Emotions run deep after no-hitter Francona, Lester father-son bond goes outside the lines By Ian Browne / MLB.com 無安打帶來的深深感動 Francona與Lester情比父子深 BOSTON -- Imagine the emotion that Red Sox manager Terry Francona has experienced over the span of a couple of days. Following Sunday's victory over the Brewers, Francona hustled to Pennsylvania to watch his son, Nick, graduate from college. 波士頓──想像一下紅襪教頭Francona這幾天的經歷。星期天擊敗 釀酒人後，Francona忙著趕到賓州去參加他兒子Nick的畢業典禮。 He hustled back to Boston on Monday in time to watch Jon Lester throw a no-hitter against the Royals at Fenway Park for a 7-0 win. 星期一他準時趕回了波士頓，欣賞Jon Lester用無安打率領紅襪以 7-0擊敗了皇家隊。 Francona only has one son, but of all the members of his team, Lester is probably the one who feels like a second. Francona只有一個兒子，但在紅襪成員中，Lester可以算是他第二 個兒子。 So you can understand why Francona and Lester were both so emotional in an embrace shortly after the left-hander's masterpiece was complete. 因此當身為左投的Lester完成這項壯舉時，他們兩人短暫的擁抱富 含了激情。 "This probably isn't fair to say, but I feel like my son graduated and my [other] son threw a no-hitter," Francona said. "It couldn't happen to a better kid. It's probably selfish on my part to even say something like that, but I think it's obvious how we feel about this kid." 「也許這麼說不太恰當，但這就好比看到一個兒子畢業，而另一個 兒子投了無安打。」Francona說到。「沒有一個孩子有辦法做得更 好──也許是基於我的私心，但我想很明顯的，這就是我們對這孩 子的感覺。」 When Lester was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma in late August 2006, Francona was crushed. But he didn't let Lester see that. Instead, he supported him as much as he could and also kept in frequent contact with Lester's parents. 2006年八月底， Lester被診斷出患有淋巴癌。Francona非常震驚， 但他沒讓Lester察覺。他不但盡力幫助Lester，也時常與Lester的 父母保持聯繫。 After going through six chemotherapy treatments, Lester made it to Spring Training on time in 2007, though he wouldn't pitch in a Major League game until July. During that entire season, he formed a bond with his manager. 2007年，歷經六個化學療程後，儘管Lester直到七月還無法登上大 聯盟，但總算趕上了春訓。整個球季中，他與Francona表現的相當 契合。 "Through everything I've been through, he's been like a second dad to me," Lester said. "Just being able to talk to him not as a manager but as a friend, he cares a lot about his players. It's not just about what you can do on the field, it's what type of person you are and he cares a lot about that." 「透過我所感受到的──他對我所做的一切，他於我就像是另一位 父親。」Lester如是說。「我們與他交談時甚至可以像朋友，而非 總教練。他真的非常關心他的球員。這與你場上的表現無關，他更 關心的是「你」這個人。」 When informed by the media that Lester referred to him as a second dad, Francona's eyes looked like they could have gotten moist again without much prodding. 被媒體告知Lester描述自己像是他的父親時，不須催促提醒， Francona再一次濕了雙眼。 "I take that as a huge compliment," Francona said. "He's a wonderful kid, not because he threw a no-hitter. He's a good kid because he's a good kid. We're proud of him all the time, but to watch him do that tonight was beyond words. I'm trying to put it in words, but it's hard because -- what a story. To see him do that, you feel like a proud parent. I know we have no right to say that, but it's probably how we feel." 「我視這句話為極高的榮譽」Francona「他是個非常棒的孩子，與 他投了無安打比賽無關，因為他是他自己，所以他是個好孩子。我 們一直以他為榮，但是他今日的成就卻是無以言喻的。我試著用言 語去形容，但實在太難了──多棒的故事啊！看著他的表現，你會 覺得自己就像與有榮焉的父母。我知道我們沒資格以這身分自居， 但這大概就是我們的感覺了吧。」 Taking equal joy in the triumph was Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell. He has spent hours with Lester, trying to help a young and promising pitcher gain consistency. 同樣為這偉大的勝利感到愉悅的，是投手教練John Farrell。他花 了好幾個小時，試著幫助這位年輕、有前途的投手保持穩定。 Over the winter, Lester's name was involved in several trade talks with the Twins regarding left-handed ace Johan Santana. Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein wound up hanging on to Lester and Santana went to the Mets. 上個冬季，Lester的名字在幾個與雙城神之左手──Johan Santana 有關的交易談話中被提及了。紅襪總經理Theo Epstein對能堅持留 下Lester以及Santana最後到了大都會感到興奮。 Though anyone would welcome a pitcher like Santana, Farrell and Francona were two of the happiest people not to have to say good-bye to Lester. 雖然每個人都很歡迎能得到像Santana這樣一位投手，Farrell和 Francona是兩位最高興不必與Lester告別的人。 "I think we all knew the talent and potential that Jon has and continues to become more consistent with," said Farrell. "But anytime you have young pitching of that talent, pitching is such a hard thing to acquire, particularly above-average Major League pitching talent, and to know that we're talking about two guys in their early 20s with long careers ahead of them, it certainly bodes well for not only the present but the future of a rotation that should be together for a long time." 「我們都很清楚Lester的天份和潛力，而它們也逐漸與他的表現結 合」Farrell說到。「每次年輕小伙子有那種難得的投球天賦──特 別是大聯盟平均水準之上的天賦時，不管對現在還是未來的輪值表 來說，這都是一個吉兆。尤其我們討論的是還有很長職業生涯，二 十出頭的兩個傢伙。不管對現在還是長遠未來的輪值表來說，這都 是一個吉兆。」 （這邊翻得很心虛……不知道是不是包含了八釦子……請大大指教） As the ninth inning was unfolding, the magnitude of the moment started catching up to Francona. Not that he was alone. 第九局開打時，這偉大的一瞬令Francona坐立難安，並不是只有他一 個人如此。 "I looked up in the ninth and you're trying to keep your emotions in check, and I went to say something to John Farrell and he was being a big baby next to me," said Francona. "It made me feel a little bit better." 「第九局的時候我感覺好一點了，並試著掌控我的情緒。我想和 John Farrell說些話，可是他就像是個大嬰兒一樣坐在我身邊，這多 少讓我好過了一些。」Francona如是說。 Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. --

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