代替文章发表不到20篇的aspili3031板友PO文 囧> ======================================================================= 09/18/2007 10:00 AM ET Red Sox dynamic as frontrunners AL East leaders since April cruising toward postseason By Ian Browne / MLB.com 强悍的红袜队：从开季至现在即将迈向季後赛，皆盘踞在美联东区龙头老大的位置 BOSTON -- They've never given themselves the thrill of a chase, these 2007 Boston Red Sox. Instead, they came out fast and furious and put the pressure on everyone else almost from the time the season started. Between the Opening Day loss in Kansas City on April 2 and the April 17 defeat at Toronto, the Red Sox fluctuated between first and fourth place. 今年的红袜队从不曾让自己处於追逐者的状态下，反而是从开季就稳定地让其他队倍感压 力。从开幕战败给堪萨斯皇家到4/17击败多伦多蓝鸟的这段期间，他们在分组第一到第四 名之间来回穿梭。 Then, with a seemingly innocuous win over the Blue Jays on April 18, the Red Sox did something significant. They moved back into first place, seemingly for good. Backed by a new ace in Josh Beckett, a dominant closer in Jonathan Papelbon and an offense that is more timely than explosive, the Red Sox are looking primed to make this season almost a wire-to-wire job. 接着，在4/18击败蓝鸟後那场比赛後回到分组第一的宝座後，他们看起来似乎会继续地强 悍下去。在新王牌北极、超威终结者宝贝碰与适时一击的打线加持下，红袜队期待着能够 将分区第一视为理所当然的目标。 Assuming that the Red Sox don't squander the comfortable lead they still held in the American League East as of Tuesday, they will finish out the regular season as possessors of first place for the final 166 days of the season. 假如红袜不要玩掉领先优势，他们将会在本季例行赛霸占166天之久。 Instead of trying to catch the Yankees, the Red Sox this year found out what it was like to be the team everyone else is aiming for. That came with its own challenges, particularly living up to expectations and avoiding the infamy that previous Red Sox teams -- such as the 1978 squad -- had to endure. 今年的红袜队发现大家的目标不再只是跟过去几年一样追着洋基跑，而是自我的挑战，达 成红袜球迷的期待(分区冠军)，不再犯下与1978年相同的错误。 All year long, however, the Red Sox seemed to remain oblivious to all the subplots, focusing on the task at hand. Manager Terry Francona's most common statement to reporters looking for a big picture quote has been, "We're just trying to win today." That attitude permeated through the clubhouse and has kept the team focused over a long season that included the inevitable ups and downs, despite the team's steady hold on first place. "We have to focus on continuing to play good baseball," catcher Jason Varitek said after an important win over the Yankees in Saturday. "It doesn't matter what the circumstances are. We've got to focus on our team, not what's going on [with the Yankees]." 这一整年，红袜看起来是除了拼个冠军什麽都不管了，总仔粉科南每次都跟记者朋友们说 "我们今天只不过试着要赢"这句老梗。不过这个老套的话却是红袜队今年贯彻始终的信念 ，尽管比赛有输有赢但仍不影响他们稳定地坐在美东老大的位置。铁捕队长在一场击败洋 基的赛後说"不论情况如何，我们专注於打好每一场比赛、专注於『我们』：波士顿红袜 队，而不是洋基他们又干了什麽好事。" Busting out of the gate 马不停蹄的外国新朋友 During Spring Training and through the first couple of weeks of the season, there was much hype over prized Japanese rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka, a man the Red Sox made a $103.1 million investment in, including the posting fee to the Seibu Lions. 在春训及开赛的前两周，所有的焦点都放在一位让红袜队砸下大钱，包括转队费在内的一 亿美金，买来的大联盟新人─松坂维尼身上。 And after the Red Sox split their first two games of the regular season against the Royals, the long-awaited debut of Matsuzaka took place on April 5 in Kansas City. Matsuzaka did not disappoint, striking out 10 and allowing one run in a splashy debut -- a 4-1 win over the Royals. 在4/5对上皇家队的比赛，让人期待已久的松坂维尼没有让大家失望，初登板便七局只失 一分并送出了10张老K，顺利拿下了胜投。 After closing their first road trip at 3-3 on a dramatic Sunday night save in Texas by Papelbon (1 2/3 innings, three strikeouts), the Red Sox opened Fenway Park. Again, the focus was squarely on Matsuzaka. Sure, it was Beckett pitching the first home game. But Matsuzaka would go a day later -- against no less than Ichiro Suzuki, a fellow Japanese icon. 在三胜三败的客场之旅後，红袜回到了芬威球场，即使芬威首战由北极挂帅先发，但焦点 仍都在维尼身上，这次的最大卖点是与日本打击之神铃木一朗的对决。 Beckett, who would soon be overshadowed by no one, opened Fenway in style, riding Boston's big bats to a 14-3 romp. Then, it was Matsuzaka's turn, and a light storm of camera flashes ensued when he made his first Fenway pitches to Ichiro. It's just that Matsuzaka wound up becoming a footnote by the end of the night, thanks to a truly dominant performance by Mariners ace Felix Hernandez. The kid one-hit the Red Sox, making Matsuzaka a 3-0 loser. 北极拿下了今年芬威首胜但是没有人在乎，当维尼对一朗投出第一球时所有底片都被杀死 了...不过在水手王牌国王一安打完封红袜队的鬼神表现後，维尼体验到了当配角的滋味 。 From there, the focus shifted away from Matsuzaka and back to the Red Sox themselves. And there was a lot to like. It was another Japanese pitcher -- lefty reliever Hideki Okajima -- who turned out to be the revelation of the spring. 在这之後，焦点很快就转移回红袜这支球队，然後来到了另一名日本投手冈岛秀树身上， 他将会是今年春天红袜队最大的惊喜!! The Yankees came to town on April 20, and the Red Sox -- decked out in green jerseys in honor of the late, great Celtics coach and general manager Red Auerbach -- produced a win as thrilling as any all season. Down 6-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Sox came all the way back, tying the game on a bases-clearing triple by Coco Crisp and going ahead for good on Alex Cora's RBI single through a drawn-in infield. With Papelbon unavailable -- Francona would be conservative with the righty all year long -- Okajima had his coming-out party, earning the save. He went on to become the American League Rookie of the Month in April. 4/20对洋基之战，红袜队穿绿衣，并且在八局下绝地大反攻一举逆转领先，然而在当家终 结者宝贝碰本日公休的情况下，冈岛成功完成了终结者的工作，在这之後他又获得了美联 本月最佳新人的殊荣。 The Red Sox, who tied a Major League record with four consecutive homers (by Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Varitek) in the Sunday night game, swept the Yankees. One weekend later, the Red Sox took two of three in the Bronx and had clearly made an early statement against their rivals. 在曼尼、绝地猪、卖肉、队长的惊天动地连四轰的带领下，红袜在系列战横扫了洋基；一 周後，又在洋基主场的三连战中赢了两场，俨然是在向他们的死对头早早地宣战。 But the Red Sox were getting it done against everyone. The Mother's Day miracle against the Orioles, a game in which the Sox rallied back from a 5-0 deficit in the ninth to win, 6-5, was a sign that a special season might be in progress. By May 29 -- backed by yet another gem from Beckett -- the 36-15 Red Sox led the AL East by 11 1/2 games and had a 14 1/2-game cushion over the Yankees. 不仅如此，红袜对其他队也一视同仁...母亲节当天更是制造了奇蹟，九局下从0:5落後一 举大逆转最後以6:5击败了金莺。5月29日北极又一场的漂亮演出後，36胜15败的红袜领先 分组第二名11场半，领先洋基更多答达14场半! What did this torrid run consist of? 而这些大量的得分又是从何而来的呢? "A little bit of everything," Francona said. "You need a lot of contributions from a lot of different areas. You need your bullpen to pitch well. Good baseball starts and ends with pitching -- not just starting pitching, but all pitching -- plus, some timely hitting, things like that." 粉科南说：很多啊，坚强的投手坚强的牛棚加上适时一击，OK的。 With David Ortiz and Ramirez not coming up with their usual production, the offense was carried early by the gritty corner combo of third-baseman Lowell and Kevin Youkilis at first. 在老爹和曼尼两大门神今年都没发挥出正常水准的情况下，球季初的攻击火力都集中在三 垒手卖肉以及一垒手光头身上。 Midseason lull 中场休息 When the Yankees came back to Fenway on June 1, there was talk about the Red Sox putting away their rivals. That's how good things were going for the Sox and how bad they were going for the Yankees. But the Yankees showed some character, taking two out of three and capping it when Alex Rodriguez took Papelbon deep for a game-winning homer in the ninth in the Sunday-night finale. The Yankees could have left town trailing the Red Sox by 16 1/2 games. But by winning the series, it was 12 1/2 games. What the Yankees did was give themselves at least a glimmer of hope that there would be a race. 当六月一日洋基来到芬威球场时，大家都在想这次洋基又要惨了~~怎奈龙非池中物，三连 战中洋基赢了两场，其中包括第三战阿肉从宝贝碰的手中敲出致胜全垒打，洋基又找回了 一线生机。 But the Red Sox weren't concerned. Instead, they were tired. Immediately after the Sunday-night loss was complete, the Sox packed up and went to Oakland, where they were playing a game 24 hours later. A weary team lost that first game in Oakland, but did so with guts. The final score was Oakland 5, Boston 4, in 11 innings. But principal owner John W. Henry was so inspired by the team's ability to keep fighting despite the tough travel schedule that he sent a text message to Francona during the late innings of the game. Some of the sting of the loss was taken away when Francona walked into his office after the game and received the classy gesture from the owner. 然而红袜队并没有因此而不安，因为他们累了，被天生神力的阿肉打败後来到了奥克兰。 虽然第一战又输了，粉科南赛後却因为一通来自对方总仔的讯息而开心极了。 "He said, 'I don't know if we're going to win this game or not. But I've never been as proud of this team.' I remember thinking, 'Wow.' It was very nice," Francona recalled about two months later. However, Henry's warm message did not stop the Red Sox from proving vulnerable for the first time all year. They lost the first three games of a four-game set in Oakland and then turned their lonely eyes to Curt Schilling in the finale, which came on a Thursday afternoon. 运动家教头说输赢不是重点，但他认为舟车劳顿的红袜队还能缠斗到11局实在令人佩服！ 不过说好话还是无法改善红袜最近的窘境，对运动家的四连战前三场都输了，避免被横扫 的这项任务交给了席琳姐。 All Schilling did was come within one pitch of the first no-hitter of his career, only to lose it with two outs in the ninth on a single by Shannon Stewart. Still, the Red Sox needed every bit of Schilling's one-hit shutout to pull out the 1-0 win. 只差了一球席琳姐就能演出生涯第一场的无安打比赛，但却在九局下两人出局十被雪农史 都华敲出了安打，虽然很可惜不过总算是帮红袜止住了最近的连败。 Just when it seemed Schilling had been taking gulps from the fountain of youth, he promptly broke down two starts later in Atlanta on June 18. Strikingly, Schilling's fastball was down to the mid 80s and the Braves let him know it, pounding him for 10 hits and six runs over 4 1/3 frames. It was the first time in 14 years Schilling had left a start without a strikeout. 看 起来席琳姐好像找回了年轻时的身手，不过在跳过两次先发後，6月18的比赛席琳姐的快 速球只剩下80几英哩，结果就是难堪地被勇士队打爆，这是他14年来第一次先发没有送出 任何三振的比赛。 Not surprisingly, something was wrong with him. A shoulder injury forced Schilling to the shelf, and he would not return until Aug. 6. Matsuzaka (1.59 ERA in June) helped pick up the slack, while Beckett was having a breakout year. From May 31-July 31, the Red Sox played just two games above .500. Still, at the end of that stretch they led the division by seven games. 一定是有什麽问题，那就是他肩膀受伤了，预估要8月6日才能重回投手丘。不过好在还有 六月一条龙的维尼和一直都很稳的北极撑着，红袜在六月的战绩勉强超过五成，至六月底 领先分区第二只剩下七场。 Getting their groove back In July 2006, general manager Theo Epstein decided there was no trade worth making, so he stood pat despite his team being in first place at the deadline. This year, with the talent in the farm system much deeper, Epstein rolled the dice and dealt left-hander Kason Gabbard and two Minor League outfielders (David Murphy and Engel Beltre) for Eric Gagne, the Texas Rangers' closer. With the Red Sox, Gagne became the setup man for Papelbon, and the move seemed to send a positive jolt through the clubhouse. 去年此时，帅哥总经理认为没有值得做的生意；但今年不同了，今年红袜农场里的好物多 了不少，生意好做多了，总经理用年轻左投和两名看起来不怎麽样的小联盟外野手，换来 曾经拿过赛扬奖的游骑兵终结者刚爷。刚爷被安排在宝贝碰之前上场，这下红袜的牛棚看 起来似乎是天下无敌了。 Though Gagne struggled after his arrival and Okajima became worn down by the rigors of his first Major League season, the Red Sox started to get hot again a few weeks later. 虽然刚爷来到红袜後一直上来放火，天天冈也有被操爆的迹象，红袜却再度地火热了起来 ！ The sizzling Yankees had cut Boston's lead in the division to four games by Aug. 19. After that, the Red Sox won six out of seven, backed by an impressive four-game sweep in Chicago in which the offense erupted for 46 runs, scoring double digits in each game. 但是洋基队烫毙了，8月19日追到只差红袜四场！然而红袜在那之後，七场比赛拿下了六 场胜利，包括对白袜四场比赛一共灌了46分的芝加哥大屠杀。 "I don't know that I'm a big 'Wow' [person]," Francona said at the time. "Maybe at the end of the year. I'll tell you what though, we did a good job. I'll tell you what it is -- gratifying." 粉科男打嘴炮，反正他很爽。 The Chicago outburst gave the Red Sox an eight-game cushion heading into another Bronx showdown. The Yankees had just had a rough weekend in Detroit that included a rain-delayed extra-inning loss that ended at 3:30 a.m., and finished with a 16-0 loss. 被当成补品的芝加哥白袜让红袜的领先优势又来到了八场，也是因为同一时间洋基队被老 虎咬了好几口的因素。 Trailing the Sox by eight games entering the three-game series, conventional wisdom was that the Yankees had to sweep to keep their division-title hopes alive. That's precisely what they did, beating Boston's top three starters -- Matsuzaka, Beckett and Schilling -- in the process. 基袜三连战又将展开，落後八场的洋基队此时唯一的目标就是横扫红袜并且接连击败红袜 最强的三个先发投手：维尼、北极、席林姐。 But with the lead down to five games and Manny Ramirez out for the next few weeks with a strained right oblique, the Red Sox stayed at it. 被横扫後，不仅胜场差回到了五场，红袜当家四棒曼尼更因手伤必须得休养好几周….. In fact, they were infused by the kids. Usually, September callups benefit rebuilding teams. In Boston's case, the top pitcher and position player from the farm system made big impacts on a team that had visions of playing deep into October. 接下来在几个九月扩编升上大联盟的小夥子们带动下，红袜队将一鼓作气杀进季後赛。 Right-hander Clay Buchholz gave Fenway the biggest thrill of the entire season by twirling a no-hitter against the Orioles on Sept. 1 in his second Major League start. 年轻右投手克雷八口子在他大联盟生涯的第二场出赛便对金莺队投出了无安打比赛！ Jacoby Ellsbury? All he did was make things happen every time he played. Be it with his bat, his glove or his legs, Ellsbury sent a surge of excitement around the ballpark, not to mention his own clubhouse. 打跑守脸四拍子球员小帅哥为红袜带来了蓬勃的朝气 The veterans -- in particular, Lowell -- were getting it done also, powering a comeback from an 8-1 deficit against the Devil Rays on Sept. 11. And just a couple of days after Ortiz had uttered, "This team isn't just about David and Manny", Big Papi willed his team to victory. 至於老将方面，卖肉今年亮眼的表现也是红袜的一大功臣。老爹说：红袜又不是只靠我跟 曼尼(摊手) In the Sept. 12 game against Tampa Bay, Ortiz single-handedly pulled his team out of a 4-0 deficit by clubbing a three-run homer in the fourth and then a two-run walk-off blast in the bottom of the ninth. 9月12日对魔鬼鱼之战，老爹只手遮天在0比4落後情形下先敲了一发三分炮，九局下再干 一发两分再见弹。 Even without Ramirez, the Red Sox got hot, winning 10 of 14 games, capped by Beckett's masterpiece against the Yankees on Sept. 15. 即使曼尼不在，红袜还是很火，最近14场赢了10场，包括9月15日北极封锁了洋基。 Each time the 2007 Red Sox have been tested, they've responded. And with two weeks left in the regular season, the next big test figures to come in October, when the tradition-laden franchise plays postseason baseball for the fourth time in the past five years. 面对今年诸多的考验，红袜总是一次又一次地渡过了难关，然而下一个最大的考验即将来 临，这支传统劲旅将在最近五年中挑战第四次的季後赛。 --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 60.250.204.167 ※ 编辑: MedicJue 来自: 60.250.204.167 (09/20 23:32)