[快譯] A-Rod ready to hit 'em when it hurts
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Alex Rodriguez casts a wary glance in my direction. "Can I help you?" he asks,
not in a cheery waiter kind of way.
Players tend to ignore incoming reporters, but A-Rod has spotted me from 10
feet. "Why sure. I was hoping to ask a couple of questions ... "
A-Rod 的千里眼在10呎遠的地方就看見這位記者
This is in Anaheim in August, three hours before game time and four-plus months
into A-Rod's latest MVP season. I am seeking confirmation that a changed
relationship with the media has helped him regain his standing as baseball's
undisputed best player. In some years Rodriguez was more concerned with what
the public read about him than what his teammates thought about him. Not in
2007. Production, not persona, has appeared his only concern. Earlier this
season, I watched A-Rod blow off a reporter in less time than it took him to
strap on his iPod. So I am prepared to be dismissed as I approach his locker.
本賽季稍早時，A-Rod曾用比收iPod還要快的速度打發一位記者
"Let me finish here," he says.
After a brief exchange with a beat reporter, he looks up. He checks out my
credential as I introduce myself. He repeats my name -- except he botches it.
"O'Neal. Like (the CEO of) Merrill Lynch." Well, not exactly. "Oh, McNeal,"
he apologizes.
A-Rod 對於唸錯記者名字道歉
I ask, "The way you are handling interviews this year, giving a little less and
limiting the number you do, is looking like a pretty good strategy, don't you
think?"
"It's worked out," he says. "But don't read too much into it."
A-Rod 認為今年安排記者的interview較少還不賴
As I follow up with questions about August's dog days and how manager Joe Torre
decides to give him time off, A-Rod shifts into exit position. "Joe wanted me
to take off yesterday, but I asked to be in the lineup. Now I'll take off
tomorrow," he says, though he ended up talking Torre out of that, too.
A-Rod 想打球啦
Then a nod and he's off to the training room. Well, I guess I got what I
needed. He certainly doesn't appear too concerned with the media -- this member
anyway.
Given his success this season, such a standoffish approach made sense in August
and will be expected in October. When the postseason begins, the focus will be
on A-Rod for one reason: to see whether he can hit when the stakes are raised.
到了季後賽，焦點將在A-Rod是否能隨著賭金提高而有所表現
Remember last year: Rodriguez finished the postseason hitting eighth for a
Yankees club that meekly bowed out of its first-round series in four games.
Rodriguez went 1-for-14 against the Tigers, extending his postseason drought
without a homer or RBI to 44 at-bats. His last home run in the playoffs came in
Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox. The Yankees lost that game -- and
have lost nine of their 12 playoff games since. A-Rod's 4-for-41 in that dismal
span has not gone unnoticed.
記者顯然還記得A-Rod去年季後賽的難堪表現
Neither, though, have his numbers this season, which are extraordinary even for
him. Fifty-two homers, 146 RBIs, 138 runs, a .312 average. He has hit in big
moments, too. Twenty-five homers with two outs. Sixteen homers and a .345
average from the seventh inning on. "A magical season," he has called it.
When the real season begins next week, there are reasons to believe such magic
will continue. In 2006, he entered the postseason after a trying regular
season, at least as trying as a .290-35-121 season can be. But last winter,
Rodriguez tweaked his approach at the plate -- his leg kick is a tad less
pronounced -- opted for a leaner look and decided to change his priorities.
Shortly after arriving in spring training, he proved he wasn't going to worry
about public perception when he finally admitted to reporters that he no longer
was pals with Derek Jeter. Former teammate Gary Sheffield, among others,said
at the time that would make a difference in A-Rod's performance.
請大家拭目以待A-Rod這一季的magical season將會持續到季後賽
Scott Boras, Rodriguez's agent, admits a different outlook on the media has
played into his success. "He got his swing right, and everything else fell into
place," Boras says. "His comfort level is where it's never been before."
By no means has A-Rod avoided all uncomfortable situations. There was the
elevator photo with the blonde, a shouting incident while running the bases in
Toronto that led to criticism and retaliation from the Blue Jays, the expletive
on his wife's T-shirt at Yankee Stadium and Chipper Jones' misinterpreted
comments about Rodriguez and steroids. Through all the headlines, there was one
constant: A-Rod continued to mash.
雖然球季中流出各種不利的傳聞，A-Rod將他們一一粉碎
The tabloids, like everyone, will be watching closely next week when the buzz
focuses again on A-Rod. Will he put too much pressure on himself? How many
hitless at-bats before the boos begin? Will he be thinking too much about his
chance to become a free agent this winter?
Enough questions to make anyone wary. As A-Rod has learned this season, there's
only one way to answer all of them -- with that big bat of his.
關於一切對他表現的疑慮，A-Rod將會用他的大棒子來回答各位
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