[新聞] Change of pace ends Wang's bid

[dreamkid (dreamkid)]

來源：洋基官網新聞 http://0rz.tw/8b2Cd

05/05/2007 9:45 PM ET
Change of pace ends Wang's bid
Perfect game spoiled on righty's first changeup vs. Mariners
By Caleb Breakey / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- On Friday, the Yankees' spirits loomed low after a 15-11 loss to
the Mariners. But Chien-Ming Wang sat at his locker with a smile on his face
as he talked with a reporter. He must have known Saturday would be special --
maybe even perfect.
Jorge Posada felt the first tingles of perfection when a full-count pitch
whizzed by Raul Ibanez in the seventh inning. Wang had come back from a 3-0
count to strike Ibanez out. Before the big K, Yankees left fielder Hideki
Matsui chased down an Ichiro Suzuki deep fly ball toward the
left-center-field gap, robbing the Mariners center fielder of extra bases.
Something was up.

"I thought, 'There's something here,'" Posada said.

Whispers had long since begun floating through the crowd, through the press
box, through the concession stands -- everywhere but the Yankees' dugout.
There, Wang sat at the end of the bench. Alone.

Mariners utility man Willie Bloomquist started the game at third base to give
Adrian Beltre a rest. He said the momentum and atmosphere in Yankee Stadium
could be felt. Wang was on.

"A pitch looks like it's going to be down the heart of the plate, and then
there's late movement," Bloomquist said. "The ball gets in on you and jams
you."

The eighth inning came.

Hobbled by a sharp grounder taken off his left shin earlier in the game, Wang
faced Richie Sexson. The plunk to his shin wasn't as bad as it seemed,
though. Posada said it made Wang's sinker move more because he landed more
softly out of the windup.

Maybe so. Sexson hit a dribbler right back to Wang. One out.

Then Ben Broussard stepped to the plate. The Mariners backup first baseman
had appeared in only 10 games before this one. But in his 17th at-bat of the
season, Broussard crossed paths with shadows of Yankees past -- the masterful
perfect games turned in by David Cone (1998) and David Wells ('99).

Wang threw a fastball by Broussard, who didn't swing, didn't flinch. Strike
one. Posada thought Broussard might be trying to time Wang's fastball, so he
decided to call for a pitch he hadn't called to this point -- a changeup.

Posada said that Wang's changeups have been effective the entire season.
Besides, a slow pitch with movement would counter Broussard's attempt to zero
in on the right-hander's fastball.

Wang released the ball, and it traveled toward home plate. Like every pitch
in that inning, eyes followed each rotation that the ball and its red seams
made.

"I tried to throw it low," Wang said. "I got it higher."

It stayed up. It became a hitter's pitch. Posada couldn't get that call for a
changeup out of his mind -- not even as he stood at his locker after the
game.

"You never second-guess yourself," Posada said, "but after it happens, you
do."

Wang lost his bid for a perfect game as Broussard drove the 0-1 pitch into
the right-field stands. It came in front of a nationwide audience that leaned
close to its boxed televisions, computer monitors and flat-screens.

Wang's eyes followed the ball. He even walked a few steps toward right field.
He may have wanted to grab that ball out of some fan's hands and hit the
rewind button. But he stopped. Then he turned back toward the plate.

Five outs short of perfection, Wang surrendered a second hit to Jose Guillen
before getting out of the inning on a double-play grounder hit by Kenji
Johjima.

Wang walked to the dugout, the crowd erupted and pitching coach Ron Guidry
made his way over to Wang.

"If you're going to lose, think about losing on your best stuff," Guidry said
he told him, with a couple of pats on the neck.

Congratulations kept coming. The Yankees' 8-1 victory seemed over at that
point, as fans showed their appreciation to Wang.

Wang still has plenty of time to flirt with perfect games. He's just 27 years
old. And even though few fans and non-fans alike thought about it, Broussard
had himself a magical moment. He hit the ball, rounded the bases, ruined a
perfect game and had sentiments of his own.

"That's my first home run in Yankee Stadium," he said. "Pretty special."

--

      昂首闊步...   

              不留一絲遺憾......   

--
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◆ From: 59.112.40.96
※ 編輯: dreamkid        來自: 59.112.40.96         (05/06 12:07)
推 jeffzpo:最後一句好囧~
推 jimcarry1125:Damn you...
→ mmss33:輸那麼慘 給一點安慰賞也好 他不嗆一下焦點都在王那邊
→ mmss33:當然比賽中不可以給安慰賞
推 momorabbit:也是為了隊上的士氣吧 不能怪他
推 vzxx6jg6:Pretty special
推 Araiman:lucky arse
推 munemasa:bid 要怎麼翻？
推 dreamkid:企圖；試圖