來源: The Mercury News
網址: https://tinyurl.com/yc9w6633
Better with age? Why the Giants keep acquiring older players
酒越陳越香? 為啥巨人都在招老人?
When the Giants reversed their fortunes in 1986 behind a group of vibrant
youngsters such as Will Clark and Robby Thompson, the team launched a clever
marketing slogan: “You Gotta Like These Kids!”
巨人在1986年在一群年輕球員，包括Will Clark跟Robby Thompson，打出了不錯的戰績，
那時候球團有個蠻聰明的口號: 「你一定會喜歡這群小夥子！」
Now, as the Giants put the final touches on their don’
t-trust-anyone-under-30 lineup, there’s an easy update for 2018: “You Gotta
Like These Coots!”
時至今日，巨人球團擺出來的名單，意思就像是說"不相信年紀低於30歲的球員"。所以，
1986那時候的口號現在可以改成，「你一定會喜歡這群老傢伙！」
Having already landed Andrew McCutchen, 31, and Evan Longoria, 32, the Giants
signed backup outfielder Austin Jackson to a two-year, $6 million contract.
Jackson doesn’t turn 31 until Feb. 1, so he can provide some youthful energy
off the bench.
先是招募了31歲的Andrew McCutchen，然後是32歲的Evan Longoria，現在巨人又簽下替補
外野手Austin Jackson，兩年6百萬。Jackson到二月一日滿31歲，所以他可以提供一些"年
輕"的衝勁。
The Giants pledged to get younger and more athletic this season. Instead,
they look older and more arthritic.
巨人球團本季本來誓言要找年輕一點，更有活力的球員；然而，他們現在找的都是一些老
摳摳，關節可能都發炎的老球員了。
Oh, and they’re also infinitely better.
喔，這些球員也比較好。
“I talked to Buster Posey today. He’s pumped,” manager Bruce Bochy said on
a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “He’s excited, as he should be.
Sure, it’s a club that needed some help — and we certainly got it.
「我今天跟Buster Posey談過，他很興奮，」總教練Bruce Bochy星期二在與記者的會談上
說到。「他很興奮。沒錯，球隊需要幫手，而我們也得到了幫手。」
“If you’d have told me after the season that we would have gotten this much
done and added these types of players, I couldn’t have been happier. I
really like where we’re at.”
「如果跟我說在正規賽季後我們會做那麼多努力跟得到這些球員，我真的會很高興的，而
我現在很滿意我們的狀況。」
The Giants remain in pursuit of an everyday center fielder, almost certainly
a low-cost option who can play reliable defense. As executive vice president
Brian Sabean explained on the call, Jackson fits in more as a super backup
who can fill in at all three outfield spots.
巨人還在找先發中外野手，但是要便宜而且要守的不錯的。如執行副總裁Brian Sabean在
電話上說的，Austin Jackson比較像是超級替補，他外野三個位置都能守。
Asked about the starting center field outlook, Sabean said: “We don’t know
what’s going to transpire between now and spring training, or how (Steven)
Duggar may or may not rear his head.
在被問到尋找先發中外野手時，Sabean說：「我不知道從現在到春訓之間還會有甚麼進
展，然後或是Steven Duggar能不能成長成先發中外野。」
“(Jackson) is certainly a viable option. Did we get him to be our everyday
center fielder? Probably not. I don’t know in his recent history he’s been
able to go out there in that fashion.”
「Jackson當然會是個選擇，但是把他放在每日先發中外野? 大概不會。依照他過去的狀
況，他大概不能以那種方式出賽。」
Duggar, 24, a hard-charging prospect and blossoming defensive player, has an
increased chance to make the team out of spring training. Or the Giants can
get creative by finding someone with the sliver of space they have remaining
under the $197 million competitive balance tax threshold.
24歲的Duggar，非常努力的潛力球員，逐漸成為一個防守型球員，有可能在春訓後成為隊
上的球員。或者，巨人球團可以在不超過1億9700萬鎂的豪華稅門檻，在那少少的薪資空間
裡，很有創意的找到可用的球員。
But as the roster comes together, it should be clear by now that neither
Sabean nor general manager Bobby Evans are going to sweat the fine print on
the birth certificate.
但是把目前的名單攤開來看，很明白的，副總裁Sabean或是總管Bobby Evans，都不會因為
看到球員的出生證明上的小字冒汗。
“I don’t know that the industry or us as an organization has a handle on
how you define age, individually or collectively,” Sabean said. “I don’t
know if age is relative to a number as far as how as someone is able to
perform.”
「我不知道棒球界或是我們球團對於年紀有個清楚的規範，不管是個別看還是總體來
看，」Sabean說。「我不知道，若是一個球員表現好不好，跟年紀是否有關係。」
Or, as C. Montgomery Burns once put it: “It’s not important how old you are
on parchment, it’s how old you feel in the humours.”
或者，像是辛普森卡通裡的Mr. Burns說的：「在出生證明上的數字的老並不重要，重要的
是你對幽默的感受的退化才是真老。」
As it stands, the Giants’ only regular position player under 30 will be
second baseman Joe Panik, at 27. (That is, after Brandon Belt’s milestone
birthday on April 20.) Their team photo could be labeled “Fifty Shades of
Gray.”
所以攤開來看，先發正規位置裡年紀低於30歲的只剩27歲的二壘手Joe Panik。(Brandon
Belt在4/20也要邁入30歲大關卡) 巨人的團體照片可以加上個標題：
「白頭髮的50道陰影。」
But Sabean noted that 30 doesn’t mean what it used to. Modern players enjoy
the benefits of more scheduled days off and more luxurious travel. Moreover,
breakthroughs in sports science have allowed players to be smarter about
diet, sleep, training and recovery.
但是Sabean提醒說，現在的30歲跟以前不太一樣了。現在的球員出賽比較好，可以有固定
的休息日，客場征戰旅途也比以前舒適。而且，現在運動科技的進步讓球員在飲
食，睡眠，訓練跟體能恢復上都比以前的球員來的好。
“You have so many factors to help a player through his career,” Sabean
said. “I think that what we’ve been able to do is add experience within the
facelift.”
「現在有很多方式幫助球員在職業生涯表現更好，」Sabean說。「我認為在球隊換血的過
程中，我們能做的是加上ㄧ些有經驗的球員。」
Jackson’s role remains to be determined because his defensive metrics
suggest that having him patrol AT&T Park on an everyday basis would be
unwise. Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic pointed out that Jackson ranked 60th
among 72 center fielders last season in defensive runs above average (minimum
100 innings). In terms of season-adjusted ultimate zone rating, Jackson
ranked 67th.
Jackson在巨人球隊上要擔任的角色還未確定，因為他在防守的數據上顯示，若是讓他在巨
人主場每天出賽的話會是不明智的。記者Andrew Baggarly指出，Jackson在上一季在72個
外野手裡，照defensive runs above average排序，他排名在第60位。若是在Ultimating
zone rating，依照賽季調整後，他的排序更掉到第67位。
But the right-handed hitter also mashed left-handers last year, batting .352
with a 1.013 OPS. And Jackson embraces his versatility, making 38 starts in
center field last season, 29 in left and 12 in right.
但是Jackson這位右打者很能打左投，去年打擊率是.352，OPS是1.013。而Jackson也很善
用他的多功能角色，去年38次出場守中外野，29次守左外，12次守右外。
Whatever his role, Jackson represents another significant upgrade for an
offense that needed punch. McCutchen (.486 slugging percentage last year),
Longoria (.424) and Jackson (.482, in 280 at-bats) ride in as the cavalry for
a team that finished last in almost every power category last season.
不管Jackson的角色會是如何，他代表的將會是升級巨人原本殘弱的打擊火力。McCutchen
(去年是.486的長打率)，Longoria (.424) 跟Jackson (在280 at bats是.482)這三人火力
部隊將會幫助巨人，巨人去年幾乎在每一項打擊數據都是排名墊底。
Evans managed to get them all by staying patiently aggressive in an otherwise
slow Hot Stove League.
比起目前緩慢的休賽季，總管Evans很有耐心但是積極的把這三個人招進來。
“I think to Bobby’s credit, what we’ve been able to accomplish is to
adjust this roster and give it a facelift and still stay under the threshold
to this point,” Sabean said.
「我認為就我們現在得到的球員，調整我們的球員名單，幫助球隊換血，然後還不超過豪
華稅門檻，那是總管Bobby Evans的功勞。」
Bochy took it a step further by sizing up the National League West.
總教練Bochy對於國聯西區做了更進一步的分析。
“It’s a very tough division,” he said. “But with what’s happened with
us, we feel like we can play with anybody.”
「這一區競爭很激烈，」他說。「但是就我們目前所做的，我認為我們可以跟任何一隊匹
敵。」
Old is the new black.
老將要開始夯了。