Nationals' Wang takes another positive step（翻譯） - 棒球

※ 引述《yyhong68 (come every now and then)》之銘言：
: Nationals' Wang takes another positive step, but where are all the strikeouts?
: August 16, 2011 10:25 PM
: by Byron Kerr

國民隊的小王又往前邁進一步，但是他怎麼投不出三振咧？

: After two starts and 12 runs allowed, there was concern about how far
: Nationals' right-hander Chien-Ming Wang needed to go to get back to his
: form from 2006 and 2007.

經過兩場先發，丟了12分之後，許多人都在想，
國民隊的右投手小王究竟還需要多久時間，才能回到2006年與2007年的頂尖身手？

: Then came wins over the Chicago Cubs and Tuesday over the Cincinnati Reds,
: where he surrendered four runs in two starts, showing the potential of Wang
: in a Nationals uniform.

不過當小王陸續擊敗芝加哥小熊隊與辛辛那提紅人隊後，他的潛力已經逐漸展現出來了。
在這兩場比賽中，小王只讓對手得到四分。

: He still has a long ways to go, but to see a positive turn in results, where
: he was pitching out of bad spots, even without his best stuff, was certainly
: a good sign after such a long layoff.

雖然小王還有很長一段路要走，不過小王已經逐漸擺脫他的缺點，
即使他還沒恢復頂尖身手，但是在休息這麼長的時間之後，
這些正面的結果也代表了一個很好的訊號。


: So which is it? Is Wang back or does he have a ways to go?
: Tuesday his sinker was not at its best but he did adapt. And he came out of
: the blocks slowly, as he has done in three of his first four chances with
: the Nationals.

那麼，這個好訊號是什麼呢？
這代表小王恢復身手了？或者小王還有一段路要走呢？
小王在星期二的球賽中，並沒有將他的伸卡球發揮得淋漓盡致，不過他最後還是克服了困境。
從小王穿著國民隊球衣的前四場比賽來看，在近三場球賽中，小王已經逐漸復出了！

: Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty was concerned when the Reds raced out
: to a pair of runs off three hits in the first inning. Manager Davey Johnson
: reasoned with McCatty that Wang was going to be fine.

當紅人隊在第一局擊出三支安打得到兩分時，國民隊的投手教練McCatty感到有點憂心。
不過總教練Johnson跟McCatty聊了一下，跟他說小王沒問題。


: "McCatty told me he was watching him and said 'he was too strong, too
: strong,'" Johnson said. "I said, 'no, he is just getting loose.' He is
: getting the ball a little bit up, but sometimes you don't make perfect
: pitches."

Johnson說：「McCatty告訴我，他邊看著小王，邊說小王太過用力，用力過猛了。
我跟他說，不對，小王是太放鬆了。小王只是把球投得有點高，不過沒人能夠一直投出完美的球呀！」

: Wang said he needed to rely on his other pitches when the sinker was not
: going where he wanted it to go.

小王說，當他無法投出到位的伸卡球時，他就必須依賴其他的球種。

: Through his translator, Wang said, "When the sinker is not sinking I try to
: find out a solution, maybe mix in the changeup or slider and get both down,
: and try to get more batters out."

小王透過翻譯說：「當伸卡球沒有掉下去時，我試著要找到解決的方法，
也許我會混著投一點變化球或滑球，然後讓把球壓低，希望能讓更多打者出局。」

: Wang got help from his defense, and was able to mix other pitches in to
: get guys out. Johnson said Wang found a way to get those outs even with
: his patented sinker not doing what he wanted it to do for most of the
: night.

小王的投球策略也發揮了效用，他的不同球路讓對手紛紛出局。
Johnson說：「雖然小王的專利伸卡球今天晚上沒有完全發揮，不過小王也找到讓打者出局的方法。」

: "(The Reds) are a pretty good hitting ball club," Johnson said. "He pitched
: a heck of a ball game. He got the ball up a little late (in the sixth
: inning). I probably (let him go) one hitter too long. He threw a lot of
: great pitches. He actually threw more breaking balls tonight. I was really
: pleased with his effort."

Johnson說：「紅人隊的打擊相當猛烈，不過小王投得更好。雖然小王的球後來有點偏高（第六局時），
可是那大概是我多讓他投了一個人。小王投出很多好球，其實他今天大部分都是投變化球。
我對他的表現感到相當高興。」

: That is two games in a row where Wang has allowed just three runs in his
: first six innings. But Wang continues to have trouble missing bats, shown
: by the three total strikeouts in four starts, a span of 21 1/3 innings,
: none on Tuesday.

這是小王連續兩場讓對手在前六局只得到三分。不過小王的三振能力卻令人擔憂。
小王已經先發了四場，在總共21又1/3局的投球中，小王只投出三次三振。
今天晚上則是一次三振都沒有。

: In his first three starts, his swinging strike percentage was just 2.6
: percent, according to fangraphs.com, the lowest percentage of his career.
: In the last three seasons he pitched, his swinging strike percentage
: hovered around 7.0 percent, still below the league average of 8.6 percent.
: Serviceable certainly, but under 3.0 percent makes it difficult to survive
: very long in games.

根據fangraphs.com的紀錄，在小王先發的前三場比賽中，小王讓打者揮空的比率只有2.6％。
這是小王目前的最低紀錄。
在過去三個球季裡，雖然小王讓打者的揮空率約在7％左右，但那仍然低於全聯盟的平均（8.6％）。
雖然小王並不需要太多的三振數，但是當這個數據低於3％時，投手就很難在這類球賽中投太久。


: The more telling statistic, though, is the amount of contact opposing
: hitters are making on his pitches. The "On-Contact percent", the percentage
: of times a batter makes contact with the ball when swinging at pitches
: thrown outside the strike zone, is a whopping 96.7 percent in Wang's three
: starts this season.

小王比較夠力的數據是讓對手揮擊壞球的比率。在小王本季先發的前三場比賽中，這個比率高達96.7％。
這就是所謂的「揮擊率」，也就是當投手投出好球帶以外的球時，打者照樣出棒揮擊到球的比率。
（不太確定這個名詞是不是這樣翻..請各位指教）

: The statistics bore out on Tuesday, when the Reds swung and missed just
: twice, during Drew Stubbs' at-bat in the fifth.
: The Reds' helped Wang's cause by putting the ball in play on his first
: pitch of the at-bat nine times in 6 1/3 innings.
: But Wang did allow only four runs on seven hits, with one walk. He threw
: just 60 pitches, 39 for strikes. It was his second straight good start and
: proved the win at Chicago was no fluke.

這些數據在星期二的比賽中也得到了證實，因為紅人隊今天只有Drew Stubbs在第五局時揮空兩次。
紅人隊的打者也幫助小王獲勝，因為在小王6又1/3局的投球中，紅人隊打者有九次是第一球就打了。
雖然小王一共被打了七支安打，不過最後只掉了四分，投出一次保送。
小王只投了60球，其中有39球是好球。
這是小王連續第二場不錯的先發，也證明他擊敗小熊隊的表現不是曇花一現。

: This was Wang's first win at home since May 2, 2008, with the New York
: Yankees in a 5-1 win over Seattle. It marked the first time since June 10
: and 15, 2008, that he won two decisions in a row (at Oakland and at Houston).
: So, there is concern certainly for the Wang's overall strikeout and swing
: and miss totals. But with his sinker not perfect, Wang found a way to win
: somehow, and that is the best sign that he continues to take positive
: strides towards returning close to the spectacular form he displayed four
: seasons ago.

這是小王在國民隊主場所贏得的第一場勝利。
前一場主場勝利，是在2008年5月2日時，當時他率領洋基隊以5比1擊敗水手隊。
此外，這次的二連勝，也是小王從2008年6月10日與15日分別擊敗運動家與太空人之後的第一次。
雖然外界對於小王的三振能力與對手揮空率等表現，還是有所擔憂，
不過，在小王無法投出完美的伸卡球時，他還能夠找到贏球的方法，那就表示小王已經朝著正確的方向前進，
逐漸恢復他在四個球季前的身手了。


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