Re: BRANDON WEBB IS BUSY RESTING (Webb的一週)

看板Diamondbacks作者abc12812 (Sudba tseloveka)時間17年前 (2008/07/07 00:47)推噓4(4推 0噓 1→)

留言5則, 3人參與討論串3/3 (看更多)

http://tinyurl.com/6hhab5 by Buster Olney The assignment is to shadow Brandon Webb for six days. The task, made possible by unprecedented access, promises to be a lesson in one man's obsessive desire to dominate. No major league pitcher could be as successful as Webb is, you assume, without thousands of crunches and hundreds of hours in a darkened video room, studying hitters with the focus of a ninja. Wait, who's that guy on the field fiddling with the toy airplane? "You can get it up pretty high in here," Webb says cheerfully, standing near the third-base dugout inside Chase Field, holding a remote control as his tiny plane buzzes unsteadily over the outfield. "We've got some helicopters, too." Four hours later, the 29-year-old Diamondbacks righthander buries the Rockies under a flurry of sinkers and changeups and curveballs. Webb is 9–0 on the season, and it's only May 15, but as he stands in front of his locker after the game, the euphoria already seems to be dissipating. "It'll probably be gone in about an hour," he says in his Kentucky drawl. His next start is against the Marlins, one of the best-hitting teams in the majors. Webb is asked when he'll begin concentrating on Florida, and he chuckles in a way that makes you realize that he might have laughed in your face if he weren't so polite. "I try not to get too focused too early," he says. "If I do that, I wear myself out." The lesson has begun. FRIDAY Dan Haren is jealous. He tells Webb to his face, four hours before Haren's start against the Tigers."You're 9–0, you just won, and you have an extra day before you pitch," Haren says with mock angst. "I want to do what you're doing today." Which is almost nothing. Webb threw 111 pitches in seven-plus innings the night before, and his back is sore, so his aerobic workout has been postponed. Instead, he plays catch for 10 minutes, gingerly at first, then harder as his stiff arm loosens. During batting practice, he and the other pitchers shag fly balls in the outfield— or at least that's the idea. Basically, they hang out and talk, like guys in a bar. A line drive is smashed right at a bunch of them, but nobody moves until Webb casually lifts his glove and snares it. Another ball rolls to within 30 feet of Webb and reliever Chad Qualls. It sits in the grass for five minutes, like an empty soda can, until Webb grudgingly trots over to pick it up and toss it back in. After BP, Webb retreats to the clubhouse, where he keeps an electric guitar on a stand next to his locker. But he doesn't play it today, because there's a box to open: a new toy helicopter. He's thinking about taking it out to the field. "What do you have to do to get this thing charged up?" he asks Qualls, who's playing with another copter. Webb is as laid-back as a seventh-inning stretch in spring training. Failure, which is inevitable in baseball, does not threaten his confidence. His drive home from Chase Field takes about 25 minutes, and by the time he turns off his car, Webb has managed to put the game in his rear-view mirror—even after a loss. "There's nothing you can do after a start to change the outcome of what you did," he says. "So why sit there and sulk and pity yourself for five days? Forget about it, then just go work in the bullpen on what you need to work on." Roy Halladay, with his bat-breaking sinker, is similar to Webb in stuff and style, but the Blue Jays ace pores over videotape of opposing hitters, dissecting their swings. Webb rarely watches video, and he doesn't study scouting reports. His preparation is in the maintenance of his pitches. When Haren takes the mound tonight, Webb plants himself on a bench at the front of the dugout, next to lefthander Doug Davis, and they watch a ball game. It's great work if you can get it. SATURDAY It's tough being Webb's pregame catch partner. D-backs closer Brandon Lyon accepts the responsibility because he has an eye for diagnosing when Webb's sinking fastball is coming out of his hand properly. The downside is that Lyon's left thumb takes a pounding inside his glove. "I can't ever get the ball centered," he says. To complement his sinker, Webb also throws a sharp curve and a stealth changeup . One hitter, as he stepped into the batter's box, mournfully asked catcher Chris Snyder, "Does he have any plans for keeping the ball straight today?" Webb's pitches dive so much some umpires have admitted to Snyder that they freeze at times, incorrectly assuming the ball is going to drop out of the strike zone. Maybe the sinker sinks because of the way Webb's hand turns inward as he throws the ball. Whatever the reason (not even he knows for sure), the movement is dramatic and late in the ball's journey, making it extremely difficult for hitters to square up. Webb began throwing the pitch—called a two-seamer because the fingers align alongside the seams rather than across them—when he was in college at Kentucky. But he mostly relied on a standard heater until Royal Clayton, his Class-A pitching coach, saw him throw a couple of two-seamers in 2000. "That's going to be a good pitch for you," Clayton said. "When we go to spring training next year, we're going to work on that." At first Webb struggled mightily to control the pitch, drilling 27 batters in the Class-A California League in 2001. Eventually he changed his target: Rather than trying to aim at the corners, he threw the ball over the middle of the plate and trusted the pitch's natural movement to take it to the edges. In 2004 , his second season in the majors, Webb walked 119 batters in 208 innings and finished 7–16. Two years later, he'd cut his walks to 50 (against 178 K's), finishing 16–8 and winning the Cy Young. Late in the 2006 season, as Webb tinkered with a third pitch to go with his sinker and curve, he tried a changeup against Colorado's Brad Hawpe, a lefty hitter who has been Webb's nemesis. The ball darted downward, underneath Hawpe's futile swing, and Webb gawked at his catcher and mouthed, "Oh my gawd." Webb and Snyder later raced into the video room and replayed the pitch a dozen times. "He's got the best changeup I've ever faced," Hawpe says. What makes it so good? The spin on the change is indistinguishable from that of Webb's sinker . As he plays catch with Lyon, Webb throws nearly all sinkers, then he goes inside for an aerobic workout, a jog on a machine called an Anti-Gravity Treadmill, which uses technology developed by NASA. Webb's waist and legs are encased in pressurized air, which reduces the stress on his joints. By the time he's finished a 20-minute run, teammates have gathered, finding comic relief in the notion that a Brandon Webb workout is worthy of a reporter, producer, cameraman and photographer. "Hey, Webby," Haren barks. "Are you going to let them follow you to where you throw up?" SUNDAY All starters go through a bullpen workout between appearances. Roy Oswalt uses the pitching rubber like a catapult, launching himself off of it. Randy Johnson's face contorts into a snarl as he releases the ball. Webb, by extreme contrast, exerts all the outward effort of someone taking a beer out of the fridge. He sometimes touches the rubber in his delivery and sometimes doesn't. He draws his knee upward, then seems to fall forward, like a tomato stake that hasn't been tapped in deep enough. Bullpen catcher Jeff Motuzas turns his glove slightly as the ball darts into it . Webb resets himself and throws another sinker—his fingers covering Bud Selig's signature, as always, to remind himself to stay on top of the ball. Pitching coach Bryan Price carefully checks the spot where Webb's front foot lands. Webb sometimes drifts off course, and the primary purpose of the bullpen session is to make sure his mechanics are aligned. "I just want to throw to the mitt," he says. "If you're thinking and start trying to overcorrect something, that's when you're not pitching your game. If I'm not thinking out there, that's when I'm doing the best." In less than 15 minutes, the bullpen session is over. The homestand ends a few hours later, as the first-place D-backs beat the Tigers to improve to 28–16; it will be the high-water mark of their first half. Webb dresses for the trip to South Florida: off-white pants and jacket, shades perched on his forehead, making him look like a tourist trying to emulate Don Johnson. "Miami, right here," he says, grinning. MONDAY AND TUESDAY Alicia Webb calls her husband on the Monday off-day to tell him they have a new dog, a German shepherd mix. That makes five in all—Olivia, Mabel, Dixie, Mick and now Thor—to haul back to Kentucky in the fall. Brandon just shakes his head in bemusement at the news; he and Alicia seem to keep adding dogs. The pitcher and his wife were both born and raised in Ashland, Ky., on the Ohio River. "He was always very calm," says Brandon's father, Philip, who's still his throwing partner in the winter. Brandon is known, within his family, for his ability to fall asleep anytime, anywhere. His days at home, Alicia reports, usually involve playing with their 2-year-old daughter, Reagan, or watching his favorite TV shows, Cash Cab and Deal or No Deal. Webb is almost always happy to allow others to do the heavy mental lifting. One time this season, when Snyder called for a fastball, Webb stuck with his instincts and struck out the hitter on a changeup. Snyder was waiting in the dugout. "That makes hitters now 5-for-6 when you shake me off," the catcher said. Mostly, if you see Webb shake off a sign, it's because Snyder is telling him to shake it off to confuse the batter. Snyder is a natural-born extrovert; when asked how great it is to catch Webb, he responds, "You should ask him how great it is that he can throw to me." He's kidding when he says this, but he's serious about preparation. Snyder consults daily with the team's advance scouts and pitching coach, and he formulates the plan. "As good as your stuff is, that's all you need to worry about," he tells Webb. "All that matters is that you throw it where I tell you to throw it." On the first day of the Marlins series, a day before Webb's start, Snyder takes a break to play catch with Webb. Instead of a ball, they throw an Aerobie. Wind gusts carry the disk around Dolphin Stadium, and they challenge each other to track it down. Some pitchers are swallowed up by the wait between starts, but not Webb. He races around an empty ball field, chasing an Aerobie. WEDNESDAY Finally, it's Webb's day to pitch. At 3:40 p.m., Snyder leans forward in a chair in front of his locker, staring at a laminated copy of the Marlins' lineup. The card is filled with intelligence about how to dissect the hitters. In less than four hours, Snyder will engage in professional combat, and he wants to be ready. His eyes narrow as he commits to memory the information arrayed before him. Twenty feet away, Webb is focused as well. He's searching for vintage trucks on eBay with fellow starter Micah Owings. "Check that out," Webb says, pointing, and soon they move on to another site, featuring watches. Many pitchers won't talk to teammates on the day they start. Webb, on the other hand, will talk with everyone. Eventually, he steps away from the computer, watches some TV, then sits across from Snyder at a Texas hold 'em video-poker table. Webb quickly beats the catcher. "Gotta let him feel good about himself," Snyder says , smiling. Webb prepares his pregame meal, a grazer's specialty: peanut butter and jelly sandwich and nachos, washed down with a sports drink. At 5:02, he and Snyder sit down for their final pregame conversation. Snyder talks. Webb nods his head while nibbling on a Snickers bar. The meeting lasts four minutes. Afterward, Webb joins the other D-backs for batting practice, briefly, and jokes around with teammates in the dugout. Then,precisely an hour before the 7:10 first pitch, he shifts into autopilot, his movements dictated strictly by the clock. He goes into the trainer's room to stretch, and exactly 40 minutes before game time—regardless of whether Arizona is at home or on the road—he changes into his uniform. With 35 minutes to go, he walks to the dugout, where he sits and waits five minutes before going to the bullpen to warm up. After Ricky Nolasco limits the D-backs to a single in the top of the first, Webb strides to the mound, stepping on the foul line as he goes (a superstition he honors every inning). Pitchers are permitted eight warmup throws, but Webb takes only six: four sinkers, a curveball and another sinker. Always the minimalist. He comes off the field after retiring the Marlins on 11 pitches and sits in his usual spot on the bench—water bottle to his left, Snyder to his right. Their conversation is light. Snyder says it's almost like they're playing Wiffle ball. Webb's sinker veers against the Marlins; his changeup dives. Eleven batters into the game, he still hasn't allowed a baserunner. But then Jorge Cantu drives a double to deep left, and Webb knows this is a bad sign. When the ball is hit in the air, it means his sinker is not sinking the way it should— perhaps because of a slippage in mechanics, or simply fatigue. The D-backs lead 1-0 in the fifth, but Luis Gonzalez, a former teammate, anticipates a changeup and triples into the gap in right-center. He scores on a suicide squeeze by Matt Treanor. Webb subsequently fires a sinker inside to Cody Ross, but the ball stays up and Ross mashes it over the leftfield wall. The Marlins tack on another run later, and although Webb throws seven solid innings, the D-backs fall 3-1. It's his first loss of the season, and afterward he speaks softly in the otherwise silent clubhouse. He's frustrated that he couldn't keep his sinker down, but he's ready to move on. "I'm not going to go 33–0 or 34–0," Webb says. "I'll forget about it in an hour." THE LAST SATURDAY IN JUNE Flash forward 38 days: The D-backs have been playing like the offensively challenged team they are, going 12–22 and skidding back to .500. It's been a while since Webb was at his sharpest—the sinker has been misbehaving—but on this night, back in Miami, he responds with six strong innings. Contrary to Snyder's advice, Webb talks his way back out for the seventh and promptly hits Treanor and walks Jeremy Hermida. After manager Bob Melvin lifts him, Webb stalks back to the dugout, uncharacteristically yelling at himself, and fires a water bottle into a trash can. Arizona hangs on to win, and Webb, at 12–4, becomes baseball's winningest pitcher. But now Snyder has another example to hold over his head. "I guess I should have listened to him," Webb says afterward, grinning. ============== Webb接下來的六天可難熬了。藉由前所未有的貼身觀察，我們將試圖了解他是如何成為最具宰制力的投手之一。你可能會以為，像Webb這樣厲害的投手，必定是個成天躲在小房間裡研究錄影帶的狂人，是吧？等等，那個在球場裡玩遙控飛機的傢伙是誰？ ”飛機在這裡可以飛的很高”Webb快樂的說，把玩著飛機的遙控器”我們還有幾架直升機喔。” 四小時後，響尾蛇29歲的右投手用他厲害的伸卡球、變速球和曲球，解決掉了洛磯隊。 Webb本季已經9-0，而現在還只是5月15日而已。然而，當他站在他的置物櫃時，快樂的氣氛似乎已經煙消雲散了。”我ㄧ小時後就把它給忘記了”他用他的肯德基腔說著。他下次先發會對上馬林魚隊，聯盟中打擊最好的球隊之一。當被問到他什麼時候會開始思考對付馬林魚隊的方法，Webb回答說”我不會太早就去想這件事，這麼做會讓我精疲力竭。” 課程開始了 ============== 星期五： Dan Haren有些吃醋。他在先發面對老虎隊的四小時前對Webb說”你已經9-0，才剛贏球，又多了一天的休息日，我想要做和你今天做的事一樣。”意思是-什麼都不用做。 Webb昨天才剛投了111球，背還有點酸，所以他的有氧運動延期了。事實上，他練了十分鐘的傳接球，慢慢舒展他僵硬的手臂。在打擊練習時，他和其他的投手在外野接球—至少表面上是這樣。實際上，他們是在閒晃閒聊。一顆平飛球朝他們飛去，沒有人理它，直到 Webb輕鬆的把它接起來。又一顆球滾了過來，它在草地上躺了五分鐘，像是個空的廢鋁罐。Webb不太情願的把它撿起來回傳。打擊練習後，Webb回到了休息區。他在他的置物櫃旁放了一把電吉他，不過他今天沒有要彈它，因為他有了新玩具—一架新的遙控直升機。他在想要不要現在拿出去玩。”這要怎麼充電？”他問正再玩另一架直升機的Qualls。 Webb現在就像是在春訓般放鬆。棒球中不可避免的失敗不會打擊到他的自信心。Webb的家開車到Chase Field要25分鐘。他已經學會不把場上的情緒帶回家中。”比賽結束後，再怎樣都改變不了結果”Webb說”。所以，把它忘了吧，下次再努力就是了。” 同樣是投沉重伸卡球的Roy Halladay，每次比賽都會研究對手的錄影帶。Webb不同，他很少看片，也不研究球探報告。他的準備只有維持投球動作。當今晚Haren在場上投球，Webb就只是坐在Doug Davis旁邊，輕鬆的看著球賽。 ============== 星期六：要和Webb玩傳接球不是一件容易的事。Brandon Lyon接受了這項任務，因為他抓的到Webb 出手的時間點。壞處是他的左大拇指一直被球重擊。”完全沒辦法好好接穩這顆球。” Lyon說。 Webb拿來和伸卡球搭配的是犀利的曲球和變速球。曾經有一位打者在站上打擊區時小聲的對捕手Chris Snyder說”難道他不能把球投直一點嗎？”Webb投出的球的下沉幅度大到讓一些裁判承認他們因此誤以為球會掉出好球帶。也許是因為投球時手掌的內翻造成球的下沉尾勁。無論原因是什麼，伸卡球劇烈的下沉幅度讓打者很難擊中球心。Webb在肯德基念大學時學會這種球路—叫作二縫線球，因為投球時是握住兩條縫線—。但他還是以傳統的四縫線球為主，直到他1A的投教Royal Clayton在 2000年時發掘出他投二縫線球的潛力。”那是一顆很棒的球路”Clayton說”明年春訓時，我們要好好加強這顆球。” 剛開始，Webb受到嚴重的控球問題所苦惱，在1A加州聯盟砸了27位打者後來他改變瞄準的位置，不再瞄準邊邊角角，改成把球投往紅中，然後相信球的尾勁會把球帶到邊邊角角。在2004年Webb的第二個球季，他保送了119個打者並投出7-16的成績。兩年後，他的保送減少到50次並以16-8的成績贏得賽揚獎。在2006年球季末，Webb試著找第三個球路來和他的伸卡球和曲球搭配，他對他的剋星Brad Hawpe試了一顆變速球。這球很快的下墜，讓Hawpe揮了個大空棒。”哇靠”Webb對著捕手說。Webb和Snyder後來反覆看了重播好幾遍。”他有我所看過最好的變速球”Hawpe說。這個變速球強在哪？因為你幾乎無法分辨出它的旋轉和伸卡球有何不同。當Webb在和Lyon玩傳接球時，他幾乎只投伸卡球。接者他去做些有氧運動—慢跑。他用一台叫做Anti-Gravity Treadmil的慢跑機。這台慢跑機有著NASA的太空科技加持。Webb的腰和腿被加壓空氣所環繞，用來減少關節上所受的壓力。在20分鐘的慢跑結束後，隊有們開始聚集起來，假裝要採訪他。"Hey,Webby,"Haren叫”你要這樣讓他們跟著你到處走？” ============== 星期天：所有的先發投手在兩次先發間都會進行牛棚練投。（投球動作）Roy Oswalt把投手板當跳板一樣用力把身體蹬出去，Randy Johnson投球的時候臉會扭曲變形。Webb則和他們不同，他練投時候總是輕鬆隨性。他有時候會踩投手板，有時候又不會。他把膝蓋抬起，然後前傾，像是沒被固定好的番茄架。牛棚捕手Jeff Motuzas接到球的時候手套震動了一下。Webb準備好，又投出另一顆伸卡球 ...。他的手指總是按住(球上)Bud Selig的簽名，提醒自己要維持住出手點。投教Bryan Price仔細檢查Webb前腳落地的位置。當然他有時候姿勢會走樣，而牛棚練投的目的就是要保持他投球機制的精確。”我只想要一球一球投”他說”當你狀況不好的時候，總是會東想西想，想要修正些什麼。當我狀況很好時，我只想著要一球一球投。” 在15分鐘內，牛棚練投就結束了。幾小時後，主場的比賽也結束了，排名第一的響尾蛇隊擊敗老虎隊，把戰績推進到本季新高的28-16。Webb穿好衣服要去南佛羅里達了。灰白色的褲子和外套，陰影遮住了他的額頭，像是個模仿Don Johnson的遊客。”邁阿密，就在這裡 ”他笑著說。 ============== 星期一和星期二： Alicia Webb打電話和她老公說她又買了一隻狗，德國牧羊犬混種的。這表示到秋天時有五隻狗─Olivia, Mabel, Dixie, Mick 和現在這隻Thor─要帶回肯德基的老家。Brandon搖了搖頭，感到困惑。他們似乎不停的在買狗。 Webb和他老婆都是出生在肯德基的Ashland，靠近俄亥俄河。”他一向很安靜”Brandon的老爸Philip說。Philip也是Brandon冬天時的丟球夥伴。在家族中，Brandon以他的睡覺能力聞名。據Alicia表示，Brandon在家中通常是和二歲的女兒Reagan嬉戲，要不然就是看他最喜歡的電視節目Cash Cab和Deal or No Deal。 Webb似乎總是喜歡讓別人去替他煩惱。在這一季，有次Snyder配了個速球，Webb卻憑著他的直覺投了個變速球三振打者。Snyder等在休息區”這讓打者6上5下了，當你搖頭的時候 ”捕手說。當你看見Webb對捕手搖頭，那是因為Snyder告訴他這樣做來迷惑打者。Snyder 生性外向。當被問到和Webb搭檔有多棒時，他回答”你應該是去問他他有我接捕有多棒才對。” 他現在是在和我開玩笑，但當在準備的時候他可是很認真的。Snyder每天都跟球探和投教討論，並由他規劃投球策略。”你只要保持好狀況就夠了。”他對Webb說”到時按照我的指示去投就是了” 在Webb先發前一天，Snyder和他玩了一下Aerobie（http://tinyurl.com/6e7c4n　像飛盤的東西）風帶著飛盤在海豚球場中盤旋。有些投手就只是呆呆的等待下次的先發，但那不是Webb。他在空曠的球場中追著Aerobie跑。 ============== 星期三：終於，輪到Webb投球了。下午3:40，Snyder坐在他的置物櫃前，仔細研究馬林魚隊的打線。他手上的卡片滿是對付打者的情報。在四小時內，Snyder必須要武裝好。他的眼睛瞇起來，試圖把這些資料都記起來。在20呎之外，Webb也和Snyder一樣專心。他和Micah Owings正在eBay上找古董卡車。”買那個！”Webb說。接著，他們又到另一個站，尋找手錶。許多投手在先發的那一天不會跟隊友說話。Webb則是會跟所有的人聊天。玩完電腦，Webb又去看些電視，然後和Snyder打牌。Webb很快擊敗了捕手。”這種時候，一定要讓他感到愉快。”Snyder笑說。 Webb吃了他的賽前餐：三明治和墨西哥餅，還有一些運動飲料。5:02，他和Snyder做最後一次的賽前交談，Snyder說話，Webb邊點頭邊偷吃巧克力棒。交談只花了四分鐘。接著， Webb做了些打擊練習，又和隊友們聊天。在比賽開始前一小時，Webb進入自動導航狀態─ 40分鐘前完成拉筋，35分鐘前走進休息區，5分鐘後再去牛棚熱身。一局上結束後，Webb跨著大步進場，踩上邊線（這是他每局都會做的迷信）。投手最多可以投8顆球，但Webb只投了6顆：四顆伸卡，一顆曲球，然後再一顆伸卡。他只用了11顆球結束這局馬林魚隊的攻勢。Webb回到他在休息室的位置：水桶管理員，右邊是Snyder。他們交談了一會兒，Snyder說這好像是在玩Wiffle ball。 Webb的伸卡和變速發揮威力，11個打者上場，又11個打者下場。但當Jorge Cantu打了個二壘安打時，Webb知道這不是個好預兆。當球被打到空中，這表示他的伸卡球不像往常般下沉，也許是因為姿勢上小小的改變，或者只是因為疲勞。響尾蛇隊以1:0領先，但前隊友Luis Gonzalez把一顆變速球打成三壘安打，又靠著高飛犧牲打回來得分。Webb對Cody Ross投了個伸卡球，但這球被Ross打出牆外。稍後馬林魚隊又得了一分，而Webb苦等不到隊友的火力支援，最後以1:3落敗。這是他本季第一敗。比賽結束後，他對有點安靜的隊友發表感言。他說，他很抱歉沒有把伸卡球投低，但他會準備好下場比賽。”我不可能達成33–0或 34–0”Webb說”我會在一小時之內忘了它。” ============== 六月最後一個星期六： 38天後，響尾蛇隊打的像之貧打球隊，打出12–22然後回到五成勝率。現在已經離Webb的絕好調一段時間了。但今天，重回邁阿密，他投了六局好球。不顧Snyder的建議，Webb繼續投第七局，然後砸到Treanor又保送Jeremy Hermida。在總教練Bob Melvin換他下場後，他走回休息區，很少見的對自己大叫，又砸了個水瓶進垃圾桶。響尾蛇隊最後贏了，而 Webb，則以12-4成為棒球界最會贏球的投手。但現在Webb又多了個把柄在Snyder手上。”我想我是應該聽他的建議的”Webb笑著說。 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.112.5.3 ※ 編輯: abc12812 來自: 140.112.5.3 (07/07 00:52)