[新聞] NJStarLedger:Wang the best pitcher NY has to offer

[xiemark (aisinjuro)]

Wang the best pitcher New York has to offer
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
NEW YORK -- You want to know if he's starting to feel the excitement building
in the city.

You want to know if he senses the extra pressure about to fall on his young
shoulders, if he looks across the Yankees clubhouse and sees two $15 million
question marks in Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina.






You want to know if a 26-year-old in just his second season thinks about his
status as the only dominant starter for the two New York teams in a season
expected to end in a Subway Series.

You try to put all of those ideas into one question, and when you finally
finish, Chien-Ming Wang just flashes his goofy smile.

"No," he said. "Not really."

Is it the language barrier? Is it his naturally quiet and modest personality?
Is it, as one writer speculates, that Wang is so unfazed by everything that
happens around him, he actually is the first cyborg baseball player, a robot
created in a lab somewhere deep beneath George Steinbrenner's house?

Because trying to delve into the psyche of the most important starting pitcher
 in the city is like trying to figure out the plot in that new show "Six
Degrees." I had a 6-minute, 14-second interview with Wang yesterday before
his final postseason tuneup today, during which I uttered roughly 1,378 words
to his 43.

Will your role be different in this postseason, with Johnson nursing a sore
back and Mussina an injured thumb?

"No. I have to do the same thing."

Is there more pressure on you, since Joe Torre will almost certainly name you
the No. 1 starter?
"No." (Giggles.)

Is this an exciting time, knowing your second postseason is just a few days
from beginning?






"Yes. Very exciting."(Nods twice.)

You get the picture. And the language issue -- Wang is Taiwanese and chooses
not to use a translator -- is only part of it. His teammates say this is just
the way Wang is. He is always the same, whether he is facing a spring
training start in Tampa or the Red Sox at Fenway.

That personality should serve him well in the coming weeks. The city seems to
be ready to circle the dates for the Subway Series in black ink, to start
breaking out the footage of Roger Clemens throwing the broken bat at Mike
Piazza and get ready for extra traffic on the Triborough Bridge.

But glance at the starters for the two teams, and you'll see the N.Y vs. N.Y.
matchup is hardly a lock.

Johnson has a stiff back and eight straight division series losses, and Torre
said yesterday, "You don't know what you're going to get from him." Pedro
Martinez was in tears after a recent start and is no lock for Game 1. Mussina
has a sore thumb and one victory since July 30. Tom Glavine is 2-3 in his
past seven starts. El Duque is pitching well but approaching AARP
eligibility.

Steve Trachsel? Jaret Wright? Cory Lidle?

The closest thing to a sure thing is Wang, who, heading into this season, was
perhaps the least likely ace. He is making just $353,175, which is less than
Johnson and Mussina earn per start. But Torre will hand him the ball next
Tuesday or Wednesday, and not only because he lacks other options.

Wang is among the American League leaders in victories, with 18, and ERA, at
3.57. He picked up a loss in his only start in the division series against
Anaheim last fall but pitched well -- in fact, better than Mussina (a 5.40 ERA)
 and Johnson (shelled in that awful Game 3 start).

"There's a great responsibility that comes any time when you go out there on
the mound with the Yankees, and when the postseason comes, things heat up a
little bit, but I haven't seen any evidence of (him feeling the pressure),"
Torre said. "I don't see much anxiety in what he does."

Of course, Torre also added, "I don't know. I can't get that out of him. I
hope not."







What can you get out of Wang? For starters, he is unfailingly polite and
accommodating. He lives in a small apartment in Fort Lee. He loves the fact
he can go anywhere he wants in the city without anyone recognizing him, which
certainly is not the case in his home country.

"I like it," he said. "I can walk in the streets with no problem."

Has he ever been recognized?

"Never."

Not even his neighbors?

"Not even them."

How about his doorman?

"Don't have a doorman."

Okay. So much for the doorman angle. So you try another take on the pressure
question: Will people start to recognize him if he delivers next month, if he
proves himself as a dominant postseason pitcher who can lead this team deep
into October, maybe even to a Subway Series?

He thinks it over.

"No," he said. "It will stay the same."

Wang smiles again. We may never know what the Yankees ace is thinking, but
this much is clear: The Yankees have just five days to learn how to say "our
best hope" in Taiwanese.



Steve Politi appears regularly in The Star-Ledger. He may be reached at
[e-mail]

--
我的可愛女兒們
http://0rz.net/321AC

--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 61.57.134.215
※ 編輯: xiemark         來自: 61.57.134.215        (09/27 17:48)
推 chrislux:XD 還蠻有趣的文章 our best hope in Taiwanese
推 elderone:天啊，這作者的文筆也太High了吧。看完就是一整個爽。XD
推 vnra:XD
推 fizeau:Decent. He can be better :)
推 Romulus:原來王建民是無口機娘萌角！（被毆飛）
推 fizeau:he's actually a cyborg....XD
推 DK2s:無口機娘萌角 XDDD
推 Tomince:好像講食神XD 他高傲 但宅心仁厚...
推 fizeau:把小王形容成全紐約最重要的投手....
推 raiderho:cyborg.......XD
推 fizeau:比較吃虧的是王沒有對過大都會打線
→ fizeau:雙城運動家也是蠻久以前了
推 loloool:推cyborg..難道七龍珠蓋洛博士有做到40號嗎  XD
推 arslane:六分多鐘的採訪,記者說了1348個字,小王只回了43個字 XDDD
→ arslane:啊,記者是用了1378個字...投資報酬率真低 :P
推 cpur2001:連說話都字數都很精簡= =
推 micotosai:跪求翻譯0rz
推 qlz:王板16091
推 micotosai:呃...在王板看到了XD
推 fizeau:題外話今天Sabathia WHIP 0.5  !!!!沒有四壞球八局11次三振
→ fizeau:只能用dominant來形容
推 iambiaggi:看到神耶，拜一下好了...不過季後賽要打暴神才行
推 vnra:遇到洋基的殺神打線 也要暴嗎 XD
推 jww:沒有小王，torre還不知道從那裡找人吃這兩百多局，牛棚大概早
→ jww:就燒起來了吧
推 micotosai:對雙城跟綠帽至少還有贏....好險不會對上天使...囧
推 sickiam:對綠帽 3 勝 6 敗...有比較好嗎
推 nippleking:沒有小王說不定天天P要投到300局了
推 asdfzx:至少Wang比較不怕綠帽,要是Wang對上天使...抖抖...