Griffey to see game from new angle - 美國職棒

Slugger expected to begin acclimating to left field soon


PEORIA, Ariz. -- When Ken Griffey Jr. graduates in a few days from being the
Mariners' designated hitter to their left fielder, it will be one of the few
times in his storied career that the future Hall of Famer has played on that
side of center field.

小葛要試著去守左外

Griffey was the Major League's best center fielder during the 1990s and early
2000s, and he moved to right field during his final three seasons with the
Reds because of numerous leg injuries.

沒完沒了的腳痛

All that's left is left, a position he has not played during the regular
season since Aug. 23, 2002, in Houston. He also played parts of two games in
left field in 1997 and '98, for a grand total of eight innings.

"Griff hasn't played left field much at all," manager Don Wakamatsu said. "We
want to get him out there and get [him] acclimated to it."

Wakamatsu:以前只守過8局啦 哇哩咧

A 10-time Gold Glove Award winner in center field during his halcyon first
career with the Mariners, Griffey is confident.

"It's about figuring out the angles," Griffey said on Monday. "Center field
is the easiest position to play, because there are no angles. You just go to
where you think the ball's going to come down."

10屆金手套:守中外好簡單╮(╯▽╰)/

Wakamatsu said that the date of Griffey's first game in the field has not
been determined, but Griffey suggested that it's likely to be either Thursday
night, when Seattle plays a day-night doubleheader against the Cubs-Padres,
or the following Tuesday in another day-night twinbill, against the Rangers
at home and Dodgers on the road. Both night games will be televised in the
Northwest.

"The biggest thing is how much Junior wants to play left field," Wakamatsu
said. "I know how effective he can play there, but his health will dictate it
as much as anything. We have talked to him about doing whatever we can to get
as much production out of him while keeping him healthy all year.

Wakamatsu:小葛 你 想要嗎 >////<

"We don't want that [left] knee flaring up on him, forcing him to play hurt
the way he did last year. I think he's all for that."

Griffey has gone through more than almost three weeks of Spring Training and
says that his surgically repaired left knee feels good. There was a little
discomfort early, but that has completely subsided.

小葛:我現在很蘇湖

"There is no pain in his knee," Wakamatsu said. "He has assured us of that.
But he also has told us that the knee is about 75 to 85 percent,
strength-wise. We think it will be close to 100 percent by the time the
[regular] season opens, and the challenge we have is how many games we can
get him out there before the season starts."

Not even Griffey knows how many games it will take for him to become
comfortable in his new position. That being said, the transition should be
easier than moving from center field to right field, which he did with the
Reds in 2007.

Wakamatsu:傷 好了再上！

The change had less of an impact on his offense than his defense. Griffey
batted .282 with 30 home runs and 92 RBIs that season and committed eight
errors in 304 total chances. It was the most errors he had made since 1999,
his final season of his first stint with the Mariners.

右外野守得很爛

"All this stuff you hear about [left field] being the easiest [outfield]
position is because you don't have to rush," Griffey said. "How many triples
do you see on balls hit down the left-field line? And how many triples do you
see on balls hit down the right-field line?"

It also helps that Griffey is left-handed. He can play closer to the line and
keep potential doubles to singles -- the way Barry Bonds and other
left-handed left fielders do with a spin-and-throw move.

小葛:左外野我躺著守( ￣ c￣)y▂ξ

In addition to that, center fielder Franklin Gutierrez already has shown that
he can cover a lot of ground in the outfield.

"I've already told him that he has everything -- until I call for it,"
Griffey said, grinning. "I'll catch anything I can get to, because I'm taller
than him."

小葛:Gutierrez你籃板球是搶不過我的(臭屁)

Turning serious for a second, Griffey said that communication is the key and,
yes, the center fielder is the outfield quarterback.

"I have already gauged his speed," Griffey said. "If he's one foot short of
that, we have problems. But he's going to be fun to watch."

During a recent outfield drill on one of the practice fields at the Peoria
Sports Complex, both Griffey and Gutierrez chased a ball hit into the
left-center-field gap.

嘴砲驗證時間

"[Gutierrez] said, 'I got it,' and I said 'OK.' He ran, and ran, and ran. ...
I watched."

Insert more laughter.

Gutierrez:我用聽的就知道球在哪╮(╯▽╰)/

Wakamatsu said that several factors would be taken into account when
determining how much playing time Griffey gets in the field and how much time
he spends in the DH role.

Endy Chavez -- currently playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic
-- probably would get the majority of starts in left field against
right-handed pitchers. Griffey would handle the DH duties in most of those
games.

Chavez在對右投時會上來守左外(阿Wlad咧...？)

"We will take into consideration whether he runs the bases a ton in any
particular game," Wakamatsu said. "We also start the season with four games
on [artificial] turf in Minnesota. So we just have to pick and choose when
and where to use him [in a way] that is best for the team and best for
Junior."

Wakamatsu:責任我來扛

But the Mariners didn't bring back Junior for his defense. It's mostly about
driving in runs and contributing to an offense that ranked among the lowest
in the American League last season.

我們需要的是小葛的棒子

That part of his game, he says, is gradually improving this spring.

"My swing is fine, as far as the mechanics," Griffey said. "It's just getting
caught up. There is a difference between someone throwing 60 [mph in batting
practice] and someone throwing 90 [in a game]."

40歲小葛:男人快不快真的有差

He went 0-for-3 with a walk in Monday's game against the Dodgers at Peoria
Stadium and is 2-for-14 in Cactus League action.

爛死了

"It's not about getting hits," he said. "The last time I checked, there are
no stats on the back of a bubble gum card on Spring Training. Those don't
count. A pitcher can win five games here and might not win five games all
year. It's all about getting ready for the season.

小葛:時機若對我第一個開轟

"The key is doing things on Fields 1 and 2 [at the Peoria Sports Complex],
take that into a game and see where you are. That's all the games are for, to
judge what you're working on. Progress is being made."

He said that hitless Cactus League games "don't faze me. I don't look at it
that way. It's not important for me to hit .300 in the spring. Now, if I was
trying to make the team, it would be important, but I have played this game a
little while, and I understand what I have to do."

老僧入定

He added that building a solid foundation with his legs and getting the
timing down with his hands are his focal points.

When those are fine-tuned, it's time to start the regular season.

Even if it's in left field.

期待新賽季的小葛吧

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第一次翻譯@__@"


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