Brandon Morrow與水兵的愛恨情仇 - 美國職棒

身為水兵粉的我，雖然水兵維持一貫的季後賽缺席，更不要說WS，

我還是要來幫我水兵搶版面

來源: The Seattle Times
網址: http://tinyurl.com/yalebxxn

Brandon Morrow’s pitches don’t include throwing Mariners under the bus
Brandon Morrow與水兵的愛恨情仇

LOS ANGELES – You don’t hear resentment in his voice when he talks about
his time with the Mariners. He enjoyed Seattle. He appreciated the fans. He
bonded with teammates, and all that good stuff.
從他在講他在水兵時光的聲音當中，聽不出來有怨恨的意味。他喜歡西雅圖，他也喜歡水
兵粉，他跟水兵的球員相處甚歡，都是美好的經驗。

But Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Brandon Morrow can’t help but share an
opinion when reflecting on his former club.
但是道奇後援投手Bradon Morrow忍不住要對他的前球團表示一點意見。

“It was inconsistent developmentally,” said the 33-year-old Morrow, who is
about to take part in the first World Series of his career. “It was awesome
not spending any time in the minor leagues and making the team in the first
spring training, but long term, if you think the kid you draft fifth overall
is going to be a starting pitcher in the major leagues, you probably want to
handle that a little better. But I’m not going to throw anyone under the bus.
”
「這球隊在培育上是前後矛盾的，」Brandon Morrow，33歲，要開始他人生的第一次世界
大賽。「不用花時間在小聯盟打球而直接在第一次春訓就進大聯盟是很讚。但是，若是長
遠來看，如果你認為你第五順位選到的新秀要培養成一個大聯盟等級的先發，你應該要做
的比那更好一點吧！但我現在不會要出賣說是誰的問題。」

This was not pent-up frustration Morrow was waiting to unload. It has been
eight years since Seattle dealt him to Toronto, and given that he’s about to
live out his childhood dream, Morrow doesn’t have much reason to be upset
about anything. But he does have a point.
這並不是Morrow壓抑許久的挫折感要一次宣洩。水兵把Morrow交易到多倫多已經八年前的
事了，而且基於他正準備要實現他從孩提以來的夢想，他沒有太多的理由要去抱怨甚麼事
情，但他講了一個重點。

If the Mariners weren’t postseason contenders in 2007 — when they went
88-74 and finished six games out of the final playoff spot — he likely would
have been developed differently instead of being instantly vaulted into the
bullpen.
如果水兵2007年不會是有搶季後賽的競爭隊伍--當年水兵88-74，打了最後六場要搶季後賽
席次--他或許就會有不一樣的發展，而不是就是一下子就丟到牛棚去。

He likely would have spent more time in the minors, where the Mariners would
have tried to groom him into a starting pitcher. He likely wouldn’t have
vacillated between starting and relieving roles, where he failed to find
consistency in either.
他或許就會花多一點時間在小聯盟，水兵就可以慢慢把他培育成一個先發。他或許就不用
先發跟後援換來換去，結果兩邊都做不好。

It didn’t help that he was drafted in 2006 above Cy Young winners Clayton
Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Tim Lincecum — the latter was a Washington Husky
and won his Cys in Morrow’s last two years in Seattle. His draft position
wasn’t his fault, of course, but Morrow felt that a bit at the end.
在2006的選秀，他的順位比賽揚得主書僮，薛蛇跟盲腸都要好，但是那並沒有幫到他--盲
腸以前是西雅圖華盛頓大學的球員，盲腸在Morrow最後兩年在水兵的時候拿賽揚獎。當
然，他被高順位選秀選上不是他的錯，但是Morrow最後覺得有一點。

“It wasn’t like I was bad,” he said. “It’s just that (Lincecum) was so
good.”
「那並不是因為我投的不好，」他說。「那是因為盲腸太強了。」

These days, though, Morrow is thriving in a league Lincecum no longer plays
in. If not for rock-star closer Kenley Jansen, Morrow’s 2.06 ERA would be
the best on the Dodgers.
這些日子以來，Morrow在聯盟逐漸向上爬，盲腸已經不再打球了。要不是道奇有王牌守護
神Kenley Jansen，Morrow的ERA只有2.06，會是道奇陣中最佳投手。

In seven appearances during these playoffs, Morrow has logged 81/3 innings
while posting a 1.08 ERA.
在道奇季後賽7次上場，Morrow投了8又1/3局，ERA1.08。

As Jansen said Monday: “There’s a reason we’ve had the best bullpen this
postseason — him.”
Jansen星期一說：「我們有季後賽最強牛棚的原因是因為他--Morrow。」

That’s pretty high praise for a player the Dodgers signed to a minor-league
contract in January. That’s pretty lofty acclaim for a player whose injury
history includes biceps tendinitis, arm inflammation, an oblique strain,
radial nerve entrapment, an index-finger tendon sheath strain, shoulder
inflammation and, last year, valley fever, which is a fungal infection of the
lungs that feels like the flu.
對一個道奇今年一月用小聯盟約簽下來的選手來說，這是極高的讚美了。對於一個傷病史
不斷的球員，包括二頭肌肌腱炎，手臂發炎，腹斜肌拉傷，橈神經壓迫症候群，食指肌腱
鞘拉傷，肩關節發炎，以及去年因為肺部真菌感染導致的溪谷熱，這真的是很好的稱讚
了。

Morrow — who was also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in high school —
admits that last malady was the low point for him. He had already lost 10
pounds recovering from shoulder surgery, then dropped another 15 while
recovering from the disease.
Morrow在中學的時候被診斷出有第一型糖尿病，他也承認得到最後那個溪谷熱是他人生的
低點了。他因為肩膀的手術恢復後掉了10磅，而從那個溪谷熱康復又掉了15磅。

So when he failed to make the Dodgers’ roster last spring — being relegated
to Class AAA Oklahoma City instead — there was reason to think he was done.
Now, there’s reason to think Morrow might have another five years left.
所以當他春訓的時候沒擠進先發輪值，被下放到3A奧克拉荷馬的時候，大家大概會認為他
的投球生涯大概就是這樣了吧！不過現在，大家應該會有理由相信Morrow大概還可以再投
個五年吧！

Since being called up to the majors in late May, Morrow has been one of the
most productive pitchers for the National League’s best bullpen. He said his
command and health have never been better, which a career-best 0.916 WHIP
would reflect.
從五月底被徵召上大聯盟，Morrow就一直是這國聯最強牛棚裡的一位表現傑出的投手，他
說他現在的控球跟健康狀況是最好的一次，這可以從他的WHIP只有0.916看得出來。

Moreover, Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said using Morrow is
contingent less on what inning it is, and more on who he would be facing. In
other words, the Dodgers want Morrow pitching against the opponent’s top
hitters.
甚至，道奇投手教練Honeycutt說派Morrow投球比較不用看是哪一局才上，而是要看他要對
上誰要上來打擊。換句話說，道奇要讓他對付對手的頂尖打者。

“You have to pitch extremely well to be a back-end guy facing the best part
of the lineup,” Honeycutt said. “That’s where Brandon is right now.”
「你要是那種投的極好的人才能成為比賽後段上場面對對方最強打擊的投手，」Honeycutt
說。「那就是Brandon Marrow現在的狀況。」

Relief pitchers are commanding bigger and bigger salaries these days, with
closers such as Aroldis Chapman and Craig Kimbrel earning $21 million and $13
million, respectively, this year. Morrow won’t command that much scratch,
but he’s proven enough to earn one more contract that should set him up for
life.
後援投手現在可以拿越來越大的合約，像是終結者Chapman今年2100萬鎂，Kimbrel拿1300
萬鎂。Morrow或許拿不到那麼大筆，但是他至少證明他現在可以再拿一個讓他終生無虞的
合約。

Not that he’s concerning himself with that.
並不是說他有在想到這些事情。

“You can’t think ahead because you have no idea what’s going to happen,”
Morrow said.
「這種是沒辦法事先計畫的，因為根本不知道將來會是怎樣。」

He would know better than most. Eleven years later, Morrow is finally
throwing at the level scouts foresaw when the Mariners drafted him.
不過他會比其他人更了解將來會如何。11年了，Morrow終於達到水手選他時，球探預期他
可以到達的投球等級了。

He’s been waiting for this moment his whole career. The only option is to
embrace it.
他等這個機會等了他整個投球生涯，現在就是抓住它的時候了。

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