[新聞] Healthy Abreu Tries to Get Swing Back in Shape

[richardcyl (more)]

Healthy Abreu Tries to Get Swing Back in Shape

By TYLER KEPNER
Published: June 1, 2007

4月19日以前，Abreu在今年球季的起步相當不錯，當時Yankees勝場數還超過敗場數2場。
但在那之後，Abreu就消失了，人們幾乎不記得他在打擊區上有過任何建樹，
而Yankees也很巧地開始陷入墊底與否的掙扎。

                     04/19    04/19之後
Yankees

Won-Lost              8-6       14-23
Win %                0.571      0.378
Runs a game           6.5        4.8

Abreu

AVG                  0.345      0.180
HR                     1          1
Runs batted in        13          9
OBP                  0.406      0.272
Runs scored           13         19
Runs a game          0.93       0.51
Games without hit    3/14       17/37


It was a subtle but symbolic move at the end of a rout. With the Yankees
ahead by five runs in Toronto on Wednesday, Manager Joe Torre removed Johnny
Damon from the outfield and inserted Bobby Abreu. It was one 33-year-old
outfielder in a hitting slump replacing another in a physical slump.

一個微妙但卻有著象徵意義的舉動。
星期三，洋基隊以五分領先藍鳥隊的比賽中，Torre將中外野手Damon換下場，
並且把Abreu換上去守備。
一個33歲、正陷入打擊低潮的外野手上場去替代另一個正陷入傷痛困擾的外野手。

Abreu, who is hitting .228, did not start the game because Torre wanted to
give him a two-day mental break from his struggles. Damon smashed a leadoff
homer and later added his 2,000th career hit, but it is anybody’s guess how
his legs will feel tonight at Fenway Park.

目前只有0.228打擊率的Abreu在星期三並沒有先發，
因為Torre想要給他2天的時間，讓他在心情上可以從先前的掙扎中走出來。
Damon在當天首打席就擊出了全壘打，在稍後也打出了他生涯第2000支安打，
但每個人都在猜測他的腿在芬威面對紅襪隊的比賽時感覺會是如何。

“Just show up every day, and hopefully there’s some life behind the legs”
 Damon said.

「我只是每天都上場，並且希望可以暫時忘記腿部的不適。」Damon說。

Damon is batting .264 with three home runs and a .362 on-base percentage that
is slightly better last year’s. Yet he has been in and out of the lineup
since his calves cramped up on opening day, calling his durability into
question with more than two and a half seasons left on his four-year, $52
million contract.

Damon的打擊率是0.264，有3支全壘打，上壘率則是0.362，比去年稍微高一點。
然而他卻不能夠固定地先發出場打擊，因為在開幕戰當天他就小腿抽筋了，
這使得他在接下來2個球季半的耐操度變成一個問題。(一共是4年5200萬。)

Torre said he thought Damon could become a first baseman, if only because he
throws left-handed, adding that Damon’s years of all-out play had probably
worn down his body.

Torre說他認為Damon可以變成一個一壘手，因為他是個左撇子(牽制上比右撇子更佔優勢)
，他也說Damon會變成這樣可能是因為他常年以來在中外野使出奮不顧身的守備動作所累積
的結果。

“But I still think he can be an offensive force,” Torre said. “His health
has to be there for his ability to show. But I certainly think there’s a lot
of energy still left there.”

「但我仍然認為他具有攻擊能力。」Torre說。

「他的健康影響到他場上的表現，但我確信他還有能力。」

Abreu has not dealt with any physical problems since a spring training injury
to his rib cage. His good health makes his slide more perplexing.

而Abreu在春訓受傷後，就沒有身體健康上的問題。
那麼，他現在的狀態下滑就顯得令人更加困惑。

“You don’t all of a sudden not know how to hit, not at his age,” said the
Yankees’ third-base coach, Larry Bowa, who managed Abreu in Philadelphia. “
He’s not 40 years old. You don’t all of a sudden say, ‘God, I forgot how
to hit.’ But one thing about him, if you watch him when he hits a ground
ball, he’s running hard. He’s playing hard. He’s just not getting it done.
”
「你不會突然間就不知道如何打擊，這不是他這個年紀應該發生的事。」

曾在費城人隊帶過Abreu的洋基三壘跑壘指導教練Larry Bowa說：

「他不是40歲的人。你不會突然說：『噢，老天啊，我忘了該怎麼打擊。』
  但跟他有關的一件事情是，如果你看到他打出一個滾地球，
  他會很用力地跑壘。他打球是很拼命的。他現在只是打不好而已。」

When Abreu slumped in Philadelphia, Bowa said, he would break out within 10
days or so, and during that stretch he might draw 12 walks. The difference
now is that Abreu is not walking as often. He recently went a career-long 61
plate appearances without a walk.

當Abreu還在費城人隊打球並且陷入低潮時，Larry Bowa說，
Abreu大概在10天之內就可以重新調整過來。
而在他陷入低潮期間，他大概還可以拿到12個保送。
而現在不同的地方是，他並沒有那麼常被保送。
他最近61個打數沒有獲得保送，這也是他的生涯新高。

“I’ve never seen him swing at as many bad pitches as I’ve seen during this
period of time,” Bowa said. “I don’t know if he’s trying to force the
action. I mean, he still knows his strike zone, but now he starts expanding
it, which he’s never done.

「我以前從來沒有看過他像現在一樣，在這段期間內揮擊如此多的壞球。」

Larry Bowa說：

「我不知道他是否正試著要逼迫自己出棒去揮擊。
  我是說，他仍然知道他自己所設定的好球帶在哪裡，
  但是他現在也正開始擴大他的揮擊範圍，而他以前是不會這樣做的。」

“I’m down there at third and the count will be 2-0, and I’m saying to
myself, ‘Let it go, man.’ He takes that strike. I’m going to say
something, but I think right now everybody’s trying to give their input and
sometimes it’s an overload. He respects the coaches and he knows guys are
trying to help, but sometimes it’s too much.”

「我站在三壘指導區，看著球數將變成2好球沒有壞球，
  我在心中念著：『嘿，放掉它吧。』
  而他就逮中了那個球做揮擊。
  我想要上前去跟他講些什麼，但我想到現在每個人都試著想要奉獻自己的力量，
  而有時候，這是一種負擔。
  他尊敬教練，他也知道這些人想要幫助他，但有時候，這些事加起來就顯得太多了。」

Kevin Long, the hitting coach, said he had talked with Abreu about his stride
and urged him to let the ball travel deeper. But there is only so much he can
do. When Long asked last year’s hitting coach, Don Mattingly, about how to
approach Abreu, Mattingly essentially told him to simply trust that Abreu
would come around.

打擊教練Kevin Long說他曾經試著想要跟Abreu談談他的打擊進展並且力勸他要放過偏低
的球。但他也只能夠做到這麼多而已。
當Kevin Long詢問去年的打擊教練Don Mattingly該如何處理Abreu的低潮，
Don Mattingly只是跟他說，就是單單地相信Abreu可以自我調整過來。

“Your M.O. with him,” Long said, quoting Mattingly, “is that he’s going
to hit.”

「他會打出安打。」Long引用Don Mattingly的話說。

Abreu led the majors in walks last season, with 124, but this year he is tied
for third on the Yankees, with 24, and his on-base percentage is .313,
compared with .419 for the Yankees last season. Long said Abreu’s walks were
down because pitchers did not fear him as much and were throwing him more
strikes. Abreu disagreed.

Abreu去年的保送數是全大聯盟第一的124次，
但今年他獲得的保送數目一共24次，只是洋基隊裡面的第三名，
跟去年的上壘率0.419相比，他現在的上壘率只有0.313。
Long說Abreu的保送數下降是因為投手們並不再那麼懼怕他，並且對他投出更多的好球。
但Abreu不同意這一點。

“I’m just struggling,” he said. “I’ve been getting a lot of good pitches
to hit. I haven’t hit them well.”

「我只是陷入掙扎。」他說。

「我只是有很多好球可以打，而我沒有打好。」

Some players give the appearance of indifference, a tag that Torre said stuck
to his brother Frank, a first baseman in the 1950s, and sticks to Abreu now.
But it is a false label, said Torre, who believes that Abreu feels burdened
that he has let the team down.

有些球員以冷漠的外表面對眾人，這樣的標籤被人們貼在Torre的哥哥，
1950年代的一壘手Frank Torre身上，
而現在，這個標籤則被貼到Abreu身上。

但這並不是真的，Torre說，
他相信Abreu心中會感到沉重，
因為Abreu會覺得是他自己的關係而把球隊的戰績給拖下水了。

“When you don’t really hit and you’re losing, you feel bad,” Abreu said.
“You feel like you don’t do your part, you don’t contribute to get the
team wins, and you feel like you’re not helping at all. It’s awful to go
through.”

「當你不能真正擊出安打、並且輸球的時候，你會覺得很糟。」Abreu說。

「你會覺得你並沒有做到自己該做的事，你沒有貢獻力量讓球隊可以贏球，
  你感覺像是自己一點用都沒有。你會過得很不舒服。」

Abreu seemed to be a perfect fit in the Yankees’ lineup last season, another
patient hitter who stroked doubles even as his home run rate declined. Abreu
still rarely homers — he has hit only one in his last 177 at-bats — but he
has also hit only six doubles.

在去年，Abreu對洋基打線而言是很完美的一塊拼圖，
他是另一位非常具有耐心的打者，當他的全壘打率下降的時候，他仍會打出二壘打。
Abreu現在的全壘打率依舊不高，他在過去177個打數只出現1支全壘打，
但他現在也只擊出6支二壘安打而已。

Abreu has a $16 million option for next season that the Yankees seem unlikely
to exercise if his slump continues. Bowa said the uncertainty may be weighing
on Abreu.

Abreu在下個球季有一個1,600萬的選擇權，
如果他持續低潮，那洋基顯然就不可能會執行這個選擇權。

Bowa說下一個球季的不確定性可能影響了Abreu。

“I think he likes it here,” Bowa said. “That started it. I think he wanted
to impress people — ‘I want my option picked up’ and all that. Now it’s
snowballed and he’s probably thinking, ‘Now what?’ ”

「我想他很喜歡這裡。」Bowa說。

「這就是事情的開端。
  我想他會想讓人們加深印象─"我要我的選擇權被執行"，就是這麼簡單。
  現在這個心理像滾雪球般越滾越大，他可能也正在想：『好，現在怎樣？』」

Abreu said he had enough to worry about without thinking too far ahead. As
for Damon, with three elite center fielders on the free-agent market this
winter — Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones and Ichiro Suzuki — he knows the
Yankees will have options and the outfield could look different next season.

Abreu說他現在已經有夠多的事要煩，關於他的合約，他還沒有想得那麼遠。
至於Damon，今年冬天的自由球員市場上將有3位強力的中外野手，
他們分別是 Torii Hunter，Andruw Jones 和 Ichiro Suzuki。

Damon很清楚，
洋基隊將可能會有別的選擇、這也可能讓下一個球季的外野陣容看起來和現在不同。

“It could be,” said Damon, who has a limited no-trade clause. “That’s how
baseball is.”

「事情是可能會變成這樣。」合約中有限制交易條款的Damon說。

「這就是棒球。」

For now, Damon just wants his legs to feel strong all the time, because he
relies on them so much. He would like to break out his zany personality more
often, too.

而現在，Damon只想要讓他的腿一直都感覺到很強壯，因為他很仰賴他的腿。
他也可能會想要常常使出他那種小丑般耍寶般的性格。

“But it’s tough,” Damon said. “You can’t really goof around in the
clubhouse when your team’s not winning.”

「但這很難啦。」Damon說。

「當你的球隊沒有贏球時，你不可能還那麼呆地在休息室中搞笑吧。」



--
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◆ From: 61.229.1.196
推 eric2003002:阿布一開季很不錯的 低潮從avg.339一直掉....
推 iverboy:翻的真棒...推
※ 編輯: richardcyl      來自: 61.229.1.196         (06/01 22:38)
※ 編輯: richardcyl      來自: 61.229.1.196         (06/01 22:42)
推 niceta:Let's GO Bobby! I'm still rooting for you!
推 soaringfish:大推  翻的很棒~~
→ soaringfish:不過說不定Abreu被主審表過那一次之後更瘋狂揮了XD
→ soaringfish:(只是開玩笑...XD)