原文 Northjersey.com:
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/yankees" onclick="tagshow(event)" class="t_tag">yankees/Girardi_Manny_dont_mix.html
Klapisch: Girardi, Manny don’t mix
吉總和 Manny合不來啦~
有了新投手戰力的洋基總教練Joe Girardi
在承受贏球壓力之時,也需思考與Manny的相處之道.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Last updated: Sunday December 21, 2008, 6:01 PM
As the Yankees continue to toy with the idea of signing free agent bad-boy Manny Ramirez, here’s an anecdote worth remembering: In the waning days of the slugger’s career with Red Sox, not only did he fake a knee injury before a critical series in New York in July, he forgot which knee he was complaining about.
在洋基持續考慮簽下市場上的壞胚子球員Manny Ramirez時,請記得一件事:
這位強棒在紅襪搞怪的日子裡,不但在與洋基的硬仗系列賽前假裝膝蓋受傷,後來還忘了自己原本喊痛的是哪一邊的膝蓋!
The Sox, sensing a scam, sent Ramirez for an MRI — on both knees. Turns out there was no damage anywhere. Ramirez had been exposed as a fraud, trying to weasel his way out of the lineup just as the Sox were poised to take the field against the Yankees.
紅襪警覺有詐,送Manny去作MRI檢查---兩邊膝蓋都作.結果發現他根本沒受傷.
Manny被批評是騙子,在當時紅襪的戰績被洋基緊咬不放時,他卻耍詐不願上場比賽.
The rest, of course, is well-documented history: The Sox eventually unloaded Ramirez on the Dodgers, where all he did was take Joe Torre to the postseason for the 13th straight year. Now Ramirez is looking for a pre-recession payday — $25 million a year for at least four years. While the Yankees aren’t actively pursuing him, no one in the organization has ruled it out, either.
接下來的事,當然,大家都知道了:紅襪把Manny交易到道奇,在那兒他幫助托瑞執教連續13年打進季後賽.
現在Manny在不景氣的此時想尋求一份至少4年,平均年薪2500萬美金的肥約.雖然洋基沒有很積極地追求他,不過在球團內部,誰也不敢排除真的簽下他的可能性.
This is bad news for Joe Girardi, who’s already facing a difficult 2009 agenda. Despite the apparent imbalance in the Yankees’ roster — terrific pitching, questionable offense — the manager is expected to get the Bombers to the playoffs or else lose his job.
這對要面對2009年的艱困賽事的總教練Joe Girardi來說是個壞消息.
即使表面上看來洋基的陣容失衡---極佳的投手戰力,問題重重的打線---預料吉總會面對到將球隊帶進季後賽,否則就要走路的局面.
Of course, the front office hasn’t issued a win-or-else edict to Girardi. But officials are aware that his leadership style was too rigid and too intense for a veteran clubhouse. It’s hard to believe Girardi can loosen up in the span of one off-season, but he’d better: If the Yankees are playing .500 ball in mid-May, the clock on his dismissal will be ticking loudly.
當然,高層還沒對吉總下達"贏球要不然就滾蛋"的最後通牒.
不過,高層也查覺到吉總的帶兵風格對洋基這支百年老店來說太紀律嚴苛與緊張.很難相信吉總在一個季末的時間會有所放鬆,但會好得多:然而若到了5月中球隊勝率還是在5成上下時,老闆就會對他警鈴大作了.
This is the same pressure that Willie Randolph faced early in 2008, and look how the Mets responded: They got their manager fired as they sunk under .500. Girardi is getting one more chance to undo last year’s mistakes, including his over-reliance on team meetings, his inability to digest and process tough losses and his ill-advised policy of banning junk food in the clubhouse.
大都會的總教練Willie Randolph在2008年季初也面對相同的壓力,看大都會高層是怎麼作的:他們在球隊勝率低於5成時把總教練開除.
吉總還有一次機會去避免重蹈去年的覆轍,包括過分仰賴球隊會議的效果,欠缺將球隊帶離低潮的韌性能力以及輕率地在球員休息室禁止食用垃圾食物的禁令.
Forget about how CC Sabathia will feel once he realizes there’s no ice cream and candy allowed. He is, by all accounts, a good guy and terrific team player. He’ll cope. Ramirez’ assimilation, however, is another story.
不必擔心沙胖在發現休息室不准吃糖果冰淇淋後會有什麼反應.他是個隨和的好人,傑出的隊友,各方面皆然.他會遵守規定的.
不過,要是換了Manny就不一樣了喔.
The Yankees’ embryonic interest in Manny is driven by one factor only: The man can hit and is showing no sign of decline at 36. Together, Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez would give the Bombers a fearsome middle of the batting order, enough to cover any potential fall-off by Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, not to mention Robinson Cano’s chronic apathy.
洋基想找Manny來只有一個原因:這傢伙很會打,而且已經36歲了還不見退化.把他和A Rod兩個人放在一起能讓洋基組成令人喪膽的中心火力,不但足以蓋過大門和松井可能走下坡的潛在危機,更別說Cano的打擊不振了.
Cano, and to a large degree Jorge Posada’s absence, plunged the Yankees’ offense into a state of mediocrity — seventh in the American League in runs. But a more revealing metric was the Bombers’ average with runners in scoring position: just .261, 10th in the league.
Cano,加上小波因傷缺席的大空檔使得洋基的打擊表現陷入低潮---得分在美聯只排第7.不過更要命的是他們在得點圈有人時的打擊率:僅僅2成61,在美聯排名第10.
Just how much of the Yankees’ ineptitude was the fault of the over-zealous manager, who transferred his anxiety onto his players? Girardi’s postgame death stare was legend in the clubhouse; at times he wouldn’t even speak to his players, much less look at them, as he marched back to his office after a loss.
洋基的差勁有多少是這位超級熱心,而將壓力加諸於球員身上的總教練的錯?
吉總在比賽後死氣沉沉的眼神是休息室中的奇觀;有時他很少跟自己的球員講話,很少看著他們,在輸球後直接走進辦公室等.
So before they start negotiating in earnest with Scott Boras, Manny’s agent, the Yankees need to consider how Ramirez would respond to Girardi’s state trooper mentality. Here’s an early theory: He won’t.
在開始認真與Manny的經紀人 Scott Boras協商前,請洋基預想一下Manny會如何回應吉總的鐵腕作風.
我想, Manny根本就不會甩他.
Put it this way: How likely is it that Manny would shed his dreadlocks for Girardi, as per club policy? Ramirez did trim his hair for Torre, but only by an insignificant amount. Torre, knowing that he needed a happy and productive Manny during a three-month rental, chose not to push the issue.
這樣說好了: Manny遵守球隊規矩,為吉總剪去辮子頭的可能性有多大?
Manny為了托瑞作了修剪,不過只剪一點點；而托瑞知道他需要快樂的Manny 三個月的打工貢獻,所以他選擇不去催他(剪頭髮).
If the Yankees invest in Ramirez, it’s likely to be for three years, which means either he or the manager will be tested. The Bombers actually might find a bargain in Manny if the market keeps deflating. But if they cross the threshold, they’ll discover just how endless three summers can be if Ramirez is bored or distracted. Just ask the Sox, who to a man abandoned Manny and his antics.
如果洋基真的找來Manny,有可能會待上3年,這意味著他自己以及教練都將受考驗.
若市場行情持續不振的話,事實上Manny會對洋基做出某些保證的.不過一但跨過門檻,一但Manny開始搞怪或抓狂,洋基就會發現這3年的慢慢夏日有多難熬了.
去問問紅襪吧!去問他們對那個恣意無約的,嘩眾取寵的Manny有何評價.
Curt Schilling told WEEI in September, “even if we told people the truth [about Manny] they wouldn’t believe it.” The pitcher went on to say Ramirez displayed, “a level of disrespect to teammates and to people that was unfathomable.”
Curt Schilling 9月接受紅襪官方電台WEEI訪問時說:"即使我們說出關於Manny的真相,大家不會相信的."
這位老投手形容Manny的舉止是:"對隊友輕蔑無禮,行事作風令人難以理解."
The counter argument, of course, is that Manny felt he’d been disrespected by Sox ownership and therefore shouldn’t be judged by his behavior. The real Ramirez, says Boras, was the one who carried the Dodgers after the trading deadline.
當然,另一方的說法是Manny認為紅襪高層不尊重他,既然如此,就不要批判他的行為.而經紀人Boras的說辭是,被交易到道奇後的Manny才是真正的Manny.
Again, the Yankees haven’t entirely dismissed that theory. They tend to believe what one major executive said about Ramirez the other day. “If [Manny] is that much of a jerk, then why are the Dodgers interested in re-signing him?”
再一次,洋基還沒完全放棄一種論點,他們相信某位大聯盟高層說的:"如果Manny真的那麼混帳,為何道奇還想續簽他?"
It figures to become terrific theater in the next few weeks, but it’s Girardi who should be sweating. Either the Yankees steer clear of Ramirez and Mark Teixeira, leaving the Bombers with a third-place caliber offense.
看來接下來幾週會有好戲可看,不過對吉總來說都是會讓他全身冒汗的狀況.
洋基會放掉Manny和鐵爺,留給他3流的打線火力?
Or else Ramirez bursts through the clubhouse doors in spring training, dreadlocks in full sway, marking the beginning of the end of Girardi’s tenure.
抑或是在明年春訓時,Manny 擺動著他的辮子頭衝進休息室,象徵著吉總的領導權威結束?
Either way, there won’t be any soft landings in 2009. If ever there was a win-or-else edict issued to a manager — stated or not — it’s about to cling to Girardi like a second skin.
不管怎樣,2009年球季都是一場硬仗.不管老闆有沒有下達"給我贏球要不然滾蛋"的指令,對吉總來說這樣的壓力都會像他的第二層皮膚一樣,如影隨形地跟著他.
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