He had saved their season early and now they were looking for him to validate their postseason. 他拯救他們的這個球季,現在他們也想知道他在季後賽是否也可以做倒 For six-plus innings, Chien-Ming Wang did all he could to justify Joe Torre's faith in handing him the ball on enemy soil for his first postseason start until the Angels finally conquered his sinkerball with their speed and did him 在前六局的投球中,Wang盡了全力證明Torre把球交給他讓他在客場先發的選擇是正確的 直到猴子還是用速度戰勝了他的伸卡球並擊倒他. He had pitched magnificently up to then, belying his 25 years, in limiting the rowdy Halos to two scratch runs, one of them unearned thanks to Alex Rodriguez's muff of an easy leadoff bouncer in the sixth by Orlando Cabrera. 他投得很好,只讓猴子勉強得到兩分,其中一分非自責, 是由於A-Rod在第六局時處理Cabrera的leadoff bouncer時漏接所造成的. The next inning it would be Cabrera again to deliver the game-breaking blow - a clean two-run single to left-center, culminating a rally that had begun with Juan Rivera beating out a leadoff Baltimore chop to short and Steve Finley reaching on a bunt in front of the plate that was thrown wide by Wang. 在第七局又是Cabrera擊向左外野清壘的兩分single 這個逆轉由Rivera先擊出安打接著Finley的短打造成Wang的傳球失誤開始. In all, Wang made only three mistake pitches - Cabrera's hit, Rivera's full-count, leadoff homer in the fifth and Bengie Molina's RBI single in the sixth - but with the Yankees equally stifled by a quartet of Angel righthanders, that was three too many. Wang只有三個失誤的投球-Cabrera's hit, Rivera's full-count, leadoff homer int the fifth及Molina's RBI single in the sixth- 但是NYY一直被Angel投手所壓制,所以三個失誤太多使他們落敗. According to Joe Torre, there were a couple of reasons for choosing Wang to start on the road. The Taiwanese righty's unflappable demeanor was a primary factor, as was the Angels' unfamiliarity with his funky hesitation delivery. More important than anything, however, was Torre's and Mel Stottlemyre's belief that Wang had re-established himself as the quality starter he'd been the first half of the season, after he was summoned from Columbus in late April to replace injured Jaret Wright. 根據Torre的說法,有兩個理由選Wang當先發. 第一,這位來自台灣的投手從容態度,再來是猴子對他緩慢的投球動作不熟悉. 更重要的是Torre and Mel相信他己恢復到他在八月從Columbus升上來接替 Wright的身手. Wang was 6-3 with a 3.89 ERA at the All-Star break, and as Stottlemyre acknowledged, "really saved us" given the battered and banged-up state of the rotation. That's why when, right after the All-Star break, he suddenly complained of a sore shoulder, it was as if the Yankee season was once again lost. 在ALL-Star時王的成績6-3 ERA 3.89就如Mel所說的"真的救了我們" 救了這個被打爆的rotation. 那就是為什麼在明星賽開始時,他complain肩膀酸時, NYY彷彿這個球季又要bye bye. "Looking back on it now," said Stottlemyre, "it would not surprise me in the least if he merely slept on it the wrong way and what the MRI turned up was what would show up on any pitcher's shoulder. He's clearly fine now and in his last couple of starts pitched like he had the first half." Of course, it is a lot more than just being seemingly impervious to pressure that brought Wang to his postseason moment last night. In the two years since the Yanks first saw Wang the spring of '03, his velocity increased and he perfected a sinker to the point where he's drawn comparisons to the most notable Yankee sinkerballer of the last 30 years - Stottlemyre himself. "現在回頭看"said Mel, 如果他只是睡覺壓到或MRI顯示的只是一般投手都有的毛病,那不會使我吃驚 (以上根據RollingWave的推文翻的,感謝) 他現在康復了,在他最後二次的先發也表現跟他前半季一樣好. 更重要的是,他在季後賽對給他的重大壓力絲毫不為所動. Yankee在03年春年到現在這兩年, 他的球速不斷增加而完成sinker,並被與NYY這三十年來最有名的 sinkerballer-Sottlemyre他自己本人作比較. In his last three starts of the season, he had a total of just four fly ball outs and last night he got 14 ground ball outs. What should have been his 15th was his errant throw of the Finley bunt. Otherwise, the combination of his sinker and his calm under pressure served him well in his postseason debut. Undeterred by Robinson Cano's two-out error in the second that put Angels at first and third, Wang retired Finley on a grounder to second. And in the fifth, he shrugged off Rivera's leadoff homer by retiring the next three Angels on groundouts. 在他最後三次先發,他只有四個fly ball out 昨晚他有14 ground ball outs. 可惜第15個因為他的傳球失誤而不見了. 不然,以他的sinker及冷靜對他的季後賽debut是足夠的. 由於Cano的失誤讓猴子在第二局站上1,3壘 但是王讓對手擊出grounder讓Finley死在二壘前. 雖然第五局讓Rivera擊出HR,但他以groundout解決接下來的打者 "The sinkerball is what's made him," Stottlemyre said, "that and the added velocity. Early on this spring, I'd kid him by telling him 'your middle name is not Ming, it's Down. It's Chien-DOWN Wang, don't forget that' and he'd smile and nod. That's why I say he's aware of a lot more than he lets on." Another example of that was when, in the first half of the season, Wang decided he w anted to more closely imitate his idol, Hideo Nomo, and altered his windup by lifting his arms higher over his head, as was the style of the erstwhile Japanese pitching prodigy whose career has since flamed out. "I said to him: 'What do you want to do, wind up where he is?'" Stottlemyre said in reference to the fact that Nomo, after being released by the last-place, pitching-desperate Tampa Bay Devil Rays, was toiling for the Yankees' Triple-A farm team in Columbus. "He gave me a knowing smile and that was the end of the high-arm windup." "他的sinker使他成功"Stottlemyre said, "他的伸卡球及他的球速.在初春時,我曾經開他玩笑說他的middle name不是民, 應該是"Down".應該是Chien-DOWN Wang.我還記著這件事. 他笑了一下並點頭.那就是為什麼我說他知道得比他說出來的更多. 另外一個例子是在球季前半段,王決定要模仿他的偶想,野茂英雄, 改變他的準備動作將他的手臂舉超過他的頭更多, 就跟那位曾經大放光芒的日本天才投手一樣. 我問他他想要做什麼,跟在他現在的位置結束嗎? (雖然此時野茂離開TB正要來NYY) 他給我一個會心的微笑,沒有再使用high-arm windup (感謝timohu網友指正) (這段後半段我翻不太出來..) Stottlemyre does not say if he sees a lot of himself in Wang, but there is clearly a special bond between the teacher and pupil - to the point where, on Tuesday, Stottlemyre was concerned at how Wang would handle his first postseason press conference. "When he came back, I asked him how it went and what he said, " Stottlemyre related. "He said he just thanked all his friends and the 23 million people in Taiwan." 雖然Stottlemyre沒有說他是否從Wang身上看到自己的影子. 但是很明顯地在這對師徒之間有一道特別的牽絆在. 因此在Tuesday, Stottlemyre關心Wang如何handle他的首次 季後賽記者會. "當他回來時,我問他開得怎麼樣及他說了什麼"Stottlemyre回憶 "他說他只想感謝他所有的朋友及台灣的二千三百萬人" Left unsaid was the thanks Stottlemyre, Torre and the millions of Yankee legions had for him. He lost his first playoff start last night, but everyone around him knew that, without him, none of them would have been here in the first place. Originally published on October 6, 2005 他沒有說出口的是感謝Mel, Torre,及Yankee付給他的百萬美元. 他雖然季後賽首戰敗投,但是在他周圍的每一個人都知道, 沒有他,這支球隊不可能戰績第一. --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 192.192.90.202 ※ 編輯: ptterer 來自: 192.192.90.202 (10/06 23:20) ※ 編輯: ptterer 來自: 192.192.90.202 (10/06 23:23) ※ 編輯: ptterer 來自: 192.192.90.202 (10/07 00:01) ※ 編輯: ptterer 來自: 192.192.90.202 (10/07 00:02) ※ 編輯: ptterer 來自: 192.192.90.202 (10/07 00:13)