Re: [外電] The Mastermind--Theo Epstein(三)完

[ookkla (虎)]

(最後一大段，看完只覺得作者真猛.....)
---
THEY WON TWO titles under Epstein, but by the end of his Boston tenure, the
boy who'd fallen in love with the Red Sox had turned into a man who needed to
get as far from the team as he could. The Boston sports media machine has
written thousands of words about why this rise and fall happened, but the
simplest explanation lies in Belichick's warning to Theo. The football coach
laid out the conflict between winning and human weakness. Everyone would
start wanting credit and feel like the underappreciated key to the entire
machine. Theo saw this come true almost immediately.

紅襪在Epstein的任期內兩度拿下冠軍，但在他的波士頓職涯後期，就連一個熱愛紅襪的
男童，也會變成一個盡可能遠離這支球隊的男人。波士頓當地的運動媒體寫下球隊起落的
各種原因，但最簡單的一個解釋，就是Belichick曾告訴過Theo的。那個美足教練指出贏
球與人性缺點中的衝突，每個人都開始想贏得名聲，並且覺得自己不被賞識。Theo幾乎是
馬上見識到這些言論的應證。

A cold war broke out between the baseball ops bunker and the second floor,
the conflict cutting through every part of the organization. Epstein felt
that some of his bosses were obsessed with optics and credit, more worried
about personally winning a news cycle than helping create the culture that
had developed in Theo's world. "It's rare you can find true togetherness,
selflessness, connectedness," Epstein says. "We had that in baseball ops. It
was in opposition to what I saw going on in the rest of the company."

冷戰在棒球營運部與二樓間開始爆發，衝突幾乎蔓延到整個球團。Epstein覺得一些他的
老闆被鎂光燈焦點和外界讚美給迷惑。比起在Theo的世界裡建立一個正確的文化，他們更
希望贏得在媒體圈的熱烈討論。”在這裡你很難找到真正的團結，無私與溝通，”
 Epstein說，”你能在棒球營運部裡看見這些，但在球團的其他部門，我覺得是完全背離
這些理念。”

Theo is an absolutist. He came to see the fight against the business side as
completely black and white, good and evil -- "French Revolution shit," he
says -- and in the next seven years, he quit his job twice, first in 2005 for
80 days, the second time for good in 2011.

Theo是個絕對主義者。他所看見到的，一切對抗商業的衝突全是黑或白，好或是壞。”就
像是法國大革命一樣，”他說，接下來的七年內，他辭掉工作兩次，第一次在2005年共離
開80天，第二次則是2011年。

In 2005, he turned down a contract, unable to work with people who would
plant stories in the paper to minimize blame for trades and who worried more
about public perception than the long-term health of the franchise. Theo
gathered his staff members in the basement and told them he loved them, and
that they'd always be family, but he couldn't do this anymore. Several people
burst into tears, and he broke down too. They started drinking beer and
telling stories, while reporters covering the contract dispute gathered
outside the door with television cameras. Because it was Halloween, Theo put
on a co-worker's gorilla costume and did a full slide down the conference
table in the war room. Then he sneaked past the reporters in costume. When he
got home, his confused dog went crazy barking until he took off the gorilla
head. After nearly three months of feeling adrift and pathetic, however,
Epstein went back to work in the basement. He couldn't stay away.

2005年，他拒絕一份合約，不能再與為了降低交易的批評而在媒體上編造故事的人工作，
不能再與擔心公眾形象比擔心球隊長期利益的人工作。Theo在地下室聚集他的部下，告訴
他們他愛他們，而且他們永遠都會是家人，但他不能繼續在此工作。幾個人哭了，他也崩
潰了。他們開始喝啤酒，講故事，而那時，負責追蹤雙方合約談判衝突的狗仔帶著攝影機
在門外守候時。因為當下正是萬聖節，所以Theo穿上一個工作夥伴的哥吉拉外裝，一路從
會議桌滑過，靠著偽裝穿過記者。當他到家的時候，他困惑的家狗發瘋地狂叫，直到他拿
下哥吉拉頭套為止。他感到茫然失措與難受近三個月，他才重新回到地下室工作。他還是
不能遠離這一切。

The second time he quit his job, he and his bosses still hadn't resolved the
conflict between baseball and business. He read reports about how winning
alone wouldn't stop NESN's flagging ratings; the focus group data said his
office needed to chase and sign the big-name free agents, whether the team
needed them or not. Epstein felt the culture "jumping the shark," as he puts
it today, but also says the only person to blame for his problems was
himself. He chased the likes of Carl Crawford. He overreacted to the reports
about television ratings. He'd once been willing to quit his job over these
kinds of battles, but in the winter of 2010-11, he didn't even have the
energy to fight them. Always self-critical, he felt himself slipping, showing
the same weaknesses he couldn't abide in others.

第二次他辭掉工作，他和他的老闆們還是沒能解決棒球與商業面的衝突。他讀到幾篇關於
當地轉播單位(NESN)收視率暴跌的報導，核心團體的資料顯示，不論實質上是否需要，他
的球團必須追求並簽下一個自由市場裡的大咖。Epstein感覺到球團文化正逐漸走向譁眾
取寵的方向，也承認自己責無旁貸。是他決定去追求像Carl Crawford這樣的球員，他太
過在意收視率下滑的報導。因為類似的鬥爭，他曾一度辭去他的工作，而在2010-2011年
冬天，他已經無力去反抗。總是覺得自責，他覺得自己吃不消了，表現開始不符水準，這
是過去，他最無法忍受在別人身上出現的問題。

Then he started to hear whispers about the Chicago job. Epstein needed out of
Boston, or rather, he needed to return to how Boston felt in 2002.
他開始聽到小熊職缺的耳語。Epstein必須離開波士頓，或者，他必須找回波士頓在2002
年給他的感覺。



THE YOUNGEST GUYS in the Cubs' office work in the baseball operations video
room, located between Theo's office and the door he uses to leave the
building. When he wants a little hit of youth, he sticks his head in on the
way out. Sometimes, after catching them watching reality television instead
of breaking down film, he'll pull up a chair.
He loves reflecting the energy of that room.

小熊球團最年輕的同事都在影片室，位置就在Theo的辦公室與他離開這座建築物的門之間
。當他想要一些年輕靈魂的撞擊，他會把頭探出來。有時候，發現他們在看實境電視而不
是處理影片的時候，會拉張椅子，坐到旁邊一起觀賞。他喜歡從那間房間裡的能量得到回
饋。

There's always some new toy finding its way into their lives. The new Cubs
baseball operations office, currently under construction across the street,
will have a USA-CCCP bubble hockey game, which Theo wanted and found online.
For a while now in Chicago, they've been jumping, just to see who can go the
highest. At first, they used marks on a wall to keep score. That wasn't
enough for Theo, whose instinct is to amplify everything until it is as
ridiculous as possible. He tasked one of his guys with finding the exact
model of equipment the NFL uses at the combine to measure vertical leap. The
contraption cost $800 and is installed near the back left corner of the room.

那裡總是可以找到新的玩具。新的小熊營運部辦公室，現在橫跨街道，有一個手動冰球的
機台，那是Theo想玩並且從網路上找來的。現在，他們正在進行一項跳高的比賽，想要看
誰是跳得最高的一個。一開始，他們在牆壁上劃線登記，但對於Theo來說這樣還不夠，他
的直覺是，要把每件事誇大到盡可能的荒謬程度。他請一個朋友帶來NFL在試訓時用來測
量垂直跳高的機器，一共耗費800美金，現在就安置在辦公室的左後方角落。
"Eli, you're up," Theo says one night around 10 in the still-busy office.
“Eli，起來吧，”在一個晚上，10點，在依舊忙碌的辦公室裡，Theo說。

Eli Shayer is a rising junior at Stanford by way of Anchorage, Alaska, who
has done his own research about "the Frictional Cost of a Call to the
Bullpen" and written something called a "Monte Carlo Markov model simulator
in C++."

Eli Shayer是一個史丹佛大學的三年級學生，他完成一份關於”一個牛棚換人決定的些微
成本”的研究，並且寫下"用C++程式語言演繹統計學上的馬可夫鏈蒙地卡羅模組"的報告
。

"Eli is a live, in-the-flesh intern," Theo says.

“Eli是一個有生命的，活跳跳的實習生”Theo說。

Shayer takes his dress shirt off and stretches up to set his standing mark.
Everyone gathers around. Eli starts to bend and stretch and leaps up for his
first attempt. He keeps going. Theo compliments Eli when he betters that
first try, loving someone digging in and improving. The young staffers are
always trying to impress Theo, perpetually the most annoying on the waiver
wire in their office fantasy football league.

Shayer把他的襯衫脫掉，試著要打破自己的跳高紀錄。所有人都聚集過來，Eli開始彎取
，伸展，並且準備第一次試跳。當他第一次試跳的表現比預期好的時候，Theo稱讚Eli，
他喜歡努力並持續進步的人。這些年輕的員工一直試著讓Thoe驚豔，這位大總管最惱人的
時刻，是在辦公室美式足球Fantasy聯盟裡挑撿揮棄名單裡的球員的時候。

Tonight Epstein's encouraging, talking smack. "I thought Marshalls was out of
small white T-shirts," he says, then he asks the scorekeeper how Shayer is
doing so far.

這個晚上Epstein不斷給予鼓勵，不斷碎嘴。”我還以為大賣場已經早就不賣你脫掉的這
種白上衣了呢"他說，然後他問紀錄保持人Shayer，Eli的成績如何。

"Nineteen inches," Davey says.

“19英寸，” Davey說。

"And what was my best? Twenty-one?" Theo asks.

“我最好的成績是多少？21英寸嗎？” Theo問。

"Yeah."

“對的”

Theo turns to Eli.

Theo轉向Eli。

"Now, be smart here," he says.

“現在，學聰明點，”他說。

The Cardinals radio network broadcasts a game in the background. Some guys
work. Others lean in for Eli's next jump.

紅雀隊比賽的轉播變成背景音，一些人還在持續工作，其餘人等則是專注在Eli的下一次
試跳。

Eli gets 2 more inches.

Eli比之前跳得更高2英寸。

"One more," Theo says. "You can do it."

“再多一英寸，”Theo說，”你可以做到的。”

Someone in the background pokes fun at Epstein's competitive streak.

一些人開始在旁邊拿Epstein不服輸的個性開玩笑。

"If you do this," he says, "Theo will be here all night."

“如果你打破紀錄，”一個人說，”Theo整晚都會待在這裡的。”

Eli leaps up and beats Theo's best mark.

Eli起跳，然後突破Theo的最佳成績。

"Twenty-two?" Theo asks, and when someone nods, he starts to stretch.

“22？”Theo問，當某些人點頭的時候，他開始熱身。

People are really laughing now.

他們笑得越發大聲了。

"Am I reracking this for you?" Davey asks Theo.

 "我該重新替你調整機器嗎?" Davey問Theo.

"We're going around the office while I get loose," Theo says.

 "我熱身的時候，讓全辦公室人先輪流試試吧，" Theo回應。

The other guys take turns. Theo floats around the room, disappearing into his
office to work the phone. To the left of his desk he's hung the biggest thing
on his wall, an enormous photograph of Ted Williams. The picture is from
Ted's rookie year, Williams wearing a small-town grin, closer in age to Eli
than Theo. Epstein loves the joy on Williams' face, how he's still happy and
hopeful, not yet hardened into the angry man who wouldn't tip his hat to the
crowd. It serves as a kind of visual mantra, a reminder to Theo to keep
himself and his office young and ideologically pure, giving them all a chance
to stay together, to keep the decay of Boston from following them to Chicago.

其他的人開始輪番上場。Theo在房間裡跑來跑去，消失在他的辦公室，然後接起電話。他
的辦公桌左方掛著一幅巨大的Ted Williams照片。那是Williams菜鳥年的照片，照片裡的
Williams露出一個來自小鎮的笑容，當時的年紀更接近Eli而非Theo。Epstein喜歡
Williams臉上的喜悅，現在他依舊是開心並滿懷希望的，還沒有變成拒絕推帽沿向觀眾致
意的憤怒男子。這是種視覺上警語，提醒Theo 要讓自己與辦公室保持年輕，並且意識純
淨，給他們一個永遠處在一起的機會，不讓波士頓的腐壞帶到芝加哥。

The photo is an emotional North Star.

那張照片是精神指引上的北極星。




THE MAIN DIFFERENCE between 11-year-old Theo in front of an Apple II and
42-year-old Theo across from Wrigley Field are the rewards and, of course,
the risks. The older you get, the more there is to lose, and the less time
there is to get it back. He's got crow's-feet and gray temples. He's got two
kids and two homes. He's got a marriage forced to coexist with his obsession.
One night this season, his baby monitor woke him up and he couldn't fall back
asleep. He went down the hall to the guest room to read. Awake and alone for
hours, he thought about being middle-aged, and how and why he'd made the
decisions that had led him here.

坐在Apple II電腦前的11歲男童Theo與現年42歲正在Wrigley Field穿梭的Theo，最大不
同之處就是一堆功勳，當然，還有對風險的概念。一旦你年紀越大，可能失去的越多，也
就越少時間去討回。他現在有魚尾紋與白頭髮。有兩個孩子兩間房。他結婚了，逼得他得
和情感牽掛共處。今年球季的某一晚，他的小孩監視器叫醒他，之後就再也沒法睡著，他
走向客房開始閱讀。醒著獨處幾個小時後，他思考著步入中年的人生，還有過去是如何又
是為什麼做了那些造成當前處境的決定。

Epstein always requests that his family be off-limits to reporters, which
keeps Marie Whitney from appearing in many stories about him, an absence that
perhaps prevents outsiders from fully inhabiting the deepest conflicts
baseball creates in Theo's life. He skipped Christmas with Marie's family
once to try to sign a free agent. A year later, he skipped Thanksgiving to do
it again. He let an ice cream cake melt, creating an irresistible metaphor.
So when he came to Chicago, he intentionally over-staffed the office, trying
to build a world where he could be great at his job while also fully enjoying
the life his job has allowed him to live. He talks a lot about Marie, and
when they're in a crowd, he reaches back to hold her hand.

Epstein總是要求媒體遠離他的家人，這樣可以避免Marie Whitney出現在跟自己有關的報
導裡，但這樣的空缺，可能讓外人更無法完全了解棒球帶給Theo的人生中最衝突的一面。
有一次，他避開與Marie家族的聚會，為的是簽下一名自由球員；一年後，他又做了一次
相同的事，不過節日換成感恩節。曾經他的晚歸讓冰淇淋蛋糕融化了，很難不讓人聯想，
他的家庭關係跟融掉的蛋糕一樣。所以當他來到芝加哥的時候，他特別讓辦公室充人力充
裕，試著營造一個世界，他在其中能夠在工作上表現優異，又有餘力享受生活。他聊了很
多關於Marie的事，當他們一起在公開場合出席的時候，他會轉過身去牽她的手。

He has learned that being a husband and father is hard, but baseball is easy.
Show up, do the work, be curious. Never cheat the process or rationalize
laziness. When you're good at your job, the office becomes a place to hide
from your actual life. "You should talk to my wife," he says, "which I
definitely will not let happen. She tells me that too: 'At work, whether you
admit it or not, you can snap your fingers and everybody will do whatever you
want. At work, people are kissing your ass. At work, everybody is happy when
you're doing your thing and you're locked in. At work, their job is to
facilitate you into a good place where you can do your thing. Then you come
home, and whether you recognize it or not, you bring that shit with you.' And
she's right, to an extent."

他學到當個丈夫與老爸是困難的，但棒球容易多了。現身，幹活，保有好奇心，永遠不要
對過程敷衍或是將懶惰合理化。當你在工作上表現傑出的時候，辦公室就是逃避現實的最
佳場所。”你應該跟我太太聊聊，雖然我是不可能讓你這麼做。”他說，”她告訴我：’
無論你承不承認，工作的時候，你可以作勢捻捻指頭，每個人都會聽從指示。人們會奉承
你；當你專注把自己鎖在一件事情上頭的時候，人們會很開心。工作上，他們任務就是盡
全力給你發揮空間。然後你回家，不論你承不承認，你會把這種唯我獨尊態度帶回來。"
某種程度上，她確實是對的。”


She's watched his emotional temperature rise and fall for more than a decade.
When he's doing well, he's joking with his staff and organizing office games
and pulling pranks and creating a kind of playground for overgrown kids. When
he's not doing well, he's alone in his office, paranoid and adult.

她看著他忽陰忽陽的情緒化脾氣超過十年，當他覺得事情順利的時候，他會跟下屬開玩笑
，舉辦一些辦公室能玩的遊戲，搞一些惡作劇，或是為一些長不大的孩子搞一個運動場。
反之，他會一個人待在辦公室，妄想到發狂，並且像個大人般思考。

She sees the cost of it all.

她看到工作上對他的一切損耗。

They pay it together.

他們一同承受這些。



A CUBS WINNING streak grows to 11 games halfway through a home series against
the Cardinals in August. On a Saturday, Epstein and the baseball ops guys
gather in Suite 33 to watch the team try to win a third straight from St.
Louis. Their world up there has its own set of rules and superstitions, and
central to the canon is this: If the team needs offense, Theo makes Scott
Harris, the director of baseball operations, take out a loaf of plain bread
and start eating. When Harris eats carbs, the Cubs score. One game, when the
White Sox were no-hitting them, Theo got an entire chocolate cake from the
passing dessert cart on the suite level. Harris ate more than half of it and
the Cubs won.

在八月與紅雀隊主場系列連賽進行到一半的時候，小熊的連勝延續至第11場。一個星期六
，Epstein與球團人員聚在33號包廂，看著球隊試圖拿下該系列賽的第三勝。他們的世界
充滿著自定的規則與迷信，這些教條的中心思維是：如果球隊需要進攻，Theo會叫Scott
Harris（棒球營運部專員）開始嗑吐司。當Harris開始吃碳水化合物的時候，小熊隊就能
得分。有一場比賽，白襪隊將他們打線封鎖到無安打的狀態，Theo從經過的點心餐車上取
下一整條巧克力蛋糕，Harris吃下超過半條，結果小熊贏球了。

"Harris," Theo says, taking a bag of bread and throwing it to Scott, knowing
that the Cubs always need hot bats against the Cardinals. "Just start eating."

"Harris," Theo知道對上紅雀的時候需要打線火燙一些，取了一袋麵包丟給Scott，說，
”開始吃吧！”

Harris breaks a piece in half, to help choke it down.

Harris將麵包掰成一小塊，方便吞嚥。

"It's even more stale," he says.

“這樣味道變得更怪了” Harris說。

"Good," Theo says.

“沒關係，你做得很好” Theo回應。

The game goes well for seven innings, and then the bullpen starts to
collapse. Nobody wants to verbalize what each of them knows: The Cubs have a
3-in-4 chance of not winning the World Series. Any serious problems in the
pen and that number starts to climb. "It's such a fine line," Theo says, his
hands laced behind his head.

一直到七局的時候，情勢都是不錯的。接著，牛棚開始崩盤。不需要明說，大家都知道：
小熊有3/4的機率不能贏得世界大賽。任何一個牛棚裡的嚴重問題都會讓沒法奪冠的機率
增高。”這是個再脆弱不過的平衡。” Theo說，他的手環抱在頭的後方。

Epstein starts muttering curses. He hands Harris the bread again.

Epstein開始低聲咒罵。他又丟給Harris一塊麵包。

"All right, Harris," he says. "Consume."

“好吧，Harris”他說，”吃吧”

The Cubs lose the lead and the game, and the next day, all the same people
are back in the same place to watch once more. Theo's still making Harris eat
bread, a fresh loaf this time at least. The Cubs are leading in the top of
the seventh when the game, and the mood in Suite 33, starts to turn. The
speed with which the atmosphere becomes tense is astonishing. Theo is talking
about one of the club's weaknesses, which is starting pitching health. John
Lackey, the starter, looks exhausted, and with one out, a Cardinals batter
hits a line-drive screamer directly at the third baseman for the second out.
Theo turns and makes eye contact with Shiraz: It's time for Lackey to come
out. Joe Maddon keeps him in the game, though, and on the next batter, Lackey
leaves with a stiff shoulder. Theo is beside himself.

小熊丟掉領先並且輸掉那場比賽，隔日，所有人又回到老位子又看了一場比賽。Theo依舊
叫Harris吃下麵包，但這一次至少麵包是新鮮的。小熊在七局上半還保有領先，而此時比
賽與包廂裡成員的心情，開始扭轉。氣氛轉為緊張的速度快得令人驚訝，Theo開始談起球
隊其中一個弱點，就是先發投手的健康。John Lackey，看起來已經體力耗盡，一出局後
，一個紅雀打者把球打向邊線，直朝三壘手而去，形成兩出局。Theo轉頭，與Shiraz對看
一眼：是時候把Lackey換下場了。但教頭Joe Maddon繼續把Lackey放在場上，結果，面對
下一位打者的時候，肩膀就出現問題。Theo簡直氣瘋了。

"Told you so," he says. "Fuckin' A. You just asked me what our Achilles' heel
was."

“早跟你說吧，”他說，” 王八蛋，你剛不是才問過我球隊最大弱點在哪。"

Everyone gets quiet. People avoid Theo. Shiraz and Harris move outside to the
balcony, while Epstein takes an iPad and pulls up the Cubs' internal website,
called Ivy, where every piece of conceivable information is stored. Theo
starts watching all the pitches thrown by relievers, and when he's not doing
that, he's sending text messages to Hoyer, who is out of town. For a while,
Theo just stares out at the field. Nobody says anything to him.

在場所有人都安靜了，大家開始閃避Theo。Shiraz與Harris跑到外面陽台，Epstein拿起
一台iPad，連結到小熊內部網路（網路命名為Ivy），所有的機密資料都存在那。Theo開
始觀看每個後援投手投出的每一球，當他不再看的時候，他傳簡訊給不在城裡的Hoyer。
一陣子後，Theo瞪著球場，沒人敢跟他說話。


He's smoldering.

他怒火中燒。

Hector Rondon eventually enters the game, then allows two baserunners.

Hector Rondon終於走上投手丘，接著讓兩名打者上壘。

The next batter hits a three-run homer, and the Cardinals are now ahead.

下一個打者擊出三分打點全壘打，紅雀現在超前了。

"Fuck!" Epstein yells.

“幹！” Epstein大叫。

"Should have seen that coming," he says, quieter and dejected. It's more than
he can watch. He leaves the suite and walks out into the concourse alone, and
when he comes back, he looks up at the television, which shows a replay of an
Olympic gymnast on the vault landing flat on her ass.

“早該料到，”他說，語調降低，垂頭喪氣的。這場比賽只能看到這裡了。他離開包廂，
一個人走上街。當他回來的時候，他向上看著電視，正在重播一個奧運體操選手從鞍馬落
下，屁股直接著地的畫面。

"This is what our pen is doing," he says, pointing at the screen.

“這就是我們牛棚的慘樣，”他說，邊說邊比著螢幕。

Epstein sprawls out on the couch against the back wall of the suite. Everyone
is on a phone or computer, while Theo and Jed text back and forth. The game
finally ends, a second straight loss to the Cardinals, and Theo is silent for
about five seconds, looking out at the field. "Five days ago," he says to his
guys, "we had our pen how we wanted it. Locked-down playoff pen. Now it's
chaos. It's unbelievable. I'd never felt better five days ago."

Epstein癱坐在沙發上，背對著包廂後方的那道牆。其他人都忙著操作手機或是電腦，
Theo正跟Jed訊息往返著。比賽終於結束，對上紅雀二連敗，Theo沉默五秒過後，看著球
場。”五天前，”他對大家說，”我們還有理想的牛棚。能夠封鎖比分的季後賽牛棚。現
在大亂了。真令人難以置信，沒甚麼比五天前的感覺更棒了。”


Harris has the thousand-yard stare, sitting in one of the leather chairs, his
foot up on a stool. Theo sighs. The baseball ops guys gather around to talk
options. "In three weeks, we'll look up and it will all be better," Theo
tells them wishfully, "but it's hard to navigate."

Harris眼神呆滯凝視前方，坐在其中一張皮革椅子，把腳跨在小凳子上。Theo嘆氣。這些
行政人員們聚在一起，討論對策。”三個禮拜後，我們一定會好起來的，所有事情都會好
轉。"Theo如此渴望地告訴大家，”但現在出路顯得再難找不過。”



IN AUGUST, TO celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, Marie wants to take a
trip. Theo suggests Pearl Jam at Fenway. She suggests Greece.

八月，為了慶祝結婚十週年，Marie希望能有趟旅行，Theo提議參加芬威球場的Pearl Jam
演唱會。Marie則希望去希臘。

They compromise and go to Greece.

他們達成共識，出發往希臘。

The team flies west to Oakland, and Theo and Marie east to Santorini, where
they and two other couples take a boat ride through clear blue waters. Being
away leaves him feeling a little unsettled, but he would have felt more
guilty telling her no. He's trying to reach for something like balance.

球隊往西飛去到奧克蘭，Theo和Marie則是往東到Santorini，他們與其他兩隊伴侶一同搭
船，經由渡過藍色的海洋到達。沒和球隊一塊行動，讓他的心裡有些不踏實，但他如果說
不去的話，將會感到更加的罪惡。他正試著找尋得到某些"東西"，例如生活中的平衡。

One of the other guys and Theo climb on some of those orange sulfur rocks
where people write messages. His fellow traveler scribbles "Go Buffalo
Bills!" Theo goes next, trying not to fall. Over about 15 minutes, he neatly
carves the initials of his wife and his two boys. Days later, he returns to
the grind, and Marie goes back to waiting on him to find whatever it is he's
looking for, some feeling that always seems just out of reach. The days are
long in a pennant race. Some nights, when he's finally home, he falls asleep
and dreams of the Cubs winning the World Series. His dream always ends during
the parade. It never fails. He wakes up before he discovers what might happen
next, on the first day of the rest of his life.

同行成員與Theo爬上一個橘色的礁石，上頭寫著人們留下的訊息。他的同伴寫著”加油比
爾隊加油” Theo則是下一個，試著不讓自己摔落。約莫十五分鐘後，他俐落地刻上太太
與兩個兒子的名字字首縮寫。幾天過後，他回到現實中的掙扎與苦難狀態，Marie同樣只
能在旁繼續等候，等候他找到他希望追尋的，那個不知是何物的東西。追求冠軍金盃的道
路上，日子顯得特別漫長。幾個夜晚，當他回到家的時候，他睡下，並且夢到小熊贏得世
界大賽。他的夢境總是結束在奪冠後的遊行，未曾有異過。他總是在探索人生將如何進展
前醒來，夢境裡，奪冠遊行的那天，是他將人生重建後的第一天。


(全文完)



--
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※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/MLB/M.1480669172.A.5D4.html
推 becseger: 謝謝翻譯！
推 Ktime: THX
推 sonnyissonny: 挖 他是那種初心並不會被鎂光燈給迷昏頭的那種人
推 sony1256: 管理球隊的壓力真是難以想像 尤其是這二隻
推 Roshiel: 謝翻譯，帥哥經理推
推 Unleashed: 推
推 zyx12320: 推
推 scheiss: 有人酸他能破魔咒是因為球隊老闆有錢 但沒人知道要扛這
→ scheiss: 種豪門球隊的艱辛
推 Roshiel: 紅襪、小熊有錢很多年了，能破魔咒主要還是靠FO的手腕
→ Roshiel: 棒球不是砸錢就可以砸出冠軍的，這種酸民也不多啊
推 triff: 老闆有錢又敢給預算，那為何道奇快30年還沒冠軍？
推 bkm1: 推翻譯 酸有錢老闆就能奪冠的 那小熊+紅襪快200年沒冠軍是?
推 hikaruton: 好文推
推 kenkenken31: 砸錢就能贏這話是嘲笑道奇吧~
推 triff: 紅襪以前預算很少的，以前才25M過
推 anfernee0520: 推，紅襪小熊這種等級的球隊GM真的不是正常人能幹
→ anfernee0520: 的
推 Asucks: 把Chapman盤來是小熊今年最重要且成功的決定
推 iamwaits: 感謝翻譯
推 Roshiel: 今年小熊很多決策都很神奇啊，彷彿有水晶球一般
→ Roshiel: 我覺得最經典的就是春訓前幾天簽花兒，當時還想外野太擠
→ Roshiel: ，結果第三場史瓦伯就整季報銷。火球也是，簽之後軟豆，S
→ Roshiel: trop就相繼受傷
推 newest: 而且史瓦伯還在世界大賽復出  打得超好  根本奇蹟
推 bkm1: 七月初 有專心跟小熊比賽的 就知道Rondon不行了 當時就預估
→ bkm1: 會盤到洋基其中一個來 本來預估會出到MLB ready的年輕人
→ bkm1: 想不到一個都沒出到 即使出了Torres 對小熊影響也還好
→ bkm1: 至於 Rondon成績明明很好看 但為什麼不行? 1.守不住一分差
推 hikaruton: 疲勞造成球威下降是比較容易的解釋
→ hikaruton: 整季的疲勞
推 kevin7038: 剛好去看到theo爆氣那場，那天投手調度真的超怪...
推 cppppppaul: 記得Rondon那時候是三頭肌受傷，回來之後球速還在可是
→ cppppppaul: 都往中間跑，command變很差
推 rn940111: 已m !
推 c871111116: 最好笑是當初出Torres拿到Chapman
→ c871111116: 還有人質疑幹嘛不連史瓦伯都賣XDDDDDD
推 kenny781558: 大推翻譯 辛苦了!
推 Rayshief: 讚
推 scheiss: 我沒什麼關注小熊農場 但看到Torres的守位就了解了
推 kosh: 推翻譯 好文