[轉錄] Wang-o-Rama: All Hail the King?
看板NY-Yankees作者JilSander (Doer brokenheart)時間17年前 (2007/09/05 15:46)推噓38(38推 0噓 13→)留言51則, 28人參與討論串1/1
※ [本文轉錄自 CMWang 看板]
作者: akainorei (我是Babyface澳客) 看板: CMWang
標題: [外電] Wang-o-Rama: All Hail the King?
時間: Wed Sep 5 13:26:44 2007
剛剛看到, 應該沒OP
http://eastwindupchronicle.com/?p=45
Wang Chien-Ming is the king of Taiwan.
Wang, whose name literally means ‘king’ in Chinese, is Taiwan’s most
revered and loved celebrity. The New York Yankees’ #1 starter is the first
Taiwanese celebrity to achieve widespread international recognition (with the
possible exception of filmmaker Ang Li, Madame Chiang Kai Shek and
actress/Penthouse centerfold Hsu Chi), and a source of national pride every
time he takes the hill for the storied New York Yankees.
And what’s not to love about a player that has emerged as the ace of the
world’s most successful baseball franchise, finished second in the AL Cy
Young voting to Johan Santana in 2006, starts charities to benefit
underprivileged kids in his free time, and has even had the courage to
boycott the bloodthirsty and reckless Taiwanese media since moving to New
York?
Owing to his unusually composed demeanor, seemingly incorruptible personality
on an island notorious for political corruption, and celebrity cache (that
gives Taiwan the rare occasion to stick it China as the mainland siphons off
its jobs and challenges its statehood), Wang takes center stage on a daily
basis on the TV and in the papers. As a result, without a costly mlb.com
package, baseball fans on the island have to get used to the following order
of priorities: Wang Chien Ming first, The Yankees second, and baseball third.
Wang fever in Taiwan can reach absurd levels. ESPN in Taiwan re-runs every
game he pitches in 4 or 5 times in a week, while remaining Yankee games
broadcast two to three times a day while the vast majority of MLB games go
untelevised. For fans on the island interested in the bigger picture of the
game, pennant races, or teams outside of the AL East, it can get vexing
watching the Taiwanese media lavish more attention on a single start from
Wang (or Wang having a conversation with Ron Guidry in the dugout) than it
does on, say, Barry Bonds breaking the all-time home run record. Save for the
occasional Red Sox game featuring Matsuzaka, or a even rarer Dodgers game
where Hong Chih Kuo invariably gets lit up, Yankees games are by and large
the only exposure fans get to MLB.
One can well imagine the stunned silence, general confusion, and silent
facial contortions of protest (as well as nasty emails) I get from Taiwanese
baseball fans when I make the following outrageous claims: Wang at this stage
of his career makes a very good #2 pitcher for a successful rotation but has
not yet developed the qualities of a true staff ace, the jury is still out on
his long term value, and the oft-cheerleading media and fans have jumped the
gun a bit by placing Wang in the top tier of starting pitchers in MLB. I also
get jeers when I suggest that fans in Taiwan, due 24/7 exposure in the media,
conflate Wang’s historical and cultural importance with his actual talents
on the field. Wang’s demeanor, high winning percentage, and league-best
sinker certainly give him the potential to be mentioned in the same breath
with Webb, Sabathia, and Johan, but he’s not there. Not yet.
Naysayer! Cynic! Playa Hater! (being pelted with stinky tofu)
First off, a fair assessment of Wang’s ability has to point to stats beyond
his W-L record. Wang’s win totals are highly inflated due to an inordinate
amount of run support—nearly 7 runs per game (6.8)—and excellent defensive
support (The Yankee defense behind Wang, didn’t allow an unearned run in 47
consecutive innings, the longest such streak for a Yankee pitcher since the
Elias Sports Bureau began tracking the stat in 1913). Every time Wang takes
the hill the Yanks spot him 7 runs and never make any errors. This is a
recipe for putting up a lot of wins regardless of who is on the mound.
Or, to quote a Seattle Mariners scout in Taiwan who tried to sign Wang before
he ended up on the Yankees, “take Wang off the Yankees and put him on a
weak-hitting team, and he’s a .500 pitcher”.
Wang has other attributes that suggest that some of the fawning over his
performance thus far might not be warranted yet. This year, left-handed
hitters are hitting .283 against him. Since the All-Star break this year,
Wang the king has put up a respectable 7-2 record, but has an average E.R.A.
(4.50) and hitters are opposing hitters are hitting .296. Due to his high
ground ball percentage, a lot of these runs get cancelled out in double
plays, but putting that many runners on base could be a recipe for trouble
come playoff time.
In fact, Wang’s stats this year are eerily similar to those put up by Greg
Maddux at age 41, whom most statisticians and fans would describe as having a
decent but unspectacular season in the twilight of his career. Maddux is
regarded as the Padres #3 starter, certainly not their ace at this point.
While it might not be the only factor in the equation, the extra 2 runs per
game Wang receives in run support from the Bronx Bomber offense surely plays
a big part in the 6 game difference in the win column:
Wang 166.1IP, 16 wins, 6 losses, 3.79 ERA, 86 K’s, 45BB’s, 1.27 WHIP
Maddux 168.2IP, 10 wins, 9 losses, 3.79 ERA, 89 K’s, 21BB’s, 1.20 WHIP
That’s not to say Wang doesn’t have the capability to be a true ace, in
fact, he’s nearly there. With the league’s best sinker that Yankees
pitching coach Ron Guidry compares to trying to hit a shot put, and a 96 MPH
heater, there’s no denying the talent is in place. He’s young, he’s
already won a ton of games, and has room to grow. But he’s not all the way
there yet, and often times this gets lost in the shuffle as the Taiwanese
media clamors to put up yet another full-page spread singing his praises.
__________________
More important than these statistical comparisons, the Taiwanese media,
notorious for fabricating news stories and desperate to sensationalize
anything they can in order to gain ratings–more than the unassuming Wang
himself– can be blamed for the premature overhyping of the man of the hour.
In Wang you have a highly marketable, good looking, reputable celebrity that’
s tailor made to sell papers and merchandise.
But in the end, Taiwanese baseball fans, who might care more about the game
itself with exposure to different teams, lose out in the end due to the
disproportionate amount of airtime lavished upon Wang at this early stage in
his career. They almost never get to see NL teams. They don’t get to see
Pujols, Santana, Hanley, or even Bonds. This deprives them of the joy of
seeing all the game’s stars, the thrill of pennant races, the ability to
view baseball from a more objective perspective, and the perspective to see
Wang within the greater overall context of the game.
Because of Wang’s success in pinstripes, Taiwanese fans have almost without
exception embraced the Yankees as their favorite team. From an overall
standpoint, if what matters to Taiwanese fans is that Wang has put Taiwan on
the map and given them something to cheer for after a long day at the
factory, that’s great.
真是中肯又帶點殘酷的報導
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 211.77.241.1
推
09/05 13:32,
09/05 13:32
推
09/05 13:32,
09/05 13:32
推
09/05 13:34,
09/05 13:34
推
09/05 13:34,
09/05 13:34
→
09/05 13:35,
09/05 13:35
推
09/05 13:34,
09/05 13:34
推
09/05 13:35,
09/05 13:35
→
09/05 13:35,
09/05 13:35
→
09/05 13:35,
09/05 13:35
推
09/05 13:36,
09/05 13:36
推
09/05 13:37,
09/05 13:37
噓
09/05 13:37,
09/05 13:37
推
09/05 13:38,
09/05 13:38
→
09/05 13:36,
09/05 13:36
→
09/05 13:39,
09/05 13:39
→
09/05 13:39,
09/05 13:39
推
09/05 13:39,
09/05 13:39
→
09/05 13:41,
09/05 13:41
→
09/05 13:42,
09/05 13:42
→
09/05 13:42,
09/05 13:42
→
09/05 13:43,
09/05 13:43
→
09/05 13:42,
09/05 13:42
推
09/05 13:43,
09/05 13:43
推
09/05 13:43,
09/05 13:43
→
09/05 13:43,
09/05 13:43
→
09/05 13:44,
09/05 13:44
→
09/05 13:45,
09/05 13:45
推
09/05 13:45,
09/05 13:45
推
09/05 13:45,
09/05 13:45
→
09/05 13:45,
09/05 13:45
→
09/05 13:45,
09/05 13:45
→
09/05 13:46,
09/05 13:46
→
09/05 13:46,
09/05 13:46
→
09/05 13:46,
09/05 13:46
→
09/05 13:46,
09/05 13:46
→
09/05 13:47,
09/05 13:47
推
09/05 13:47,
09/05 13:47
→
09/05 13:48,
09/05 13:48
→
09/05 13:48,
09/05 13:48
還有 70 則推文
還有 1 段內文
推
09/05 16:07, , 12F
09/05 16:07, 12F
→
09/05 16:09, , 13F
09/05 16:09, 13F
→
09/05 16:09, , 14F
09/05 16:09, 14F
推
09/05 16:10, , 15F
09/05 16:10, 15F
推
09/05 16:10, , 16F
09/05 16:10, 16F
推
09/05 16:12, , 17F
09/05 16:12, 17F
推
09/05 16:13, , 18F
09/05 16:13, 18F
推
09/05 16:14, , 19F
09/05 16:14, 19F
推
09/05 16:23, , 20F
09/05 16:23, 20F
推
09/05 16:26, , 21F
09/05 16:26, 21F
→
09/05 16:27, , 22F
09/05 16:27, 22F
→
09/05 16:27, , 23F
09/05 16:27, 23F
→
09/05 16:28, , 24F
09/05 16:28, 24F
→
09/05 16:29, , 25F
09/05 16:29, 25F
推
09/05 16:38, , 26F
09/05 16:38, 26F
推
09/05 16:39, , 27F
09/05 16:39, 27F
推
09/05 16:45, , 28F
09/05 16:45, 28F
推
09/05 16:47, , 29F
09/05 16:47, 29F
推
09/05 16:49, , 30F
09/05 16:49, 30F
推
09/05 17:04, , 31F
09/05 17:04, 31F
推
09/05 17:11, , 32F
09/05 17:11, 32F
→
09/05 17:12, , 33F
09/05 17:12, 33F
→
09/05 17:13, , 34F
09/05 17:13, 34F
推
09/05 17:23, , 35F
09/05 17:23, 35F
推
09/05 17:39, , 36F
09/05 17:39, 36F
推
09/05 19:17, , 37F
09/05 19:17, 37F
推
09/05 20:32, , 38F
09/05 20:32, 38F
推
09/05 20:58, , 39F
09/05 20:58, 39F
推
09/05 23:41, , 40F
09/05 23:41, 40F
推
09/05 23:59, , 41F
09/05 23:59, 41F
→
09/06 00:03, , 42F
09/06 00:03, 42F
→
09/06 00:05, , 43F
09/06 00:05, 43F
推
09/06 00:06, , 44F
09/06 00:06, 44F
→
09/06 00:07, , 45F
09/06 00:07, 45F
推
09/06 00:41, , 46F
09/06 00:41, 46F
推
09/06 02:49, , 47F
09/06 02:49, 47F
推
09/06 04:28, , 48F
09/06 04:28, 48F
推
09/06 10:23, , 49F
09/06 10:23, 49F
→
09/06 10:23, , 50F
09/06 10:23, 50F
推
09/06 15:12, , 51F
09/06 15:12, 51F
NY-Yankees 近期熱門文章
15
19
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
-14
93
