[新聞] A-ROD: BRING ON THE PRESSURE

看板A-Rod作者smallken0410 (準阿兵哥)時間18年前 (2007/10/01 14:40)推噓1(1推 0噓 0→)

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A-ROD: BRING ON THE PRESSURE September 30, 2007 -- BALTIMORE - Alex Rodriguez understands those who don't trust that his MVP season will translate into October success. After all, his past two postseasons have been nightmares for the Yankees and arguably the best player in baseball. He knows the denizens are poised to shower him with boos the first time he fails against the Indians in the upcoming ALDS. And he promises it won't get to him. A year ago, that may not have been the case. A-Rod says the ability to laugh at his failures, something he has never been able to do, has played a role in relaxing him. So, too, has a better relationship with Joe Torre, and A-Rod evolving into a team leader. Yet, until he erases the slate on the past two Octobers when the Yankees were pushed out in the first round by the Angels and the Tigers and Rodriguez went a combined 3-for-29 (.103), the pressure on him to produce in the only month that matters in the Yankees' universe will build (beginning Thursday night in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Indians in Cleveland). "That's fine," said Rodriguez, who is a sure bet to win his second AL MVP in three seasons thanks to a year that ends today when he takes 54 homers and 155 RBIs into the season finale against the Orioles at Camden Yards. "I felt a lot of pressure coming into this year. Pressure is a good thing, it's part of baseball. During the last three months, we have been under enormous pressure. People will say I played poorly that last two postseasons and I get another crack at it." Poorly would be an upgrade in describing A-Rod's past two Octobers. After hitting .321 with 48 homers and driving in 130 runs - numbers that would produce an MVP - Rodriguez went 2-for-15 (.133) against the Angels in the 2005 ALDS that the Angels won in five games. Last year, Rodriguez batted .290 with 35 homers and 121 RBIs, a season many believed wasn't good. He followed that by going 1-for-14 (.071) versus the Tigers, who won the ALDS in four. Who will ever forget Torre batting A-Rod eighth in Game 4? Ironically, Rodriguez said the way he reacted to dropping Tampa Bay's Ty Wigginton's foul pop in the first inning of Opening Day this year allowed him to relax because he could poke fun at himself. "A microcosm of my season was how it started," said Rodriguez, who was smothered by boos from the sold-out Yankee Stadium crowd, many of whom booed him throughout the 2006 season and wanted him traded in the winter. "The first pop up and 56,000 people booing and 56,000 people saying, 'Here we go again.' I just laughed at myself from Day 1 and went on to have a pretty good game," Rodriguez said. He rebounded to go 2-for-5 with a homer. It was something he said would have destroyed him in other years. "I would have been miserable and ended up having a bad game," A-Rod said. Rodriguez knows more than most that positive talk during the final weekend of the regular season doesn't guarantee October success. Torre staying four hours at A-Rod's Labor Day Weekend party in Rye is nice in the context that the manager and superstar have grown closer. Now, the MVP season, ability to laugh at mistakes, and a relationship with his manager means nothing if the Indians end the Yankees' season and Rodriguez doesn't produce. And hanging over his head is the decision of whether to become a free agent shortly after the World Series, when he can opt out of the final three years of his contract. "What I am looking for is more than a handful of at-bats," Rodriguez said. "That means you play deep into October. I am hoping to get 50 to 60 at-bats and help the team win." He'd better, because the same fans who chanted "MVP" will replace that with three other letters: "BOO." 在yes留言版看到的歡迎翻譯 http://www.nypost.com/seven/09302007/sports/yankees/october_time_.htm?page=0 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 218.163.222.28