Ankiel is older, wiser and wary By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports August 15, 2007 This is supposed to be a new beginning. But it feels so familiar, and that terrifies Rick Ankiel. He knows what it means to be baseball's great new sensation, its odds-defying wonder, and he also knows where it landed him the first time. Ankiel wants to believe that place no longer exists, that the wild pitches and walks and self-doubt – the remnants of his old career as a pitcher – are decaying in some faraway place. Someday they might. For now, they remain close, reminders of what was, harbingers of what can be. 在大聯盟闖出名號似乎對目前棒球界中轟動的人物Rick Ankiel來說是個全新的開始 ，但其實對他來說，這件事是很熟悉的，也曾經讓他害怕。而且他仍然記得這份恐懼感是 如何在他剛上大聯盟時打擊了他。 Ankiel相信那個令他恐懼的地方再也不存在了，當他原本的職業生涯身為一個投手時 ，留下了無數的暴投、保送跟自我懷疑。而這些東西已經在遙遠的地方腐朽了。或許有一 天，它們會讓我們想起過去的歷史，也同時又是某些事情的預告。 Without all his failures, Ankiel would be nothing. With them, Ankiel has been everything – a wunderkind left-hander who came from a broken family with a recidivist dad, sparkled in the big leagues at 20, started Game 1 of the 2000 playoffs for the St. Louis Cardinals at 21, crashed and burned with fits of bad command immediately thereafter, smoldered for years, quit, returned as an outfielder, trucked it in the low minor leagues, shook off a season-stealing injury, morphed into a power-hitting monster and then, in his major-league debut as an outfielder Thursday, crushed a home run, and followed two days later with two more homers. And still, the most he could muster Tuesday, after trying to absorb the enormity of his week, was a smirk. Success once was his analgesic, and Ankiel won't let it numb him again. "This feels similar, and maybe that's helping me deal with it better," he said. "I'm more mature. I'm older. I look at things differently. I see things through older eyes." 如果沒有過去的那些失敗，Ankiel將不再是Ankiel。就是有了過去的陰影，才造就 了今天我們所看到的Ankiel---一個從累犯父親的破碎家庭中脫穎而出的年青優秀左打者 ，在年僅二十歲時就在大聯盟發光發熱，並且在二十一歲時就擔綱了聖路易紅雀隊2000年 季後賽的第一場先發。但控球的問題讓他非常痛苦而隨即失去了信心。經過數年的沉澱， 退出，以外野手的身分復出，在低階小聯盟平穩的行進，擺脫了終結球季的傷勢後，他轉 變成為一個具有長打能力的怪物打者。星期四在他以外野手出賽的大聯盟處女秀，就擊出 了全壘打。過了兩天之後，再追加了兩支。 在星期二，在經歷了對他來說意義重大的一個禮拜之後，最能讓他振作的其實就是一 笑置之。過去的成功對他來說是個止痛劑，Ankiel不會再被它麻痺了。"過去的經歷是那 麼的熟悉，也許它也幫助我更容易去面對我的職業生涯。"他說，"我已經更老也更成熟了 。看事情的角度跟以往不一樣了，我現在是用更成熟的態度去面對。" He squinted those eyes. The beginnings of crow's feet formed around them. Though Ankiel still looks Gerber young, his skin has worn a bit since the baseball world last saw him. It's a sad image to revisit. Ankiel fell apart like one of those cars in a cartoon that disassembles piece by piece. First a wheel. Then a door. The tailpipe. A chunk of engine. And finally, the whole thing collapses in on itself. Ankiel threw five wild pitches in the third inning of that Division Series game against Atlanta. The Championship Series against New York was as bad. 他學會冷眼相對，即使他開始受到如烏鴉群聚般的關注，Ankiel看起來還是像嘉寶嬰 兒廣告上的嬰兒那麼年輕，其實他已經比上次棒球界注意到他時稍微老了一點了。 那是個不堪回首的回憶。Ankiel就像卡通裡被撞的支離破碎的汽車一樣，先是輪子， 接著是車門，排氣管，引擎，最後整台車子崩解得不成車形。Ankiel在分區季後賽對上勇 士隊的第三局投出了五次暴投，在分區冠軍賽對上大都會的比賽也一樣糟糕。 Even if he was the most talented lefty in a generation, and even if he did rake in a $2.5 million bonus to sign out of high school, he was a kid, and he was vulnerable, and no one knew why. For five years, he tried to figure it out. When Ankiel couldn't, he quit. The Cardinals asked him to return as an outfielder. He agreed. If he wanted to bury the past, he would need to reinvent himself. 即使他被視為是近年來最有天份的左投手，而當他被球探發現並且從高中以兩百五十 萬的價錢被簽下來時，他還是個小孩子。接著忽然他的弱點暴露出來，沒人知道原因。 過去的五年他都在找答案。當Ankiel沒辦法再投球後，他退出了。後來紅雀隊希望他 以外野手的身份回來，他同意了。如果他想要埋葬過去，所需要做的就是重新發展他的 潛能。 When the Cardinals sent Ankiel to rookie-league Johnson City in 2001 to regain his control, he played designated hitter part time and hit 10 home runs in 105 at-bats. They wanted to believe this wasn't a fluke, and Ankiel started his return at Class-A Quad Cities. "I don't even remember which of the cities I lived in," Ankiel said. "That was so long ago." 2001年，紅雀隊把Ankiel送到約翰市的新人聯盟希望改善他的控球，而當時他偶爾 兼差打指定打擊，並且在一百零五個打數裡打出了十支全壘打。紅雀隊為了證明這種表 現不是運氣好，於是讓他重返奎德市的一A聯盟。 "我甚至不記得我以前住在哪個城市了。"Ankiel說"那是好久以前的事情了。" Just two years, actually. Ankiel hit 21 home runs that season and had a shot at making the Cardinals' roster in 2006 before the fraying of a tendon in his knee sidelined him for the season. St. Louis still promoted Ankiel to Triple-A to start this season, and he grew into the minor leagues' most dangerous power hitter. Every day, it seemed, Ankiel hit another home run. He hammered 32, including three in one game. His swing, once an inconsistent uppercut, looked like that of Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, his front leg lazy and open, his bat waggling slightly, plumes of energy whipping it through the strike zone. 就在兩年之內，Ankiel打出了二十一支全壘打，得到了在2006年加入紅雀隊大聯盟 名單的機會，但是膝蓋肌腱的傷勢讓他缺席了接下來的球季。接著這季紅雀隊把他升到 三A先發，也讓他成長為小聯盟裡最危險的強打者之一。 幾乎每天他好像都擊出了全壘打，他擊出了三十二支全壘打，甚至有一場三轟的紀錄 。他的揮擊，有點不協調的向上揮，就像洋基的二壘手Robinson Cano，前腳開放式的緩 緩擺動，棒子輕輕的搖晃，像羽毛一般輕快而且在快速揮擊通過好球帶的球時展現出了揮 棒的能量。 Still, the Cardinals hesitated to recall Ankiel. He is out of options. If they brought him up, then sent him back to the minor leagues, another team could claim him. The absence of Scott Spiezio to deal with substance-abuse problems opened up a roster spot last week, and the Cardinals, suddenly just 4 ½ games behind first-place Milwaukee and three behind Chicago, no longer could keep an impact bat buried at Triple-A. So Ankiel, traveling last week in buses and living off a scant per diem, batted in front of Albert Pujols on Tuesday against the Brewers. 不過，紅雀隊仍然在猶豫是否要把Ankiel重新叫上大聯盟。他的選擇權已經用完了。 如果紅雀隊把他升上大聯盟，之後又把他降下小聯盟的話，別的球隊可以把他挑走。不過 上禮拜因為Scott Spiezio必須處理財務問題的缺席給了Ankiel一個機會。而這也讓還落 後分區冠軍釀酒人隊四場半的跟落後小熊隊三場的紅雀隊不會把他們有潛力的打者繼續埋 沒在三A。 所以上禮拜還在比賽場地間辛苦旅行，領著小聯盟微薄薪水的Ankiel，禮拜二對釀酒 人的比賽中被排在Albert Pujols前面打擊。 "It's exciting. It's draining. It's so many different things," Ankiel said. Gratifying and exhilarating and, yes, terrifying. Because he is so wary, so loath to celebrate, Ankiel instead appreciates the last week the way a connoisseur does a bottle of wine that waited for years in the cellar. "You should never be surprised when you have that kind of a magical moment," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "You look around baseball: When guys have talent, special things happen." "這真是刺激又費力，大聯盟跟小聯盟有很多差別。"Ankiel說。 讓人高興振奮又滿足，是的，而且可怕。因為他是如此的小心翼翼，不願意慶祝他的 成就。取而代之的是他用鑑賞家欣賞藏在酒窖裡陳年美酒的方式來讚賞上禮拜的表現。 "當你有個這類如此神奇的時刻，永遠都不該感到太過驚奇。"紅雀教練Tony La Russa說"當你環顧棒球界，可以發現，只要你有天份，驚奇的事情就會不斷發生。" It was special. It was innocence recaptured and demons conquered. And it was, in all likelihood, fleeting. Ankiel, remember, still is learning. In four of his five games, he has struck out at least twice. On Tuesday, Chris Capuano caught him looking on an 89-mph fastball and made him flail on a 76-mph punch-out curve before Manny Parra blew a 93-mph strike-three fastball by him. In two more at-bats, Ankiel hit weak groundouts to an infield already shifting far right, seeing as he hasn't hit a ball to the left side in 22 at-bats. In his other at-bat, Ankiel hit a slow grounder toward first baseman Prince Fielder. Fast out of the batter's box, he churned down the line. Parra was a step late toward the base. Ankiel was safe. A hustle single, the kind that keeps a guy in the good graces of his manager. 這是一趟奇妙的旅程，就像重溫童年的純真跟征服魔鬼般令人驚奇，而它仍然有不同 的可能性，也可能只是曇花一現。不過請記住，Ankiel還在學習中。在他總共五場出賽中 的四場，Ankiel都被三振了至少兩次。星期二的比賽，Chris Capuano先用了八十九英哩 的速球讓他無法出棒，接著漂亮的七十六英哩的曲球讓他揮了大空棒，最後Manny Parra 用一個九十三英哩的好球把他三振。接著的兩次打擊，Ankiel在防守方往右半邊移位的情 況下打出了兩個軟弱無力的滾地球，而在二十二個打數中，Ankiel似乎一次也沒把球打向 球場的左半邊。 在他的另一次打擊時，Ankiel打出了一個朝一壘手Prince Fielder而去的緩慢滾地球 。他迅速離開打擊區，開始沿著邊線猛衝，最後安全上壘，一支靠速度跑出來的安打。這 種態度也會讓他的教練留下好印象。 Earlier in the day, the Cardinals held their usual meetings before the first game of a series. The pitchers gathered first, and it was odd to see Ankiel trolling around the clubhouse, sitting on the couch and watching "Napoleon Dynamite" with the rest of the every-day players. He lounged, comfortable in his place for the moment, and only that. "I had my minute in the sunshine," Ankiel said. He smirked again. "Now, I have a career to make." 在這天的稍早之前，紅雀隊在系列賽第一場開始之前舉行了例行會議，首先是投手的 集合。但有點古怪的是看到Ankiel在休息室裡跑來跑去，坐在沙發上跟其他每日先發的選 手一起看"拿破崙炸彈"。 Ankiel懶洋洋的躺在沙發上，在這個時刻他感到很舒服，而就這樣了。 "我正在做日光浴呢。"Ankiel說。 接著他的臉上又露出了笑容，"現在，我還有職業生涯等著我去完成呢。" -- http://www.wretch.cc/album/randyorton A-MUSEing Myself --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.122.110.220 ※ 編輯: sucka 來自: 140.122.110.220 (08/16 15:21)