[新聞] Yankees face hot August nights

看板NY-Yankees作者slimbunny (..)時間17年前 (2007/08/09 15:12)推噓1(1推 0噓 1→)

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http://tinyurl.com/3yl7rb Aug. 10-12: three games @ Cleveland The Indians have spent a good chunk of the season atop the Wild Card standings while keeping pace with the Tigers in the A.L. Central, no small feat considering that two of the five starters expected to carry a heavy load in their starting rotation were demoted to the minors (Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers). Pitching was a problem for Cleveland during its three-game series with New York in April, which saw the Yankees outscore the Indians 27-11, and four of the Tribe's runs came during one inning of the series finale (Alex Rodriguez's walk-off homer off Joe Borowski capped a six-run ninth-inning rally on April 19. The Indians were unable to add any bullpen depth at the trading deadline, and most of the relievers from that series remain with the team. If the Yankees can quickly get to their starting pitchers, long days could once again be in store for Cleveland. 四月時兩隊的系列賽，投手是印地安人的問題。在七月交易期限時他們沒有增加牛棚實力。洋基隊若是能提早將先發打下場，則歷史可能再度重演。 Aug. 16-19: four games vs. Detroit Aug. 24-27: four games @ Detroit At long last, Yankees fans will finally get to see their team attempt to earn some revenge on the team that eliminated it from the 2006 playoffs. After exploding for eight runs on 14 hits in a Game 1 victory, the Yankees lost three in a row, scoring just six total runs and batting .196 as a team. Flame-throwing reliever Joel Zumaya was the breakout star of the series, throwing 100 mph as he dominated the Yankees in the late innings, but he's currently rehabbing from a finger injury and will not be at 100 percent even if he does make it back in time for the four-game set at Yankee Stadium. Pitching carried Detroit to the World Series last year, but it's been more about the offense in 2007. Heading into August, the Tigers led all of baseball in batting average, runs scored, and slugging percentage. Zumaya在傷兵名單。去年老虎隊靠投手戰力，今年則偏重打擊。 The Yankees were a close second to Detroit in all those categories, and it could easily be argued that Gary Sheffield was the "swing player." You can bet that after the way he felt he was handled in New York last season, Sheffield is chomping at the bit to face his most recent former team assuming he recovers on time from a shoulder ailment. Sheffield去年球季後被洋基「甩」了；因此假設他的肩傷及時復原，他會等不及大顯身手。 After hitting .200 with just two home runs in April, the slugger has been a man on fire. In the next three months, Sheffield hit .320 with 21 homers, gaudy numbers that have been overshadowed by the play of MVP candidate Magglio Ordonez, who was tied for the Major League lead in batting average with Ichiro when July ended (.347). Sheffield's at-bats have always been must-see-TV due to his ferocious swing, and after the way his tumultuous three-year tenure with the Yankees ended, every game between them and the Tigers this season should make for high drama. Aug. 20-22: three games @ Los Angeles The Angels capitalized on the Yankees' early-season struggles by sweeping them in April at the Stadium, but the July version of the Yanks took two of three from L.A. heading into the All-Star break. Right now, that's all that matters, not anything else that has happened in the Joe Torre era. A sore right elbow landed Bartolo Colon on the disabled list late last month, and if he continues to have injury problems, the Yankees might not be able to face one of their favorite whipping boys of the last few years. Things could get dicey if the Yankees are forced to deal with Kelvim Escobar or Cy Young candidate John Lackey, and the late-inning combination of Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez has been excellent as usual. Home Run Derby champion Vladimir Guerrero had the dreaded "Post Derby HR Hangover," but as a whole, the Angels bounced back from a mid-July offensive drought, ending the month by winning five of six and averaging more than eight runs-per-game in the process. (跟天使這裡沒什麼特別的。一樣是怕他們的堅強牛棚。) Aug. 28-30: three games vs. Boston The importance of these games will depend on how both teams do in the weeks leading up to their series at Yankee Stadium at the end of the month, but it's not as if Yankees-Red Sox match-ups need to have relevance in the standings to be highly anticipated. They stand out on their own at any time of year, regardless of where the two teams are in the A.L. East. However, the contests will also be important because they will mark Eric Gagne's introduction to baseball's biggest rivalry. Some in the baseball world believe that his stuff is not what it used to be, but players are what the numbers say they are. He had a 2.16 ERA and 29 Ks in 33.1 innings at the time he was traded to Boston, not to mention 16 saves in 17 chances, which will come in handy should Jonathan Papelbon suffer an injury down the stretch. Simply put, Gagne's still got it. It'll be interesting to see what the 31-year-old right hander can do against the Yankees in big situations. The Yanks were key players in the Gagne sweepstakes before they decided that Rangers GM Jon Daniels was asking for too much in the way of prospects. Three years ago, a player was almost traded to Boston by the Rangers and wound up going to the Yankees instead. As it turned out, the A-Rod non-trade eventually set forth a chain of events and trades that led to the Sox winning a World Championship. Perhaps the Gagne deal will do the same in the opposite direction and the Yankees will go on to prosper without him. Still, there's little doubt that his presence will make Boston a better team than it was on July 30. (都是在說Gagne) -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 59.117.122.161