部分。＂ Kasten interviewed Rizzo alongside the Lerner family, and he describes both Ted Lerner and Rizzo as “crusty, down to earth, candid people, which works between the two of them.” Because the Lerners are so private, Rizzo is often the face of the organization. But he is not flying solo. Kasten跟着Lerner家族一起面试光头。Kasten描述Ted Lerner与光头都是＂ 坚忍、务实、公正的人，他们能合得来。＂因为Lerner家族非常重视隐私， 光头常常代表组织出面，但他并非孤军奋战。 “Everybody thinks [Rizzo and I] make all the decisions, and we make most of them. But the same name is on the bottom of my check that’s on the bottom of everybody else’s check,” Baker said. “The bottom line goes back to who signs the check. That’s the boss. Like Bob Dylan said, ‘Everybody’s gotta serve somebody.’ ” ＂大家都认为所有决定都是光头跟我作的，大多数是。但到头来包括我在内 所有人的支票上最底下的名字都一样。＂ Baker说。 ＂最终还是回到是谁签的支票。就像鲍勃狄伦说的，Everybody's gotta serve somebody。＂ When Rizzo was named full-time GM in 2009, one of his goals was building long-term sustainability. He wants to build a farm system stable enough to withstand deals such as the Eaton trade. He wants to build a front office cohesive enough to stick to its mission. And he wants to build a big league roster versatile enough that the loss of one key player does not doom it. 2009年当光头被任命为全职GM，其中一个目标就是建立长久且持续的组织； 他要培育一座强到足以承受Eaton 交易案的农场系统，他要打造一个充满凝 聚力以坚持向目标迈进的制服组，他要建立一种多功能的大联盟一军阵容， 就算失去一个关键球员也不至於灭团。 “He’s aggressive in his actions, but he’s very respectful of the needs of the organization in the future, not selling the farm for today,” Baker said. “Blowing it up, starting all over? I don’t think you have to do that. Insert one here. Insert a kid there. Maybe take a long shot on a guy over here.” ＂他想做什麽都很积极，但他也相当重视球队未来的需要。他不会为了今天 梭掉整个农场。＂ Baker说。 ＂整个砍掉重链？我不觉得需要这麽做。这里补一个，那里补一个，也许给 这边的家伙多一点时间。＂ If the Nationals’ window of opportunity is starting to close, Rizzo hopes the organization he built can prop it open long enough to give the team more chances to chase a world title. Win or lose, that will define the Nationals’ legacy — and his own. 如果国民的机会开始变小，光头希望这支由他所打造的组织能撑得够久好让 球队有多一些竞逐世界大赛冠军的机会。无论输赢，都将定义出国民－与他 自己的成败。 --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc), 来自: 114.32.124.186 ※ 文章网址: https://webptt.com/cn.aspx?n=bbs/Nationals/M.1488004050.A.3D6.html ※ 编辑: vg175 (114.32.124.186), 02/25/2017 14:28:21