: April Fools
: By Rich Lederer
: The first month of the season is almost behind us. We know who has performed
: well: Chase Utley, Chipper Jones, Pat Burrell, Albert Pujols, Derrek Lee,
: Hanley Ramirez, Rafael Furcal, Lance Berkman, Nate McLouth, and Manny Ramirez,
: to name ten hitters; plus Cliff Lee, Ben Sheets, Zack Greinke, Edinson
: Volquez,
本球季第一个月已经快过完了，我们知道谁表现的好:
Chase Utley, Chipper Jones, Pat Burrell, Albert Pujols, Derrek Lee,
Hanley Ramirez, Rafael Furcal, Lance Berkman, Nate McLouth, and Manny Ramirez
是其中十位表现最好的打者，
另外还有Cliff Lee, Ben Sheets, Zack Greinke, Edinson Volquez,
Tim Lincecum, 与Brandon Webb,是在季初最佳的半打投手。
: Tim Lincecum, and Brandon Webb, as among the half dozen best pitchers in the
: early going.
: But which players have put up the worst numbers during April?
但是谁在四月的表现数字最差呢?
: Jayson Nix: .111/.216/.133 with 1 XBH in 51 PA. Nix has gone 0-for-17 since
: his
: last hit on April 13. Although the rookie hit .256/.321/.399 over seven
: minor-league seasons, he repeated AA and AAA along the way to the majors. His
: numbers were not particularly impressive last year playing in a friendly
: ballpark (Colorado Springs) and league environment (PCL). There is more reason
: for skepticism than optimism here.
Jayson Nix(洛矶): 打击率/上垒率/长打率分别是.111/.216/.133 在51打席中有一次的XBH
(extra base hit)。自他在四月13日击出安打后，他已经17个打数没有出现安打。
即使这位菜鸟在过去七个小联盟球季打出.256/.321/.399的成绩，他在上大联盟之前在
2A与3A之间游走。去年他的表现以较友善的球场(Colorado Springs)和较友善的联盟
(PCL)而言并不让人特别印象深刻。对此有较多的理由令人感到怀疑而非持乐观看法。
: Tony Pena Jr.: .149/.171/.194 with 2 BB and 16 SO in 71 PA. Pena has never
: shown a proclivity for hitting. He put up a MiL line of .252/.282/.332 with
: 102
: BB and 528 SO in 2698 plate appearances. He doesn't hit for average, doesn't
: hit for power, and doesn't walk. Unless Pena is the greatest fielding
: shortstop
: in the history of baseball, he simply can't play.
Tony Pena Jr.(皇家):打击率/上垒率/长打率分别是.149/.171/.194，71打席中有2次保
送，16次三振。Pena从未显示擅长打击的倾向。他的小联盟成绩是.252/.282/.332，在
2698打席中有102次保送与528次三振。除非他是棒球史上防守最好的游击手，他不适合
在大联盟打球。
: Cody Ross: .149/.160/.213 with 1 BB and 6 SO in 50 PA. Ross put up terrific
: numbers (.335/.411/.653) last year but did so in only 197 plate appearances.
: The 27-year-old outfielder has shown an ability to hit for some power in the
: past but has never hit for much of an average aside from his "breakout" last
: season. At best, Ross is a fourth or fifth outfielder, depending on whether he
: plays for a contending team or not.
Cody Ross(马林鱼): .149/.160/.213在50打席中有一次保送与6次三振。Ross在去年拿出
极佳成绩(.335/.411/.653)但他那年只有197打席。27岁的外野手已在过去显出一些长
打威力，但是打击率除了上一季的爆发之外从来没有突出的表现。Ross最好的情形是他是
个第四号或第五号的外野手，这取决于他是否待在有竞争力的球队。
: Wily Mo Pena: .170/.220/.170 with 0 XBH, 3 BB and 15 SO in 50 PA. The Pena
: name
: isn't doing too well this season. I have never drunk the WMP Kool-Aid. Sure,
: Pena can hit for power, but he strikes out way too much for my tastes,
: especially given his anemic walk rate. His plate discipline and pitch
: recognition skills are lacking (swung and missed at 31% of strikes over the
: course of his career vs. a MLB average of 14%), and I would be surprised if he
: becomes much more than a platoon player.
Wily Mo Pena:(国民).170/.220/.170在50打席中有3次保送与15次三振，没有长打。
Pena在本季没有表现的很好。我从来没喝过WMP Kool-Aid。当然Pena是一个有长打威力
的打者，但他被三振的次数就我看来太多了，尤其是和他很低的保送率相比较。他缺少
选球能力与判断球种的能力(他的好球中有31%是挥棒落空，远超过大联盟平均的14%)，我
会惊讶于他表现的比单纯替补选手还要好。
: Tom Gorzelanny: 1-3, 8.46 ERA with 22 BB and 13 SO in 22.1 IP. Gorzelanny has
: been drilled twice by the Cubs so it may be more team specific than anything
: else. However, the lefty's K/BB ratio is a bit alarming and should be watched
: closely over his next few starts.
Tom Gorzelanny(海盗):一胜三败，8.46的自责分率，在22.1局中投出22个保送与13次三振。
Gorzelanny被小熊队扫射了两次，所以可能主要是队伍因素。
(译按:四月七日，四月19日对小熊皆投不满三局失七分，
game by game log:
DATE GAME W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR BB SO
NP-S GO-AO
APR 02 @ATL 0 1 4.50 1 1 0 0 0 0 6.0 6 3 3 1 3 3 95-54 9-6
APR 07 CHC 0 0 10.80 1 1 0 0 0 0 2.1 6 7 7 0 4 2 70-36 3-2
APR 13 CIN 1 0 6.75 1 1 0 0 0 0 6.1 4 1 1 0 4 1 102-62 10-8
APR 19 @CHC 0 1 9.35 1 1 0 0 0 0 2.2 6 7 7 1 4 3 80-47 3-2
APR 24 STL 0 1 8.46 1 1 0 0 0 0 5.0 2 3 3 0 7 4 94-49 6-4
APR 30 @NYM 1 0 6.91 1 1 0 0 0 0 5.0 1 0 0 0 5 4 84-46 3-8 )
然而这位左投的三振/四坏比有点要紧，应该在他接下来的几次先发中严格检视。
: Kenny Rogers: 1-3, 7.66 ERA with 15 BB and 9 SO in 24.2 IP. The 43-year-old
: may
: be at the end of the road unless Jim Leyland wants to convert him to a LOOGY.
: Righthanded batters are ripping him to the tune of .356/.443/.562. You can
: only
: get by so long on guile as opposed to stuff and command.
Kenny Rogers(老虎): 一胜三败，7.66的自责分率，在24.2局中投出15个保送与9次三振。
这位43岁的投手似乎走到尽头，除非老虎教头Jim Leyland想要把他变成一人左。
右手打者对他的打击成绩是.356/.443/.562。在缺乏stuff与控球下你只能靠狡猾过下去。
: Jason Jennings: 0-4, 7.46 ERA with 17 BB, 12 SO, and 8 HR in 25.1 IP. The
: 29-year-old righthander has spent his career pitching in hitter-friendly
: ballparks (Colorado, Houston, and Texas) but has has gone from a
: league-average
: or better pitcher to replacement level or worse since the end of the 2006
: season. At his current pace, Jennings will be hoping and praying that a team
: will sign him to a major-league contract next year.
Jason Jennings(游骑兵):零胜四败，7.46的自责分率，在25.1局中投出17个保送与12次三
振。这位29岁的右投手在生涯中大多数的投球是在对打者友善的球场(科罗拉多，休士顿
与德州)，但是他自2006年球季结束后已从联盟平均甚至更好的投手掉到替补层级或是更
差。在他现在的处境下，Jennings将会希望有球队能在下一年以大联盟合约签下他。
: Among the biggest names, Robinson Cano (.158/.216/.221), Alfonso Soriano
: (.175/.230/.298), Troy Tulowitzki (.157/.225/.245), Andruw Jones
: (.159/.266/.256), and Gary Sheffield (.159/.321/.254) are also feeling the
: summer heat earlier than normal.
: I would like to finish with three off-the-field personnel:
在这些最大的名字中，Robinson Cano (.158/.216/.221), Alfonso Soriano
(.175/.230/.298), Troy Tulowitzki (.157/.225/.245), Andruw Jones
(.159/.266/.256), and Gary Sheffield (.159/.321/.254)也比平常提早感觉到夏日
的热力。
我想以三位不在球场上的人物结束这篇。
: J.P. Ricciardi: Signed Frank Thomas to a minimum guaranteed contract of $18
: million ($9.12M signing bonus plus $1M salary in 2007 and $8M in 2008), then
: released him on 4/20/08 after The Big Hurt fulfilled just one year and three
: weeks of the two-year deal.
J.P. Ricciardi(蓝鸟GM):以最低18M的合约签下Frank Thomas(2007年9.12M的签约金与
1M的薪水，2008年，8M)，然后在2008年4月20日在重伤害只履行了2年合约中的一年三个礼
拜之后将他释出。
: Ricciardi worked for but apparently didn't learn much from Billy Beane, who
: inked Thomas to favorable terms before and after J.P. To wit, Beane got a
: .270/.381/.545 (140 OPS+) season out of Thomas in 2006 for $3.2M ($500,000
: salary plus $2.7M in roster, performance, and award bonuses), received a
: sandwich round draft pick in 2007 as compensation for losing him via free
: agency, and swooped in and signed the future Hall of Famer last Thursday for
: $390,000 (pro-rated share of the MLB minimum) for the remainder of 2008. Buy
: low, sell high, and buy low a second time. Now that is Moneyball!
Riccardi曾为Billy Beane工作过，但似乎没从他那里学到多少东西，他在J.P,Riccardi
之前与之后的有利时刻与Frank Thomas签约，在2006年取得了.270/.381/.545(140 ops+)
的成绩，该年付给他的薪水是3.2M(50万的底薪与2.7M的其他金额包含了在先发名单，表现
与奖项的奖励)，在2007年他成为FA时得到一个三明治选秀权作为补偿，而且在上礼拜四
再度以39万(MLB最低薪资)签下这位未来的名人堂球员2008年剩下的球季。低买，高卖，再
一次低买。这就是钱球!
: Dave Littlefield: The former Pittsburgh GM really qualified as a July 2007
: fool, but it bears repeating that Littlefield acquired Matt Morris right
: before
: the trading deadline last year and, in so doing, assumed the remaining portion
: of his contract in full.
Dave Littlefield: 前任匹茨堡海盗队的经理，十分有资格成为2007年七月的当月傻瓜，
但依然值得重复他在去年交易大限之前要求Matt Moriss，
: Now that Morris has been released, we can tally up his performance (3-8, 7.02
: ERA over 16 GS and 84.1 IP) vs. the cost (approximately $14M). Considering the
: money involved, that deal has to go down as one of the dumbest in baseball
: history – and not with the benefit of hindsight like so many transactions.
: This one was a disaster from the get go. It was universally panned and no one
: did a better job than our own Patrick Sullivan.
现在Moriss已经被释出了，我们可以算算他的表现与成本的关系。
(三胜八败，在16场先发中与84.1局中自责分率是7.02)
(大约14M)
考虑到这些金额，这宗交易可被称为棒球史上最蠢的－即使不以这么多交易的事后之明来
看，这宗交易自一开始就是一大灾难。这宗交易广受批评而没有人比我们的记者
Patrick Sullivan骂得更好。
: While Brian Sabean found a sucker for Matt Morris, he needs to look at himself
: in the mirror for agreeing to give Barry Zito a seven-year deal worth a
: minimum
: of $126 million. It was the largest-ever pitcher contract at signing. The
former Cy Young Award winner posted an 11-13 win-loss record and 4.53 ERA with
mediocre peripherals in 2007 and has gotten off to a 0-6, 7.53 ERA, 15 BB, 11
SO in 28.2 IP start to the 2008 season.
当Brian Sabean(巨人GM)批评Matt Morris的时候，他该因为同意给Barry Zito七年至少
126M的合约照照镜子。这是投手所签下有史以来最大的合约。这位前赛扬奖得主在2007
年是11胜13败4.53的自责分率，在2008年至今变成0胜六败，7.53的自责分率，在28.2
局中投出15次保送与11次三振。
: Let the countdown begin. Seven baseball months down, 35 to go! Or looked at it
: another way, the Giants have paid Zito about $12-13M thus far and still him
: more than $110 million.
让倒数开始吧，过了七个球季月份还有35个!或是从另一方面看，巨人队到现在要付给Zito
12-13M，还要给他多于110M。