[新聞] What a ride it's been for Giese

[leddy (耿秋)]

這是個很賺人熱淚的電影劇本 (連贊助商都幫你找好了)

Giese曾有過的完全不同的駕車經驗
(看完本電影你的感觸會更深)

by Mark Herrmann, June 9, 2008

    有沒有跟這個人買過二手車呢? 假如你有過的話，那你真的是好運當頭了。

    就一個銷售員而言，Dan Giese總是太會為客戶著想。結果他不只沒法賣二手車，連
賣新的Honda的車也遇到了瓶頸。

    Giese表示: "我就是個不適合當銷售員的人。因為如果賣了一輛車，可以讓從客戶
那裡賺了不少，或是客戶跟我年紀差不多的話，我就沒法談成這個交易。因為我的個性
不喜歡占人便宜。"
　
    底線就是: 他就是不要去利用別人。但是利用機會可是不一樣，即使這機會並不只
是因為恰巧被他遇上了，但他絕不會輕易放過。

    他真得是興奮極了。昨天在洋基球場他喜悅的樣子，看起來就像飛到難以置信的雲端
裡頭一樣。他有三年是很沮喪地離開球場(很短暫地進到了汽車產業)，在31歲的今年他贏
得了生涯大聯盟的首勝。

    我可以跟你打賭全場54,213位觀眾比較有興趣的是，Chamberlain大聯盟二度的先
發狀況進步更大，更足以成為輪值裡的先發投手。但是比賽結束後，Giese拿到了當日出
賽球員的名單當作紀念。Giese在接受了Reggie Jackson給他的握手祝賀後，洋基隊也告
訴他會將這場比賽的球放在一個精美的小展示盒後再送給他。

    這不需要一位銷售員讓我們買下這樣的故事(就很有賣點了)。就算你會覺得，這個
故事的作者在寫Chamberlain由第八局的中繼轉變為先發的過程，故事情節寫得還不夠精
采動人。但是我不得不承認，這個故事寫得相當引起人的興趣。讓我們也了一些話題可
以去談論。昨天的比賽裡，主角其實是Giese。

    Chamberlain在昨天的比賽最終仍算是位中繼投手，他投了4又1/3局表現算是馬馬虎
虎(他讓球隊1分落後給皇家隊，而皇家隊是大聯盟裡戰蹟最差的幾個球隊之一)，也讓這
一天變成了Giese職業生涯中最美好的一天。

    無論往後他的棒球生涯還會發生什麼事，任何的經驗都比不上這一天Giese坐在洋基
隊的板凳區，緊張地看著Mariano Rivera為他保住了大聯盟生涯的首勝。

    Giese表示: "那看起來就像是迪士尼的故事情節。假如我是在電影裡看到這情節，我
會說: '哦，這分明就是電影裡才有可能發生這樣事情。' 簡真就像在作夢一樣。"

    不錯，財大氣粗的球隊就像在廢棄物回收區裡撿到了像Giese這樣的投手，然後給了
他昨天這樣機會上場投球 － 他卻投出了2又2/3局無失分，無安打的表現，只有一位跑者
因不死三振的暴投上到二壘。或許也表示洋基隊終究已經不再季初像是個龐大、笨重和平
凡的球隊了。

    Giese能有這樣的機會要感謝Chamberlain。Chamberlain仍在小心照護下只能投少量
的球數，所以洋基隊需要一個可以投長局數的投手。但是Chamberlain表示: "這是因為
Giese所作的讓他得到這樣的機會。功榮是全部屬於他的，因為Giese表現出了在小聯盟投
球的特色，就是上到場上投出好球。"

    Giese在賽前投球時知道他必須要有當先發投手那樣投長局數的體認，因為當
Chamberlain達到投球限制時他就必須上場投球，他表示: "老實說，球隊告訴我的事，就
是我必須在Chamberlain下場後，上場去投先發投手需要的局數。"

    就像Chamberlain一樣，這個球季Giese也從後援投手轉任為先發投手。Giese也體會到
他在小聯盟轉任先發，和Chamberlain洋基球場轉任先發差別可是天差地遠。

    此外，如果Giese以他個人故事的腳本的話，他不可能是個比Chamberlain更特出的人
。Chamberlain非常受到大家的注意，Giese卻引不起大家特別的注意。Chamberlain是個球
速超快的火球投球(Giese表示: "他是Nolan Ryan那種類型的投手")，Giese則是狀況好的
時候球速才會高到90英哩。Chamberlain的未來是在受到細心的規劃和保護之下，而Giese
卻曾在28歲那年放棄了未來的棒球生涯。

    2005年在他生涯第三個球隊裡，他感受不到任何可以上到大聯盟的機會。而他懷孕的
太太又恰好碰上了一場小車禍，Giese忍受不住決定退出棒球圈。他決定到聖地牙哥大學念
完商學學位，但他還需要付貸款，一位家中的好友是賓士(Mercedes)的經銷商同意雇用他
到本田汽車工作幾個月。

    Giese昨天表示: "那是我一生中碰上最慘的工作，但也對我的未來有了很大的啟發，
因為這工作讓我想清楚我還是適合回來打棒球。"

    在他太太的祝福之下，他回到了費城人的球團，終於在上個球季在巨人隊裡首度上到
了大聯盟。他期盼自己能讓洋基隊留下足夠的好印象，即使在Chamberlain不需要球僮時，
洋基隊還願意將他留下。但是讓他為未來的巨星作一陣子的後援不會是什麼壞事，因為兩
人的投球形態一快一慢恰好成為對比。

    Chamberlain表示: "這樣一前一後實在是很棒的組合。"

    如果沒別的事的話，這故事最後可以用美好的一天作結束。完美的結局可以看到Giese
不再需要整理兩輛家裡的交通工具回到小聯盟去。

    沒錯，就像電影情節裡的一樣他和他太太兩人都開Honda的汽車，這位已不再是位銷售
員的投手表示:

　　"他們公司製造的車子的確很不錯。"

(後面的謝幕是，本電影由本田汽車獨家贊助)




What a ride it's been for Giese

Mark Herrmann
June 9, 2008

Would you buy a used car from this man? Only if you were lucky, it turns out.

As a salesman, Dan Giese was too much on the customer's side. And he wasn't
even selling used cars, but new Hondas. Still, it was no go.

"I'm just not a salesman," he said. "If it was a good deal on my part, and if
the person was my age, I just couldn't do it. It wasn't my personality."

Bottom line: He simply could not take advantage of people. Taking advantage
of an opportunity is something else altogether, though, and he is more than
happy to do that.

More than happy, really. He was in the I-can't-believe-this ecstatic cloud
yesterday at Yankee Stadium. At 31, three years removed from a brief,
discouraged retirement (and foray into the auto industry), he notched his
first big-league win.

You can bet all 54,213 were much more interested in Joba Chamberlain's second
start in the big, bold move to make him part of the Yankees' rotation. But by
the end of the day, it was Giese who had the souvenir lineup card, Giese who
was accepting a handshake from Reggie Jackson, Giese who was told the Yankees
were going to give him the game ball once they built a nice little display
case for it.

No need for a salesman to get us to buy into this story. Granted, this
scribbler has been skeptical about this whole Chamberlain project - the
Yankees trying to switch him from a dominant eighth-inning reliever to a
starting pitcher on the fly. But I have to admit, it sure is interesting. It
gives us something to talk about. Yesterday, it gave us Giese.

Chamberlain essentially was a setup man again yesterday, pitching 4 1/3 so-so
innings (leaving his team a run behind the Royals, one of the worst clubs in
the majors) and setting up Giese for the best day of his professional life.

No matter what happens the rest of his career, no one ever can take away
Giese's thrill of sitting on the Yankees' bench and watching Mariano Rivera
save his first win.

"It seems like it's something out of Disney," Giese said. "If I saw it in a
movie, I'd say, 'Oh, this is obviously just a movie.' I wouldn't believe it."

Good, resourceful clubs do things like sorting through the scrap heap for a
pitcher like Giese and getting a day like yesterday out of him - 2 2/3
scoreless, hitless innings in which the only baserunner reached on a wild
pitch on a strikeout. Maybe the Yankees aren't just a big, lumbering,
mediocre team after all.

Giese has this opportunity only because of Chamberlain. The Yankees needed
someone capable of going long while Chamberlain is on his baby-step pitch
count. But Chamberlain said, "He's got an opportunity because of what he's
done. The credit all goes to him, doing the things he did in the minor
leagues, coming up and throwing strikes."

"Honestly, the way I've been taking it is I'm going to start after Joba,"
said Giese, who has the starter's certainty of knowing when he's going to
throw - in his case, it's after Chamberlain has reached his prescribed limit.

Like Chamberlain, Giese made the transition from reliever to starter this
year. The latter acknowledged that doing it in the minors is a world removed
from doing it at Yankee Stadium.

Besides, he could not be more different from Chamberlain if he wrote his own
script. Chamberlain is immensely celebrated, Giese is obscure. Chamberlain is
a flamethrower ("He's a Nolan Ryan-type pitcher," Giese said), Giese tops out
at 90 on a good day. Chamberlain's future is being carefully planned and
protected, Giese gave up on his own future at 28.

He was in his third organization in 2005, not sensing a sniff at the majors.
His pregnant wife had just endured a fender-bender and Giese simply was fed
up. He decided to finish his business degree from the University of San
Diego, but he still needed to pay the mortgage, so a family friend with a
Mercedes dealership promised to hire him if he worked a few months at Honda.

"It was the worst job in my life," Giese said yesterday. "It was enlightening
because it really made me want to go back and play baseball."

With his wife's blessing, he returned to the Phillies' organization and
ultimately made his big-league debut with the Giants last season. He's hoping
to impress the Yankees enough to stick around even after Chamberlain no
longer needs a caddie. But it wouldn't be terrible to have him relieve the
star-in-the-making for a while, what with the contrast in styles.

"It's a great combination, back and forth," Chamberlain said.

If nothing else, it made for one great day. A great ending would see Giese
never having to pack up the two family vehicles for the minors.

Yes, he and his wife both drive Hondas.

"They're good cars," the non-salesman said.

more in /sports/baseball/yankees

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推 iluy:拍吧拍吧 反正Honda會贊助 (逃
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※ 編輯: leddy           來自: 220.132.198.21       (06/10 17:18)
推 TomCourtenay:我哭了T_T
推 asonge0000:婊很大XD
推 Minamii:浪人投手的心酸
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