http://0rz.tw/ab3WR
Let's wake up, everybody! Games in April count every bit as much as games in
August and September. And yes, we have big races going on that we can follow
throughout the season. Take a look:
各位打起精神來!四月份的比賽和八月或九月的比賽一樣精采。是的，這個球季還有精采
的比賽即將進行，我們來瞧一瞧:
Washington vs. Washington
New ballpark be damned, the Washington Nationals are still a horrible
ballclub. Their record, like their hips, don't lie. The Washington Nationals
are 9-17, the same record as their opponents in this matchup, the Ron
Washington-led Texas Rangers. Each team can brag about shaky pitching and
poor clutch hitting, but only the Rangers can own their club record for most
losses in April. The previous high of 15 happened three times. The 2008
Rangers also matched the 1982 squad for the worst start after 23 games since
the team moved to Texas in 1972. Here's a race to watch all season long or
until Ron Washington loses his job, whichever comes first.
不只新球場糟透了，華盛頓國民隊也仍然是一支表現不佳的球隊。戰績是騙不了人的。9
勝17敗戰績和由Ron Washington帶領的德州遊騎兵隊一樣遭糕。每支球隊都可以怪罪不穩
定的投球表現，或是不佳的關鍵時刻打擊能力，但是只有遊騎兵隊創下隊史四月份最多敗
的紀錄。之前的最多敗紀錄是15場，曾發生過3次。2008年的遊騎兵隊也追平球隊自1972
年移至德州後的開季前23場最差成績。我們可以觀察整個球季兩支球隊誰的戰績會比較爛
，不過也許Ron Washington會先丟掉他的工作。
Joe vs. Joe
While neither Joe is faring as poorly as Tom Hanks in "Joe Versus the
Volcano," you know that I'm not the only one tracking the Joe Torre Dodgers
versus the Joe Girardi Yankees. As of this date, it's the Yankees at 14-13
over LA, 12-13.
兩位Joe都不像湯姆漢克在電影"Joe Versus the Volcano(跳火山的人)"中一樣可憐，但
是你知道我向大多數人一樣持續追蹤觀察道奇隊的Joe Torre與洋基隊的Joe Girardi之間
的競爭。目前為止，洋基隊以14勝13敗小贏道奇隊的12勝13敗。
Manny vs. Junior
When you mention Manny Ramirez you must acknowledge that most of the time it
results in Manny versus reality, but in the case I have him in a home run
milestone duel. Manny and his 496 homers versus Junior Griffey and his 597
homers. Who will reach his respective milestone first?
當你想到Manny Ramirez時，大部分時候應該都是想到錢，但是在這裡我要提到的是他的
全壘打里程碑。Manny已經打出496支全壘打，Griffey Jr.則有597支，誰會先達到各自的
全壘打里程碑呢?
Manny versus Manny
Last season Manny had career lows with 20 homers and 88 RBI. I say the 2008
version of Manny (the one in a contract year) has those numbers by the
All-Star break.
上個球季Manny只打出了20支全壘打與88分打點。我認為2008年球季 (合約年) 的Manny在
明星賽前就能打出相同的成績。
Phil Hughes vs. Ian Kennedy vs. Clay Buchholz
Yes, there must be at least one Yankees/Red Sox rivalry going on, and this
seems like as good a one as any. Here are three pitchers who are not quite
ready to pitch in the majors throwing for teams that feel that their offenses
are good enough to compensate. So far, Phil Hughes is 0-3 with a 7.85 ERA;
Ian Kennedy is 0-2 with a 8.53 ERA; and, the clear leader, Clay Buchholz, is
1-2 with a 4.08 ERA.
是的，至少得有一項洋基與紅襪間的競爭持續進行。有三位投手似乎還沒準備好在大聯盟
投球。他們的投球表現還沒有讓球團感到滿意。目前Phil Hughes的成績為0勝3敗，防禦
率7.85;Ian Kennedy則是0勝2敗，防禦率8.53。明顯表現較佳的Clay Buchholz則是1勝2
敗，防禦率4.08。
Frank Thomas vs. Jason Giambi
Frank is back in Oakland, which means this battle of the over-the-hills can
resume. The Big Hurt is hitting .197 with 3 homers and 14 RBIa while Jason
"I'm so sorry" Giambi has five homers and 11 RBIs with a .167 batting
average. Saying goodbye to this contest is David "Big Papi" Ortiz, who is now
up to .177 with four homers and 20 RBIs.
Frank重返大聯盟加入奧克蘭運動家隊，這代表了走下坡的競賽將繼續上演。重傷害打出
.197打擊率，3支全壘打與14分打點，Jason "I'm so sorry" Giambi的成績則是.167打擊
率，5支全壘打與11分打點。首先脫離這場競爭的是老爹David Ortiz，他的打擊率上升至
.177，並擁有4支全壘打與20分打點。
Tampa Bay vs. Disney World
This is so one-sided, I can't imagine why the Rays just don't pick up and
move to David Archuleta Land (that's a shout out to "American Idol" fans on
your way to crowning the whiniest and most annoying dull singer since Bobby
Goldsboro). After sweeping the Jays, the Rays are now 6-0 in the House of the
Mouse. The attendance for the series finale was 9,540, the largest crowd of
the three games this year. That brought the total for the series against the
Blue Jays to 26,798 — 119 fewer fans than last year's set here against the
Rangers. On top of that, Toronto's Alex Rios was ejected during in of the
game's against Tampa Bay when he slung his bat and slammed his batting helmet
to the ground after striking out. His words deeply offended Snow White.
我個人無法理解光芒隊為什麼不搬到David Archuleta Land(American Idol的影迷想要讓
愛抱怨又惹人厭的David Archuleta在Bobby Goldboro之後成為獲勝的歌星)。在橫掃藍鳥
隊之後，光芒隊在迪士尼運動中心的戰績來到了6勝0敗。系列賽的最後一場比賽觀眾人數
為9540人，面對藍鳥隊的三場比賽進場人數是今年度最多的26798 人，只比去年在這裡面
對遊騎兵隊的系列賽少了19人而已。多倫多藍鳥隊的Alex Rios在這個系列賽中被驅逐出
場，由於他在被三振後將球棒與打擊頭盔重重的摔在地上，並且說話激怒了裁判。
John Gibbons vs. the Toronto Blue Jays' record
Scott Rolen can't come back fast enough to help Gibbons, who is in the last
year of his contract.
Scott Rolen無法及時回到球隊給予Gibbsons一些幫助，今年是Gibbons合約的最後一年。
Stephen vs. J.D. (a.k.a. Nancy) Drew
The Drew brothers, the Hardy Boys of baseball, are always a fun rivalry.
Stephen, at short for the Diamondbacks, has three homers, eight RBIs and is
hitting .272. Nancy, playing right field for the Red Sox, has three homers,
13 RBI and is hitting .273. In case you are curious, J.D.'s full name is
David Jonathan Drew — no joke, or as he says, "joke no."
熱血的棒球男孩，Drew兄弟之間的競爭總是令人感興趣。擔任響尾蛇隊游擊手的Stephen
打出3支全壘打，8分打點與.272打擊率，擔任紅襪隊右外 野手的Nancy則有3支全壘打，
13分打點與.273打擊率。J.D.的全名是David Jonathan Drew，這不是開玩笑的，或者像
他說的:"別開別人玩笑。"
Eric Gagne vs. Manny Corpas
This was a great race between two closers to see who can accumulate the most
blown saves. They were tied at four apiece before Corpas was demoted.
這又是另一個有趣的競爭，看看兩位終結者誰能累計最多的救援失敗。在Corpas降為中繼
投手前兩個人都各有4次救援失敗。
B.J. Upton vs. Justin Upton
B.J. is hitting .289 with two homers, 18 RBIs and four stolen bases. Justin
Upton is way in the lead here with five homers, 14 RBIs and a .323 batting
average (zero stolen bases). B.J.'s given name is Melvin Emmanuel Upton; I
don't want to know how he got his nickname.
B.J. Upton目前打出.289打擊率，兩支全壘打，18分打點與4次盜壘成功，Justin則表現
較佳，有5支全壘打，14分打點與.323打擊率(0次盜壘成功)。B.J.的本名叫做Melvin
Emmanuel Upton; 我不想知道他的綽號是怎麼來的。
Detroit Tigers vs. 1,000 runs
For those of you had picked the Tigers to generate a 1,000-run offense, you
must be pretty worried. Well, as long as there are pitching staffs like that
of the Texas Rangers, there is always hope. Detroit is up to 130 runs in 26
games, while the Diamondbacks lead all teams in scoring with 153.
那些認為老虎隊本季能攻得1000分的人現在應該很擔心。但是如果對手的投手都表現的和
德州遊騎兵堆隊一樣差的話，那麼還是有希望的。老虎隊在26場比賽得到130分。響尾蛇
隊則得到了領先全聯盟的153分。
Brandon Webb vs. Barry Zito
Can Webb actually win more games than Zito loses? Webb has six wins and Zito
has six losses. This should be great.
Brandon的勝場數有辦法超過Zito的敗場數嘛?Webb目前6勝，Zito則是6敗，這將會很有看
頭。
Cubs vs. White Sox
The first place White Sox are 14-10. The first place Cubs are 16-9. May 23,
2004 is the last time the Cubs and White Sox were in first place at the same
time this late into the season. The last time these teams met in the Series?
In 1906, when the White Sox topped the Cubs, 4 game to 2.
排名分區第一的白襪隊目前戰績是14勝10敗，另一支排名第一的小熊隊則是16勝9敗。上
一次白襪與小熊隊同時排名分區第一已經是2004年5月23日的事了。那上一次兩隊在世界
大賽碰面是什麼時候呢?1906年時，白襪以4勝2敗擊敗小熊隊。
NHL Playoffs vs. Apathy
Who cares? Really, who cares?
誰會在意呢?說真的，誰會在意呢?