[新聞] Rodriguez the Yankee punchbag (FT.com)

看板A-Rod作者yadayada (小羊羹)時間18年前 (2006/04/26 03:46)推噓8(8推 0噓 0→)

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Rodriguez the Yankee punchbag (FT.com) By Mike Steinberger Published: April 21 2006 18:02 http://0rz.net/351i2 Why is Major League Baseball’s best player also its biggest punchbag? Alex Rodriguez must be looking in the mirror each morning and asking that very question. 為什麼MLB的最佳球員也是大家最大的出氣包呢？ A-Rod每天早上照鏡子的時候應該也在問這個問題吧． Rodriguez, who plays for the New York Yankees, has twice won the league’s Most Valuable Player award, in 2003 and again last year after a typically stellar season that saw him bat .321, hit 48 home runs and drive in 130 runs. He was twice awarded a Gold Glove for his defensive performance as shortstop for the Texas Rangers. 洋基隊的A-Rod，在2003年獲選為美聯最有價值球員(MVP)，也因為2005 年優異的打擊成績(打擊率三成二，48支全壘打，130分的打點)讓他再度獲選為MVP．除此之外，因為他在游擊區同樣優秀的防守表現，當他在德州游騎兵隊時還得到過兩次金手套獎． He switched to third base on joining the Yankees in 2004 and has since become arguably the finest player at that position. At 30, he is already considered a certainty for the Hall of Fame. 在2004年加入洋基隊之後他改換到三壘鎮守，也自此變成大家爭論中的最佳三壘手之一．雖然只有30歲，A-Rod已經是準名人堂的球員了． He is also considered by many baseball fans to be a choker and the angel of death for any team that employs him. That is because “A-Rod” is widely seen as a player who never fails to fail when a season is at stake. A-Rod也被球迷認為是所屬球隊的死亡天使(衰神)，因為他在重要的對決時刻沒有一次不敗下陣來． His career statistics suggest otherwise – in eight play-off series, he has a .305 batting average, six home runs and 16 runs batted in. However, he has yet to take a team to the World Series and he has been a disappointment in New York. In the semi-finals two years ago, he all but disappeared as the Yankees squandered a 3-0 lead over the Boston Red Sox, who went on to win the title. During New York’s first-round loss last year to the Los Angeles Angels, Rodriguez again failed to shine, collecting just two hits and not delivering a single run. 然而他的生涯統計數字卻和球迷的認知相反，在八次的季後賽中，A- Rod的平均打擊率有三成以上，有六支全壘打和16分的打點．可是他卻還沒能把他所屬的隊伍帶進世界大賽過，這讓紐約的球迷對他極其失望．在兩年前的四強賽中，洋基隊儘管有著前三戰全勝的優勢，但在A- Rod熄火以及其他種種因素下，最終還是輸給了後來封王的紅襪隊．在去年季後賽第一輪與天使隊對決時，A-rod的打擊又熄火了，僅僅擊出兩支安打且沒有任何打點． The early exit last year marked the fifth consecutive year that New York did not win a title, an unacceptable record for owner George Steinbrenner and millions of Yankee fans. Although Rodriguez was not a team member for three of those seasons, his poor performance against the Angels turned him into the scapegoat for five years of disappointment and the criticism has been merciless. 去年季後賽的失利已經是洋基隊連續五年沒能在世界大賽中封王，這對洋基老闆喬治史坦班納以及數百萬的洋基球迷來說是無法接受的一件事．雖然A-Rod是這兩年才加入洋基隊的，但是他對天使隊的貧打讓他變成了大家發洩五年來的怨氣的代罪羔羊，並招來毫無憐憫的批評． Some Yankee fans speak of a “Curse of the A-Rod”. After last year’s play-off debacle, one New York sportswriter suggested A-Rod be renamed A-Clod. Rodriguez has also been derided as “an expensive creampuff”. 部分洋基球迷甚至還有"A-Rod魔咒"一說．在去年季後賽崩盤之後，一名紐約的體育專欄作家甚至建議A-Rod改名為A-Clod(笨蛋)．A-Rod也被嘲笑為"最昂貴的奶油泡芙"． The reference to cost is telling. That is because as impressive as Rodriguez’ s on-field statistics are, he is best known for another set of numbers – his 10-year, $252m contract. 數字是會說話的，儘管A-Rod的成績大家有目共睹，但十年兩億五千兩百萬美金(約台幣八十三億)的合約卻是A-Rod最為人知的一組數字． He signed the record deal with the Texas Rangers in 2000 and the Yankees assumed most of the contract when they acquired him in 2004. He is the league ’s highest-paid player by a considerable margin, earning about $5m more a year than team-mate Derek Jeter, the next highest-paid, and the money has become a millstone. A-Rod是在2000年當他還在德州游騎兵時和洋基簽下了這個驚人的合約．他是MLB中身價最高的球員，一年比第二高薪的洋基隊長Derek Jeter 還多賺五百萬美金(約台幣一億六千五百萬)．這個天價也成了MLB史上薪資的一個里程碑． Asked what explains all the invective heaped on Rodriguez, Rick Cerrone, the team’s director of media relations, is frank. “It’s the contract,” he says. “It’s so far above anything we’ve seen that Alex is almost held to a different standard.” 在洋基的媒體公關主任Rick Cerrone被問到為什麼A-Rod會招來這麼多的謾罵時，他很坦白的說"是天價合約的關係，所以A-Rod也被用更高的標準來看待．" Tim McCarver, a former Major League player and now a broadcaster for Fox Sports, believes the issue is not so much the pressure others have put on Rodriguez as the pressure he puts on himself. “He admitted that he was trying too hard during his first season in New York,” says McCarver. “There are expectations when you sign with the Yankees and he admitted that he was trying to justify his salary.” 前MLB球員Tim McCarver(現為福斯體育播報員)認為問題並不是在於大家給A-Rod過大的壓力，而是A-Rod自己給了自己更大的壓力．他說"A- Rod坦承他在加入洋基的第一年拼的太過頭了．加入洋基得背負眾人的期望，A-Rod也努力著證明自己有如此高薪的價值．" It is odd, however, that the money would be an issue in New York. After all, the city is hardly a stranger to outlandish pay cheques. 奇怪的是，在紐約這個常常有人可以莫名其妙賺大錢的地方，A-Rod的薪資竟然會成為人們心中的芥蒂． The top hedge fund managers earn more in a year than Rodriguez’s contract pays him over a decade. The heads of the major investment banks typically take home more in a year than Rodriguez draws in salary. New York even elected billionaire Michael Bloomberg as mayor. 在紐約，高級投資公司經理或是主要投資銀行老闆一年就賺的比A-Rod 十年還多，紐約客甚至還選出了一位億萬富翁Michael Bloomberg (彭博)當市長．感謝harryrain指出hedge fund是避險基金或對沖基金 Moreover, unlike many lavishly paid people, Rodriguez does not appear to have let riches influence his attitude. Since arriving in New York, he has been anything but a prima donna. 除此之外，A-Rod並沒有像其他奢敗的人因為他的富有而影響了他的態度．自他來到紐約之後，他從來也沒有過高高在上不可一世． From the outset, he said the Yankees were, and would remain, Jeter’s team. To underscore the point, he agreed to transfer to third base in deference to shortstop Jeter, the club captain and most popular player. A-Rod自一開始就說過，洋基自始至終都是以Jeter為主的球隊，他也因此願意從游擊區換到三壘防守，所以最受歡迎的洋基隊長Jeter可以繼續當游擊手． Rodriguez may also be the Yankees’ hardest-working player. “No one outworks Alex,” says Cerrone. “No one gets to the stadium earlier for games or practice.” Cerrone(洋基的媒體公關)說A-Rod恐怕是洋基隊中最努力的球員了．沒人比他還早到球場練習． Indeed, the club believes Rodriguez pushes himself too hard. Last weekend, manager Joe Torre said: “He drives himself to the point of expecting himself to do more than any human being is capable of doing. He doesn’t think he should do anything wrong, ever. We can’t live our lives that way.” 確實如此，大家認為A-Rod實在把自己逼的太緊了．洋基教練Joe Torre 上週憂心地表示:"A-Rod已經把自己逼到了一個非人的境地，要求自己絶對完全一定不能犯錯．我們不能每天都處於這樣的壓力下啊！" But Rodriguez surely feels he has no choice. The fact that the Yankees, a team with the most expensive collection of superstars in baseball history, have gone five years without a title is a source of enormous frustration in New York – and it is only natural that the frustration is taken out primarily on the guy with the most talent and the biggest salary. A-Rod一定覺得他沒有別的選擇了．洋基這個集合了史上最多明星球員以及薪資最高的球隊，竟然連續五年拿不到世界大賽冠軍頭銜，讓無數的紐約客感到挫折與無力．而把大家從這個囧rz的深淵中解救出來的責任交到最天才最高薪的A-Rod身上，也是一件很合理的事． The Yankees have started this season in lacklustre fashion and should they finish the way they have begun, the dissatisfaction with Rodriguez will mount. Until he helps lead the Yankees to a championship, the money he earns is going to buy him more grief than love in New York. 今年洋基開賽以來表現的並不理想，如果他們持續這樣下去，A-Rod也不會有好日子過．在A-Rod帶領洋基打贏世界大賽之前，A-Rod的$$只會為他帶來痛苦而不是紐約人的愛． -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.254.105.134