Run, Panda, Run! Sandoval’s unorthodox tag seals Giants win
By Mark Townsend
We all know Pablo Sandoval(notes) worked hard in the offseason to drop nearly
40 pounds and make himself slimmer, trimmer, and quicker than ever before.
But apparently the Kung Fu Panda thought we needed a reminder in the San
Francisco Giants 2-1 victory over the Minnesota.
With Michael Cuddyer(notes) representing the tying run on second base, and
Brian Wilson(notes) one out away from closing the game, Luke Hughes(notes)
hit a bouncing ball to Sandoval just wide of third base. Rather than make the
routine throw across the diamond to retire Hughes, Sandoval elected to show
off his newfound quickness and took off running towards Cuddyer.
我們都知道Pablo Sandoval在休季時努力減肥，瘦了將近40磅，這讓他看起來更
苗條、更修長、更快速。但顯然的是這個功夫熊貓要提醒我們他身材有多好。
當時Michael Cuddyer站上二壘，他代表追平分，Brian Wilson只要再解決一個就
能結束比賽，Luke Hughes打出彈跳球，正向著Sandoval防守的三壘範圍。正常情
況下，他接到球傳往一壘就可以封殺 Hughes並且結束比賽，但Sandoval為了炫耀
他那敏捷的速度，衝去追殺Cuddyer。
Now, with first base open, Cuddyer was not forced to run on the play, but how
often do you see an infielder choose a foot race when a simple throw is all
that's required? It never happens. The throw is always the sure thing, so his
cheating down the basepath wasn't unusual.
Sandoval's plan of action was unusual, and that forced a likely stunned
Cuddyer to stop dead in his tracks and led what felt like a slow-motion chase
back towards second base. With momentum on his side, Sandoval gained enough
ground in his pursuit to apply a diving, game-ending, and hide-saving tag
just before Cuddyer made a safe return.
一壘是空的，所以 Cuddyer不是被迫進壘，但你何時看過內野手可以輕鬆傳一壘卻
不傳，結果跑去追殺跑者，這真有那麼必要？絕對沒必要，肯定就該傳一壘，也就
是說他在那追是不正常的。
Sandoval的行動不正常，也讓呆住的Cuddyer停下死亡腳步，造成猶如慢動作般的追
逐戲碼上演。在Cuddyer安全回壘之前，Sandoval在追捕中獲得足夠空間讓他能演出
飛撲、觸殺、然後比賽結束。
In reality the play was over in five seconds. From manager Bruce Bochy's
perspective, it must have felt like five minutes.
From MLB.com:
"That's a new play. We didn't work on that this spring, but he broke it out
in that situation," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said, barely suppressing a
laugh. "I didn't know what he was doing either, to be honest. I guess he
wanted to show off some speed there."
Maybe. Or maybe he just wanted to ruin Michael Cuddyer's reputation.
Or maybe he was caught up in the moment.
實際上這個戲碼大概只有五秒，對總教練 Bruce Bochy而言看起來像是五分鐘。
摘自MLB.com:
巨人總教練 Bruce Bochy強忍著笑表示：『這是新動作，春訓時我們並沒有演練
過這種守備，但他在這種情況下忽然爆這東西出來，我也不知道他在幹麻，老實
說我猜他想炫耀某些速度。』
也許吧！也或者他只是想毀了Michael Cuddyer的名聲。
或者他在想那重要時刻抓住觀眾目光。
"That's the emotion we play with. It's part of the game," Sandoval said. "You
get so excited, so pumped up, that you want to do all the things to win."
All the things to win can mean a lot of different things. However, I don't
think this play ranks too high on that list of things. But if you're the
Giants, you'll take it. If you're a Giants fan, you'll accept it. After all,
you signed up for the torture. There's nothing you can do but learn to love
it.
Sandoval表示：『那在當下是我們表現的激情，這是比賽的一部份，當你太過刺激
(興奮)，就會翹起來(充滿力量)，所以你想做所有的事情去贏得比賽。』
贏球的所有事情包含很多不同的意義，然而我認為這守備不在贏球要件中。但如果
你是巨人隊員，你得接受它。如果你是巨人球迷，你會容忍它。
畢竟不爽還要看，你做不了任何事只好學著愛它。
原文：http://tinyurl.com/659b9g9
觀看飛撲：http://mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=16207315