[新聞][翻譯][代PO] Red Sox dynamic as front …

看板RedSox作者MedicJue (Let's go Marlins)時間16年前 (2007/09/20 23:31)推噓9(9推 0噓 2→)

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代替文章發表不到20篇的aspili3031板友PO文囧> ======================================================================= 09/18/2007 10:00 AM ET Red Sox dynamic as frontrunners AL East leaders since April cruising toward postseason By Ian Browne / MLB.com 強悍的紅襪隊：從開季至現在即將邁向季後賽，皆盤踞在美聯東區龍頭老大的位置 BOSTON -- They've never given themselves the thrill of a chase, these 2007 Boston Red Sox. Instead, they came out fast and furious and put the pressure on everyone else almost from the time the season started. Between the Opening Day loss in Kansas City on April 2 and the April 17 defeat at Toronto, the Red Sox fluctuated between first and fourth place. 今年的紅襪隊從不曾讓自己處於追逐者的狀態下，反而是從開季就穩定地讓其他隊倍感壓力。從開幕戰敗給堪薩斯皇家到4/17擊敗多倫多藍鳥的這段期間，他們在分組第一到第四名之間來回穿梭。 Then, with a seemingly innocuous win over the Blue Jays on April 18, the Red Sox did something significant. They moved back into first place, seemingly for good. Backed by a new ace in Josh Beckett, a dominant closer in Jonathan Papelbon and an offense that is more timely than explosive, the Red Sox are looking primed to make this season almost a wire-to-wire job. 接著，在4/18擊敗藍鳥後那場比賽後回到分組第一的寶座後，他們看起來似乎會繼續地強悍下去。在新王牌北極、超威終結者寶貝碰與適時一擊的打線加持下，紅襪隊期待著能夠將分區第一視為理所當然的目標。 Assuming that the Red Sox don't squander the comfortable lead they still held in the American League East as of Tuesday, they will finish out the regular season as possessors of first place for the final 166 days of the season. 假如紅襪不要玩掉領先優勢，他們將會在本季例行賽霸佔166天之久。 Instead of trying to catch the Yankees, the Red Sox this year found out what it was like to be the team everyone else is aiming for. That came with its own challenges, particularly living up to expectations and avoiding the infamy that previous Red Sox teams -- such as the 1978 squad -- had to endure. 今年的紅襪隊發現大家的目標不再只是跟過去幾年一樣追著洋基跑，而是自我的挑戰，達成紅襪球迷的期待(分區冠軍)，不再犯下與1978年相同的錯誤。 All year long, however, the Red Sox seemed to remain oblivious to all the subplots, focusing on the task at hand. Manager Terry Francona's most common statement to reporters looking for a big picture quote has been, "We're just trying to win today." That attitude permeated through the clubhouse and has kept the team focused over a long season that included the inevitable ups and downs, despite the team's steady hold on first place. "We have to focus on continuing to play good baseball," catcher Jason Varitek said after an important win over the Yankees in Saturday. "It doesn't matter what the circumstances are. We've got to focus on our team, not what's going on [with the Yankees]." 這一整年，紅襪看起來是除了拼個冠軍什麼都不管了，總仔粉科南每次都跟記者朋友們說 "我們今天只不過試著要贏"這句老梗。不過這個老套的話卻是紅襪隊今年貫徹始終的信念，儘管比賽有輸有贏但仍不影響他們穩定地坐在美東老大的位置。鐵捕隊長在一場擊敗洋基的賽後說"不論情況如何，我們專注於打好每一場比賽、專注於『我們』：波士頓紅襪隊，而不是洋基他們又幹了什麼好事。" Busting out of the gate 馬不停蹄的外國新朋友 During Spring Training and through the first couple of weeks of the season, there was much hype over prized Japanese rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka, a man the Red Sox made a $103.1 million investment in, including the posting fee to the Seibu Lions. 在春訓及開賽的前兩週，所有的焦點都放在一位讓紅襪隊砸下大錢，包括轉隊費在內的一億美金，買來的大聯盟新人─松坂維尼身上。 And after the Red Sox split their first two games of the regular season against the Royals, the long-awaited debut of Matsuzaka took place on April 5 in Kansas City. Matsuzaka did not disappoint, striking out 10 and allowing one run in a splashy debut -- a 4-1 win over the Royals. 在4/5對上皇家隊的比賽，讓人期待已久的松坂維尼沒有讓大家失望，初登板便七局只失一分並送出了10張老K，順利拿下了勝投。 After closing their first road trip at 3-3 on a dramatic Sunday night save in Texas by Papelbon (1 2/3 innings, three strikeouts), the Red Sox opened Fenway Park. Again, the focus was squarely on Matsuzaka. Sure, it was Beckett pitching the first home game. But Matsuzaka would go a day later -- against no less than Ichiro Suzuki, a fellow Japanese icon. 在三勝三敗的客場之旅後，紅襪回到了芬威球場，即使芬威首戰由北極掛帥先發，但焦點仍都在維尼身上，這次的最大賣點是與日本打擊之神鈴木一朗的對決。 Beckett, who would soon be overshadowed by no one, opened Fenway in style, riding Boston's big bats to a 14-3 romp. Then, it was Matsuzaka's turn, and a light storm of camera flashes ensued when he made his first Fenway pitches to Ichiro. It's just that Matsuzaka wound up becoming a footnote by the end of the night, thanks to a truly dominant performance by Mariners ace Felix Hernandez. The kid one-hit the Red Sox, making Matsuzaka a 3-0 loser. 北極拿下了今年芬威首勝但是沒有人在乎，當維尼對一朗投出第一球時所有底片都被殺死了...不過在水手王牌國王一安打完封紅襪隊的鬼神表現後，維尼體驗到了當配角的滋味。 From there, the focus shifted away from Matsuzaka and back to the Red Sox themselves. And there was a lot to like. It was another Japanese pitcher -- lefty reliever Hideki Okajima -- who turned out to be the revelation of the spring. 在這之後，焦點很快就轉移回紅襪這支球隊，然後來到了另一名日本投手岡島秀樹身上，他將會是今年春天紅襪隊最大的驚喜!! The Yankees came to town on April 20, and the Red Sox -- decked out in green jerseys in honor of the late, great Celtics coach and general manager Red Auerbach -- produced a win as thrilling as any all season. Down 6-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Sox came all the way back, tying the game on a bases-clearing triple by Coco Crisp and going ahead for good on Alex Cora's RBI single through a drawn-in infield. With Papelbon unavailable -- Francona would be conservative with the righty all year long -- Okajima had his coming-out party, earning the save. He went on to become the American League Rookie of the Month in April. 4/20對洋基之戰，紅襪隊穿綠衣，並且在八局下絕地大反攻一舉逆轉領先，然而在當家終結者寶貝碰本日公休的情況下，岡島成功完成了終結者的工作，在這之後他又獲得了美聯本月最佳新人的殊榮。 The Red Sox, who tied a Major League record with four consecutive homers (by Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Varitek) in the Sunday night game, swept the Yankees. One weekend later, the Red Sox took two of three in the Bronx and had clearly made an early statement against their rivals. 在曼尼、絕地豬、賣肉、隊長的驚天動地連四轟的帶領下，紅襪在系列戰橫掃了洋基；一週後，又在洋基主場的三連戰中贏了兩場，儼然是在向他們的死對頭早早地宣戰。 But the Red Sox were getting it done against everyone. The Mother's Day miracle against the Orioles, a game in which the Sox rallied back from a 5-0 deficit in the ninth to win, 6-5, was a sign that a special season might be in progress. By May 29 -- backed by yet another gem from Beckett -- the 36-15 Red Sox led the AL East by 11 1/2 games and had a 14 1/2-game cushion over the Yankees. 不僅如此，紅襪對其他隊也一視同仁...母親節當天更是製造了奇蹟，九局下從0:5落後一舉大逆轉最後以6:5擊敗了金鶯。5月29日北極又一場的漂亮演出後，36勝15敗的紅襪領先分組第二名11場半，領先洋基更多答達14場半! What did this torrid run consist of? 而這些大量的得分又是從何而來的呢? "A little bit of everything," Francona said. "You need a lot of contributions from a lot of different areas. You need your bullpen to pitch well. Good baseball starts and ends with pitching -- not just starting pitching, but all pitching -- plus, some timely hitting, things like that." 粉科南說：很多啊，堅強的投手堅強的牛棚加上適時一擊，OK的。 With David Ortiz and Ramirez not coming up with their usual production, the offense was carried early by the gritty corner combo of third-baseman Lowell and Kevin Youkilis at first. 在老爹和曼尼兩大門神今年都沒發揮出正常水準的情況下，球季初的攻擊火力都集中在三壘手賣肉以及一壘手光頭身上。 Midseason lull 中場休息 When the Yankees came back to Fenway on June 1, there was talk about the Red Sox putting away their rivals. That's how good things were going for the Sox and how bad they were going for the Yankees. But the Yankees showed some character, taking two out of three and capping it when Alex Rodriguez took Papelbon deep for a game-winning homer in the ninth in the Sunday-night finale. The Yankees could have left town trailing the Red Sox by 16 1/2 games. But by winning the series, it was 12 1/2 games. What the Yankees did was give themselves at least a glimmer of hope that there would be a race. 當六月一日洋基來到芬威球場時，大家都在想這次洋基又要慘了~~怎奈龍非池中物，三連戰中洋基贏了兩場，其中包括第三戰阿肉從寶貝碰的手中敲出致勝全壘打，洋基又找回了一線生機。 But the Red Sox weren't concerned. Instead, they were tired. Immediately after the Sunday-night loss was complete, the Sox packed up and went to Oakland, where they were playing a game 24 hours later. A weary team lost that first game in Oakland, but did so with guts. The final score was Oakland 5, Boston 4, in 11 innings. But principal owner John W. Henry was so inspired by the team's ability to keep fighting despite the tough travel schedule that he sent a text message to Francona during the late innings of the game. Some of the sting of the loss was taken away when Francona walked into his office after the game and received the classy gesture from the owner. 然而紅襪隊並沒有因此而不安，因為他們累了，被天生神力的阿肉打敗後來到了奧克蘭。雖然第一戰又輸了，粉科南賽後卻因為一通來自對方總仔的訊息而開心極了。 "He said, 'I don't know if we're going to win this game or not. But I've never been as proud of this team.' I remember thinking, 'Wow.' It was very nice," Francona recalled about two months later. However, Henry's warm message did not stop the Red Sox from proving vulnerable for the first time all year. They lost the first three games of a four-game set in Oakland and then turned their lonely eyes to Curt Schilling in the finale, which came on a Thursday afternoon. 運動家教頭說輸贏不是重點，但他認為舟車勞頓的紅襪隊還能纏鬥到11局實在令人佩服！不過說好話還是無法改善紅襪最近的窘境，對運動家的四連戰前三場都輸了，避免被橫掃的這項任務交給了席琳姐。 All Schilling did was come within one pitch of the first no-hitter of his career, only to lose it with two outs in the ninth on a single by Shannon Stewart. Still, the Red Sox needed every bit of Schilling's one-hit shutout to pull out the 1-0 win. 只差了一球席琳姐就能演出生涯第一場的無安打比賽，但卻在九局下兩人出局十被雪農史都華敲出了安打，雖然很可惜不過總算是幫紅襪止住了最近的連敗。 Just when it seemed Schilling had been taking gulps from the fountain of youth, he promptly broke down two starts later in Atlanta on June 18. Strikingly, Schilling's fastball was down to the mid 80s and the Braves let him know it, pounding him for 10 hits and six runs over 4 1/3 frames. It was the first time in 14 years Schilling had left a start without a strikeout. 看起來席琳姐好像找回了年輕時的身手，不過在跳過兩次先發後，6月18的比賽席琳姐的快速球只剩下80幾英哩，結果就是難堪地被勇士隊打爆，這是他14年來第一次先發沒有送出任何三振的比賽。 Not surprisingly, something was wrong with him. A shoulder injury forced Schilling to the shelf, and he would not return until Aug. 6. Matsuzaka (1.59 ERA in June) helped pick up the slack, while Beckett was having a breakout year. From May 31-July 31, the Red Sox played just two games above .500. Still, at the end of that stretch they led the division by seven games. 一定是有什麼問題，那就是他肩膀受傷了，預估要8月6日才能重回投手丘。不過好在還有六月一條龍的維尼和一直都很穩的北極撐著，紅襪在六月的戰績勉強超過五成，至六月底領先分區第二只剩下七場。 Getting their groove back In July 2006, general manager Theo Epstein decided there was no trade worth making, so he stood pat despite his team being in first place at the deadline. This year, with the talent in the farm system much deeper, Epstein rolled the dice and dealt left-hander Kason Gabbard and two Minor League outfielders (David Murphy and Engel Beltre) for Eric Gagne, the Texas Rangers' closer. With the Red Sox, Gagne became the setup man for Papelbon, and the move seemed to send a positive jolt through the clubhouse. 去年此時，帥哥總經理認為沒有值得做的生意；但今年不同了，今年紅襪農場裡的好物多了不少，生意好做多了，總經理用年輕左投和兩名看起來不怎麼樣的小聯盟外野手，換來曾經拿過賽揚獎的遊騎兵終結者剛爺。剛爺被安排在寶貝碰之前上場，這下紅襪的牛棚看起來似乎是天下無敵了。 Though Gagne struggled after his arrival and Okajima became worn down by the rigors of his first Major League season, the Red Sox started to get hot again a few weeks later. 雖然剛爺來到紅襪後一直上來放火，天天岡也有被操爆的跡象，紅襪卻再度地火熱了起來！ The sizzling Yankees had cut Boston's lead in the division to four games by Aug. 19. After that, the Red Sox won six out of seven, backed by an impressive four-game sweep in Chicago in which the offense erupted for 46 runs, scoring double digits in each game. 但是洋基隊燙斃了，8月19日追到只差紅襪四場！然而紅襪在那之後，七場比賽拿下了六場勝利，包括對白襪四場比賽一共灌了46分的芝加哥大屠殺。 "I don't know that I'm a big 'Wow' [person]," Francona said at the time. "Maybe at the end of the year. I'll tell you what though, we did a good job. I'll tell you what it is -- gratifying." 粉科男打嘴砲，反正他很爽。 The Chicago outburst gave the Red Sox an eight-game cushion heading into another Bronx showdown. The Yankees had just had a rough weekend in Detroit that included a rain-delayed extra-inning loss that ended at 3:30 a.m., and finished with a 16-0 loss. 被當成補品的芝加哥白襪讓紅襪的領先優勢又來到了八場，也是因為同一時間洋基隊被老虎咬了好幾口的因素。 Trailing the Sox by eight games entering the three-game series, conventional wisdom was that the Yankees had to sweep to keep their division-title hopes alive. That's precisely what they did, beating Boston's top three starters -- Matsuzaka, Beckett and Schilling -- in the process. 基襪三連戰又將展開，落後八場的洋基隊此時唯一的目標就是橫掃紅襪並且接連擊敗紅襪最強的三個先發投手：維尼、北極、席林姐。 But with the lead down to five games and Manny Ramirez out for the next few weeks with a strained right oblique, the Red Sox stayed at it. 被橫掃後，不僅勝場差回到了五場，紅襪當家四棒曼尼更因手傷必須得休養好幾週….. In fact, they were infused by the kids. Usually, September callups benefit rebuilding teams. In Boston's case, the top pitcher and position player from the farm system made big impacts on a team that had visions of playing deep into October. 接下來在幾個九月擴編升上大聯盟的小夥子們帶動下，紅襪隊將一鼓作氣殺進季後賽。 Right-hander Clay Buchholz gave Fenway the biggest thrill of the entire season by twirling a no-hitter against the Orioles on Sept. 1 in his second Major League start. 年輕右投手克雷八口子在他大聯盟生涯的第二場出賽便對金鶯隊投出了無安打比賽！ Jacoby Ellsbury? All he did was make things happen every time he played. Be it with his bat, his glove or his legs, Ellsbury sent a surge of excitement around the ballpark, not to mention his own clubhouse. 打跑守臉四拍子球員小帥哥為紅襪帶來了蓬勃的朝氣 The veterans -- in particular, Lowell -- were getting it done also, powering a comeback from an 8-1 deficit against the Devil Rays on Sept. 11. And just a couple of days after Ortiz had uttered, "This team isn't just about David and Manny", Big Papi willed his team to victory. 至於老將方面，賣肉今年亮眼的表現也是紅襪的一大功臣。老爹說：紅襪又不是只靠我跟曼尼(攤手) In the Sept. 12 game against Tampa Bay, Ortiz single-handedly pulled his team out of a 4-0 deficit by clubbing a three-run homer in the fourth and then a two-run walk-off blast in the bottom of the ninth. 9月12日對魔鬼魚之戰，老爹隻手遮天在0比4落後情形下先敲了一發三分砲，九局下再幹一發兩分再見彈。 Even without Ramirez, the Red Sox got hot, winning 10 of 14 games, capped by Beckett's masterpiece against the Yankees on Sept. 15. 即使曼尼不在，紅襪還是很火，最近14場贏了10場，包括9月15日北極封鎖了洋基。 Each time the 2007 Red Sox have been tested, they've responded. And with two weeks left in the regular season, the next big test figures to come in October, when the tradition-laden franchise plays postseason baseball for the fourth time in the past five years. 面對今年諸多的考驗，紅襪總是一次又一次地渡過了難關，然而下一個最大的考驗即將來臨，這支傳統勁旅將在最近五年中挑戰第四次的季後賽。 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 60.250.204.167 ※ 編輯: MedicJue 來自: 60.250.204.167 (09/20 23:32)

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