[譯文] Get over the contract and let him be

看板A-Rod作者jimcal (Let go Yankees！)時間19年前 (2006/07/25 11:52)推噓6(6推 0噓 5→)

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7/20/2006 3:20 PM ET Get over the contract and let him be The evisceration of A-Rod is reaching new lows Steven Goldman http://tinyurl.com/oyf76 On the eve of what would prove to be the last game of the 1977 World Series, Time Magazine published a story quoting Reggie Jackson as saying that manager Billy Martin had to go, that owner George Steinbrenner would have to choose between his star slugger and his manager. Thurman Munson and Lou Piniella had supposedly concurred. The implication was that win or lose the Series, Martin was on his way out. All three players denied the story, but the constant friction between the players, the manager, and the owner was taking its toll. 在 1977 年世界大賽"最後一場比賽"前的晚上，時代雜誌刊出的報導裡，引述 Reggie Jackson 的話說 "總教練 Billy Martin 應該走人"，於是老闆 George Steinbrenner 必須得在他的明星強打跟總教練中作一個選擇。而 Thurman Munson (註1)和 Lou Piniella (註二) 大概也是採同意的態度。這暗示著不管世界大賽的結果如何，Martin 都得走人。這三位球員都否認這個報導，不過球員們和教練間的嫌隙卻沒有因此中斷，而老闆只能袖手旁觀而讓事情變得更糟。 (taking its toll: 感謝 pathfinder、fizeau 贊助) Update: 這邊應該翻做： "不過球員、教練、老闆三方之間的嫌隙卻沒有因此中斷，造成球隊的內耗。" but 句的主詞是 friction，它是存在於 players、manager 和 owner 三方之間的， (between the players, the manager, and the owner) 動詞是 was，taking its toll 的是 friction，而不是 owner，意思是三方之間的 friction 造成球隊的內耗∕令球隊付出代價。 ~~ by tradewind 註1：http://www.thurmanmunson.com/bio.html 當時的洋基隊長。註2：Lou Piniella 當時也是洋基的強打者，當年打擊成績.330 /.365 /.510 。 "The repercussions?" Piniella asked. "I think the club will break up before next year. Several guys will be leaving." "影響？" Piniella 反問道。"影響就是在下個球季以前這支球隊就會分崩離析。很多人都將離開。" Martin said, "I've said it a lot of times this year, but I hope this is the last controversial thing. It has to stop sometime." Martin 則說，"我今年已經說過千百次，不過我希望這是最後一次鬧得沸沸湯湯。這一切都該停下來。" "It just never ends," said Piniella. "這一切永遠不會停的，" Piniella 說。 In the other clubhouse, Dodgers shortstop Bill Russell was asked if he could play for the Yankees. "No," he said. "I'm the kind of guy who has to have people like him, who has to like his teammates in return." 另一方面，道奇的游擊手 Bill Russell (編按：別蓋我火鍋...阿，不是老羅素喔) 被問到是否會為洋基打球。"不會的，"他表示。"我是那種需要隊友喜歡我，同時會同等對待隊友的人。" Russell wasn't asked if he cared about how the fans felt about him, but it figures that a guy who wanted to be appreciated wouldn't opt to play in a town where they boo you the day after you hit a walk-off home run. The same would no doubt apply to today's top-tier free agents and other desirables with no-trade clauses. They might think twice about coming to a town where some of the fans will go out of their way to eviscerate one of the top players in the game just because he hasn't lived up to their perception of a highly paid player. There have been times in the free-agent era that Yankeebucks alone weren't enough to lure the best players to New York. Those were the days when prospective Yankees looked towards the Stadium and heard the echo of Lou Piniella's words: "It just never ends." Russell 沒有被問到是否他在意球迷對他的感覺，但是我們可以知道如果一個人需要被喜愛，那麼他一定不會選擇在一個打出再見全壘打的後一天球迷還噓他的城市。同樣的道理也適用於那些聯盟頂級的球員以及想要被"不交易條款"保護的球員。如果這個城市的球迷會在看過明星球員的精采表現後，依舊用他們慣常的方式對待他。只因為他無法滿足球迷對一個高薪球員的期待，那麼他一定會對來到這樣的城市打球考慮再三。有自由球員的時代以來，洋基已經好幾次無法吸引最好的球員來到紐約。仿彿當有意到洋基的球員望向洋基主球場時，就會聽到 Lou Piniella 的迴音說著 "這一切永遠不會停的..." Is Alex Rodriguez overpaid? Sure. All professional athletes are overpaid. Let's tax ballplayers at 90 percent and redistribute their money to the policemen and firemen and the soldiers in Iraq whose dependents get so little support. Failing that, it's time to let it go. Rodriguez's performance this year has been moderately disappointing. It's been fine by mortal standards but it falls short of the high bar set by Rodriguez himself. He does not deserve to be pilloried for it. He's not a bust. He's not Steve Trout, Steve Kemp, or Steve Whitaker. Stars do have off years. Babe Ruth had that year more than once. Don Mattingly had it for half his career, and with a contract as big in its day as Rodriguez's is now. Alex Rodriguez 的身價跟薪水是不是不相符？當然。所有的職業運動員都領了過多的薪水。應該把這些打球的傢伙課他們 90% 的稅並且把這些錢分給警察、救火隊以及在伊拉克駐紮，得到的支援極少的軍人們。忘了這些吧，你事實上沒法這樣做。Rodriguez 的表現在這些年來是"普通"令人失望的。你給他加上多高的標準都好，但是他自己卻無法達到給自己的最高標準。他沒有必要戴上手枷讓大家嘲笑。他不是偉人。他不是 Steve Trout、不是Steve Kemp 也不是 Steve Whitaker。球星也有表現不好的年頭。Babe Ruth 不只一年表現退步。 Don Mattingly 生涯過半都表現不佳(註3)，而他們當時都擁有像 Rodriguez 這樣的薪水。註3：編按：我是不是看錯了...Donnie Baseball 明明就超強的呀，還是 Goldman 用大家看 A-Rod 的標準來看@_@ http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mattido01.shtml We don't know what's going on with Alex Rodriguez. Not to overreact to what might have been an error on a play with a higher than normal degree of difficulty, but the man seems to be nervous. We don't know if he's just in a fielding slump, he's masking an injury to his arm or shoulder that would make an otherwise strong-armed fellow in the prime of his career throw like Dan Quisenberry, or he's gone Daffy Duck or Chuck Knoblauch on us. 我們不知道到底在 Alex Rodriguez 身上發生了什麼事。對於異常增加的失誤不要反應過度，不過這個男人看起來是有些緊張。我們不知道他是否在防守的低潮，或是隱藏了手臂或肩膀的傷而使得另一個強臂野手在生涯巔峰時卻把球傳得像 Dan Quisenberry (註4)那樣，或是他變成我們的 Daffy Duck (註5) 或 Chuck Knoblauch。註4 ：他是個"低肩側投"的投手。 http://www.baseball-reference.com/q/quiseda01.shtml 註5 ：其實我不知道 Daffy Duck 的事蹟，不過你們一定看過他。 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daffy_Duck If it's the latter, then Rodriguez's persecutors better take a long look in the mirror, because they will have helped to foster something very much like a self-fulfilling prophecy. There is a segment of fans — a large segment, possibly the majority — that likes to pretend that it's rooting for a pennant or a championship every year, but is really about the players. Mattingly is 45 now and he couldn't help the Yankees long before that, but many carry the unanswered wish that he had kept playing all along. The same goes for Bernie Williams now, as he stands in the twilight of his playing years, and some diehards are probably still pining for Scott Brosius and wondering why he hung it up so early. For them, it's not about winning, it's about holding tight to that thing that they love — or in this case, rejecting someone they don't, because of some animus that has little basis in fact or fairness. 如果是後者，那麼那些整天咒罵 Rodriguez 的人最好先照照鏡子，因為這些人的烏鴉嘴眼看著就要造成些什麼。有一群球迷，可能佔了大部分，都以為他們每年都是為冠軍而加油，不過他們應該是為球員加油才對。Mattingly 現在 45 歲，而他在很久以前就沒辦法幫 Yankees 打球，不過過載且無法回覆的期望使他繼續打了好一段時間。同樣的情形現在發生在 Bernie Williams 身上，當他正步入球員生涯的暮年，有些頑固的傢伙可能還在想 Scott Brosius，並且對他那麼早高掛球鞋發出疑問。對他們而言，不是跟勝利有關，而是抓緊那些他們所愛的事物，或是拒絕他們所不喜愛的，只因為敵意而非基於事實根據或是公平性。 There's no law saying that can't be the way you follow baseball, but it has nothing to do with winning. A parade of managers through the ages have said that in order to win you have to be prepared to cut your best friend and brother, bean your grandma, wipe out your childhood sweetheart at second if she tries to turn two. Bart Giamatti wrote that the game will break your heart. He meant that teams like the Cubs and the Red Sox (and the Yankees, when they have Jeff Weaver) will suffer devastating turnarounds, will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. That's only half of it. The truth of the matter is that the game breaks your heart by making you choose between the team you root for and the players you root for. Those fans that abdicate when it comes time to make that decision are well within their rights, but they shouldn't pretend that winning is paramount for them. 沒有法律規定不能那樣看待棒球，不過想辦法贏球本來就是天經地義的事。過去這個世紀的總教練都會說：為了贏球，你得六親不認，把球砸在你阿嬤的頭上，如果你從小到大的青梅竹馬在二壘準備要進行雙殺，揍她。Bart Giamatti 曾寫道：這是個會令你心碎的比賽(註3)。他意指像小熊或紅襪那樣的球隊(包括有 Jeff Weaver 的洋基) 都會遭遇毀滅性的徹底改變，都會試圖抓緊鉗口裡的勝利。而那只是其一。事實上是不管你支持的是球隊或是球員，棒球都會傷你的心。決定要愛球隊還是愛球員都是你家的事，不過別裝一副贏球至上的模樣。註3 : It breaks your heart. It's designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything is new again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains comes, it stops, and leaves you to face the fall alone. --Angelo Bartlett Giamatti This is true for those in the "Hating on A-Rod" camp as well. Take an objective look. Again, he's having a good year by anyone's standards, or was until he manifested the yips. Given his talent there's no way to trade him and get anything like fair return. In fact, you can never get fair return on any player of A-Rod's ability unless you trade him for another A-Rod. Add in a contract so large that only the Yankees and a couple of other teams can afford it and the odds of an A-Rod trade look like a million-to-one against. A fan who cared about winning would be looking for ways to support him, not cause further agitation. 這就是那些 "反 A-Rod" 陣營真正的模樣。客觀的來看，他仍然有不錯的一年 -- 至少直到他露出緊張的模樣之前 -- 不管你用誰的標準。根據他的天份要交易他並得到對等的籌碼根本是緣木求魚。事實上，你永遠不可能在把 A-Rod 交易出去的同時公平地得到另一個有這樣能力的人，除非你得到的是另一個 A-Rod。而且這樣巨額的合約只有洋基和另外幾支球隊能夠負擔得起，使得交易 A-Rod 的可能性只有百萬分之一。真正想要贏球的球迷只會想辦法支持他，而不是製造更多的煽動。 -- It breaks your heart. It's designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything is new again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains comes, it stops, and leaves you to face the fall alone. --Angelo Bartlett Giamatti -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 59.124.106.168