[新聞] Yankees Rein in Expectations of Clemens

[richardcyl (more)]

Yankees Rein in Expectations of Clemens

By ALAN SCHWARZ
Published: May 8, 2007

The Yankees have gotten the headlines and the hope. They will have to wait
several weeks to see if the signing of Roger Clemens actually gets them
much-needed victories.

洋基隊上了許多媒體的頭條、也得到了希望。
他們將必須要等上幾週的時間來看看簽下克萊門斯是否真能為他們提供夠多的勝利。

As fans and the news media herald Rocket Re-Entry, the players who will
welcome Clemens around June 1 are taking a more pragmatic approach. They
realize that the pitcher whom they will call a teammate for four
regular-season months, two of the months at age 44 and two at 45, will
probably be different from the one whose likeness will hang in Cooperstown
five years after he really — no, really — retires.

當球迷和新聞媒體傳遞著火箭將再次升空的消息時，
那些即將要歡迎老克在6月1日左右歸隊的球員們正採取更務實的態度來面對這件事。
他們明白這個將要成為隊友的人實際上只會為他們出賽4個月，
有兩個月是44歲，另外兩個月則是45歲，
他也許會和那個一旦真正宣告退休、並且在退休五年後就入選古柏鎮名人堂的他不同了。

“Roger is very good, but somewhere between a No. 2 and No. 3 starter is more
likely what he’s capable of being,” starter Mike Mussina said before the
Yankees played the Mariners last night at Yankee Stadium. “Everyone has to
remember that he’s 44 going on 45. He’s not what he was the last time he
was here.”

「羅傑非常棒，但也許一個2號或3號先發會有的表現才比較可能是現在的他能夠做到的。」

Moose在昨晚洋基對水手的比賽前這麼說：

「每個人都必須要記得他已經44歲、即將滿45歲。他不是上一次在這個球隊上的他了。」

Clemens was not at Yankee Stadium yesterday, one day after announcing his
signing directly to his once-again home fans. He was nearby playing a charity
golf tournament in Edison, N.J.

老克昨天沒有出現在洋基球場，在他向主場球迷宣佈他要回到洋基隊的次日，
他在紐澤西參加一場慈善高球賽。

Clemens, who said yesterday that he did not know the details of his prorated
$28 million contract when his signing was announced, will not be a
full-fledged Yankee again until Memorial Day weekend or later. He will work
out at University of Kentucky facilities in Lexington, Ky., for about 10
days, to be near his son Koby, a third baseman for the Astros’ Class A
affiliate there. He will make several minor league starts, but General
Manager Brian Cashman said that they had yet to be scheduled.

老克昨天表示在宣告簽約前，他並不清楚他2800萬合約的細節，
而他在「陣亡將士紀念日」當週或之後才會正式回到大聯盟陣容。
他會花大約10天在肯塔基大學內練習，然後會進行幾場小聯盟的比賽，
但Cashman還沒有為火箭人設定時間表。

“If you think it’s about money, you’re greatly mistaken,” Clemens told
reporters at the golf tournament. “I’m not going to put my body through the
paces I put my body through to earn a few more dollars.”

「如果你認為是因為錢的關係，那你可就大錯特錯。」老克在高球賽上對記者說。

「我不會讓我自己打球的理由只是為了多賺些錢。」

When Clemens puts on the pinstripes after that, some might expect him to be
better than he was when he left New York after 2003. In his final two seasons
with the Yankees, he posted somewhat middling earned run averages of 4.35 and
3.91; in his last two seasons with the Houston Astros, his E.R.A.’s were
1.87 and 2.30, spectacular figures hinting that Clemens has somehow improved
while chugging into his mid-40s.

一些人期待老克這一回披上條紋衣可以表現地比他上一回在洋基隊的時候好。
他在洋基最後兩個球季的ERA是4.35和3.91，而在太空人最後兩個球季是1.87和2.30。
可怕的數字暗示老克在邁入40~50的中半段時，他還有所進步。

Several Yankees remained cautious yesterday. Although injuries have forced
Clemens to miss only a few starts the past few seasons — a pesky groin has
troubled him occasionally since his days with the Yankees — he has become a
five- or six-inning pitcher. Despite often breezing through National League
lineups, Clemens pitched into the seventh inning only six times in 19 starts
last season and has not thrown into an eighth inning since August 2005.

但有幾名洋基球員在昨天仍然保持謹慎的態度。
雖然傷痛讓老克在過去幾年只錯失過幾場先發，
這個麻煩的鼠蹊部傷勢在他還在洋基隊的時候就已經偶爾會讓他感到困擾了，
讓他已經變成一個只能投5或6局的投手。
雖然他後來都在國聯投球，但是他在上季19場先發中只有6次能投到第7局，
而且在2005年8月之後，他再也沒有在一場比賽中投到第8局過。

Manager Joe Torre will still need three or four innings from his increasingly
worn relievers to preserve the leads Clemens may bequeath.

Torre很有可能仍會需要他那些逐漸損耗的救援投手們貢獻3~4局，
來守住老克可能會留給他們的領先。

Andy Pettitte, a good friend who pitched with Clemens in New York and
Houston, said that Clemens’s command was perhaps the best of his career but
that his velocity had dropped.

小派，老克在洋基和太空人時一起投球的好友，
說火箭人的控球也許仍會有他生涯中最佳的水準，但是他的球速已經往下掉了。

According to Inside Edge, a statistical scouting service used by many major
league clubs, Clemens’s fastball has slowed to 91 miles an hour from about
93.5 m.p.h. five years ago. Inside Edge also reported that he was throwing
his slider less and his split-finger fastball more.

根據大聯盟球隊所使用的數據球探服務Inside Edge的資訊，
老克的快速球已經從五年前的93.5英哩降到現在的91英哩。
Inside Edge也報導他現在較少投他的滑球、而他的快速指叉球是越來越常見了。

“He pitches around lineups and through lineups better than anyone I’ve ever
seen,” Pettitte said. “I don’t think his mind’s gone any, so I think he’
ll still be able to do that.”

「他面對打者並解決打者的能力還是比我看過的任何人都還要好。」小派說。

「我不認為他已經忘記自己是怎麼做到的，
  所以我認為他還是可以做到他原本做到的事。」

On a day when Matt DeSalvo became the sixth Yankees rookie to take a turn in
the rotation this season, several Yankees said Clemens’s arrival would
provide important psychological benefits, beyond his pitching and the example
he sets for younger players.

在Matt DeSalvo成為洋基本季所啟用的第6位新人的這天，
幾位洋基人說老克的到來除了他投球的表現以及他對年輕人的所建立的樣本之外，
也許還會提供重要的心理效益。

“It removes the questions about whoever was going to be out there instead of
him,” Mussina said.

「這解決了我們除了他、還有誰可以上的疑問。」Moose說。

Cashman said: “He’s here to produce, he’s here to stabilize. And he’s
here to protect our farm system — I don’t have to trade anyone to get a
pitcher of his caliber.”

Cashman說：

「他在這裡可以為我們做一些事，也可以穩定大局。
  有他在這裡更可以保護我們的農場 -
  我不需要用任何人去交易到一個具有他那種才能的投手。」

There is little precedent for a pitcher of Clemens’s caliber to begin his
season this late voluntarily — beyond Clemens last year, of course, when he
made his first start for Houston on June 22. But the Yankees have no
intention of having Clemens pitch for only four months. They plan for five,
the last being the postseason in October.

歷史上幾乎沒有像具備老克這樣才能的投手以個人的意願這麼晚開始一個球季，
除了他本人。(他上一季首場先發是6月22日。)
但洋基隊可沒有意圖要讓老克只能投這四個月。他們計劃要讓老克投到10月的季後賽。

Older pitchers like Orlando Herna'ndez, David Wells and even Clemens himself
(during the 2005 World Series against the White Sox) have had age catch up
with them during the playoffs recently. Then again, they were on their
seventh month of pitching, while Clemens in 2007 would only be on his fifth.

老投手們像是Orlando Hernandez、David Wells、甚至於老克他自己
(他在2005年世界大賽對上白襪)，在近年的季後賽的表現顯然都被自己的年齡所追上。
對這些人而言，他們進入季後賽時已經是進入整個球季的第7個月，
然而對今年的老克而言，10月才是他個人球季的第5個月而已。

“Let’s not forget that he’s 44 years old,” Torre said, sounding his own
note of caution. “There’s only so many throws in that arm. But would you
rather have them in the first few months of the season or the last few?”

「我們別忘了他44歲了，」

Torre以他謹慎的口吻說：

「他的手臂就只能投這麼多球。
  但你會讓這些投球量在頭幾個月用完、還是在最後幾個月？」



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※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 61.229.8.147
※ 編輯: richardcyl      來自: 61.229.8.147         (05/09 02:14)
推 ioopoo:Torre還這麼說 他要讓天天P這輩子的投球量在這兩年用罄吧
推 PURELOVEGAE:老克竟然敢大言不慚說不是因為錢的關係XDDDD
推 htcheng:我也覺得不是錢的關係  他應該是想要在紀錄上保持領先
→ htcheng:三振上不要讓RJ趕上來  勝場上拉大與Maddux的距離
推 KakutougiFan:有看有推~
推 sylviehsiang:是為了讓十隻手指戴滿戒指吧 XD
推 yattin:如果真的是為了拉大勝場差  說實話麥狗的優勢會比較大
推 krara:不如就像CCLu大說的，享受當救世主、英雄的感覺。
推 Romulus:Moose又放話了，他每次放話都很中肯可是不錯有刺 XD
推 peterkan:小王怎麼沒講話？
推 GTWATER:小王講話就不小王了
推 hahadog:一直強調44歲了...
推 hiball:= = 要守住紀錄的確要趁體力還撐得住一點上來投個幾場
→ hiball:Maddux不知道會投到民國幾年 @.@
推 news2007:推穆帥