Language barrier can't contain personality of Uehara http://0rz.tw/rJ7T6 BALTIMORE -- A season's worth of high-fives only scratch the surface of the force that is the personality of Koji Uehara. 这个值得high-five的球季只是上原的个性带来的力量中的一小部份而已。 "I don't think guys think of him as someone who has come over from another continent," fellow reliever Craig Breslow said. "They think of him as one of the guys." Craig Breslow：「我不认为有谁会视他为不同洲的人。」 "He's one of the coolest people I've ever met," lefty Drake Britton said. Drake Britton：「他是我见过最酷的人之一。」 Uehara is far from the first Japanese-born pitcher to suit up for the Red Sox. But he's the first Japanese-born pitcher to ingratiate himself with the team the way he has this season. 比上原更早效力红袜的日本人不少，不过他是第一个把球队风格和自己风格完美融合的日 本人。 Daisuke Matsuzaka generally kept to himself in his years with the Red Sox. Hideki Okajima tended to be much quieter. The younger Junichi Tazawa even this year has mostly kept his head down in the clubhouse. 松坂通常都一个人，冈岛比较沉默，田泽也通常都头低低的。 But Uehara has let his personality show since the moment he joined the Red Sox for spring training in February. He's gained notice of late for his dominance in the ninth inning -- he went into play Friday with a 1.12 ERA and an 11-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio -- but he made himself an integral part of the fabric of the bullpen long before that. That's in spite of the language barrier that has proved such an impediment for so many others trying to make the transition into American baseball. 不过上原在一加入红袜的时候就秀出了他的个性。他近来展现了他再第九局的宰制力─ 1.12 ERA、K/BB将近11，不过他在这之前就已经成为牛棚的一大要角。过去语言一直是 把个人风格带入美国棒球的一大障碍。 Because Uehara has such a dynamic personality, it didn't take long for him to assimilate upon his arrival four years ago with the Baltimore Orioles. 因为上原的个性很外向，上原加入金莺後也不需要多少时间就能融入。 "Moving to a new country, he didn't know the language, but it's like anything -- when you're new to anything, you observe and watch at first," said Baltimore lefty Brian Matusz, who was a rookie in the major leagues the same year Uehara arrived. "I just think, as time went on, he opened up and developed relationships." Brian Matusz：「他到新国家征战，不太会这里的语言，不过当你到新环境时你会先观察 。当时间过去後，他就敞开心胸和大家发展友情了。」 A native of Osaka, Japan -- "the comedy capital of Japan," as Baltimore closer Jim Johnson described it -- Uehara didn't shy away from the banter that comes with a major-league clubhouse. He embraced it. The entire Baltimore team became part of his ongoing effort to learn English. Jim Johnson说上原的故乡大阪市「日本的喜剧之都」，上原不会抗拒大联盟式的玩笑， 他很愿意接受─整只金莺队成了他学习英语的动力。 "When he first got here, we used to have a 'Word of the Day' thing," Johnson said. "It started in spring training. He'd just gotten to the U.S., so every day we had a new word on the sheet, and he would translate it, so we would learn it and he would learn it. Jim Johnson：「他来这里的时候，我们有了'Word of the Day'─这从春训开始。他刚到 美国，所以每天的纸条都有新字汇，然後他也会翻译─我们在学习、他也在学习。」 "As you'd expect, all the bad words were learned first." 「你也知道，都是从脏话先学起的。」 Some of those same bad words are thrown around the Red Sox clubhouse now, of course. Boys forever will be boys. But Uehara gets a laugh even when he stays above the fray -- "I am gentleman," he'll say in heavily accented English, to the roaring approval of his teammates. 当然红袜这边也出现了一样的脏话。男孩永远是男孩。不过就算上原不参与脏话战也会 有笑点─上原用很重的腔调说"I am gentleman,"，队友也会用大吼认证。 Uehara still conducts interviews through a translator, and his English is far from perfect. He speaks just enough English to get his point across. "He doesn't have the opportunity -- because he doesn't speak the language clear enough -- to try to build up jokes," Breslow said. "His one-liners are quite a bit more poignant because there's not this setup and kind of 'Let's get to the punchline.' Every time he opens his mouth, it's a punchline. He's got a great sense of humor." 上原依然需要翻译，英文距离完美也有好一段路，他只能用简单英文表达。 Breslow：「他的英文还不够清楚，没有铺梗的机会。不过他的单句话更犀利，完全不需 要铺陈─一张开嘴就是字字珠玑。他有很棒的幽默感。」 When words aren't doing the trick, Uehara also has the ability to do impersonations of those around him. That never fails to get a laugh. "He'll do guys' mechanics," said Matusz, who recalled a particularly hilarious impression of Johnson that Uehara did from across the field earlier this season. "He'll overdo it to make fun of them." 上原没办法利用话术搞笑，不过上原有模仿周遭人的能力，没有失败的时候。Matusz想起 当年上原模仿Johnson表情的样子：「他会模仿大家的动作，夸张化来开他们玩笑。」 "He just finds different ways to communicate with all of us, whether it's doing something funny like hand gestures," Britton said. "He communicates with everyone. It just shows the kind of special person he is." Drake Britton：「他找到跟我们沟通的不同方法，有时候是好笑的手部动作。他跟大家 都会沟通─这显示出他是个多麽特别的人。」 -- ＊Athletic frame. ＊High baseball IQ. Xander ＊Smooth, fluid swing. Bogaerts ＊Elite batspeed. #01 ＊Strong and explosive hands. ＊Above-average-to-better power ceiling, potential 30 home run bat. --

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