Pop quiz question: What can Cubs fans look for in 2012?
2013.
But that's too easy. Let's go to the essay part.
先来个随堂考吧: 熊迷们对2012会有什么期待呢 ?
Ans: 明年再来吧
好吧这样就交搞太简单了，还是来骗骗搞费吧。
How bad was the team Theo Epstein and his makeover artists took over this
offseason?
Theo 和他的艺术家们(化妆师?)这季面对的处境到底有多遭呢 ?
Last summer, you could make the case (I did) that the Cubs, who've been
around as long as the National League has, were on pace to their worst
statistical season ever. Then they caught fire. Well, they struck a match in
a cave. In July, they finally won three in a row, sweeping Houston, by far
the worst team in baseball in 2011. By season's end, they almost caught the
always-tough Pirates for fourth place in a six-team division. They won 71,
lost 91.
上个夏天，你可以(最起码我做了)对小熊做点评估，一个跟国家联盟存在了多久小熊就活
了多久的球队，在去年正一步步的走向史上最糟的球季。然后它们就被火烧了(???)，
Well，它们在洞穴里点亮了火柴。小熊在七月终于赢得了一次三连胜，横扫了太空人，
2011 联盟成绩最烂的球队。到了球季结束时，小熊几乎追上了"强悍的"海盗，一个在中
区六队里排名第四的球队。小熊最后赢了 71 场输了 91 场。
The pitching was awful, 14th in the league in ERA+ at 90, worst in bases on
balls per nine at 3.6, 14th in runs allowed at 4.67. Before the first half
was over, four putative starters were on the disabled list, and a fifth, Ryan
Dempster, was hurting. One-sixth of the Cubs' starts in 2011 went to three
members of the 35-years-and-over club who were in no way part of the team's
preseason plans, retreads Rodrigo Lopez, Doug Davis and Ramon Ortiz.
投手投得烂透了，在联盟里以 ERA+ 90 的成绩排名第 14，最烂的保送率 BB/9 = 3.6。
每九局被得分 4.67 排联盟第 14。在球季前半结束时，四名预计先发的投手都在伤兵名
单，第五个，蛋皮，也受了点伤。小熊整季有 1/6 的先发是靠3个35岁以上的大叔，
Rodrigo Lopez, Doug Davis 和 Ramon Ortiz，这3位没有一个是在赛季开始前的球员名
单里。
In the division-winning years of 2007 and 2008, the Cubs gave up the
second-fewest runs in the National League. They fell to 12th in 2009, 13th in
2010 and 14th last season.
在 2007 和 2008 年赢得分区冠军的小熊，他们丢了联盟第二少的分数。2009年跌到了第
12，2010 第13，上一季更跌到了第 14 名。
The defense maybe was worse (and a contributing factor to the bad pitching
records). Per Baseball-Reference.com, the Cubs were dead last in the league
in defensive efficiency (.678), in defensive runs saved (-37) and in errors
(134, which was 16 more than any other team).
或许是因为防守变差了(防守因素会让投手丢掉一些分数)，小熊在上一季的防守效率是联
盟最烂的(0.678)，defensive runs saved (-37) 和失误( 134,比任何一个球队都多了
16 次)。
So the others teams' half-innings overwhelmed what was a league-average
offense, albeit one that that was pretty much station-to-station, scorning
bases on balls (only Houston took fewer) and that kind of tofu baseball. From
that 2011 powerhouse, they've spent the offseason offloading their two OPS
leaders, the only two over 111 OPS+ among the regulars. They've replaced
their flawed but predictable corner infielders with flawed but unpredictable
players.
So this season they could be even worse. And that's probably a good thing.
Which leads us to:
所以在另一个半局的时候，即使对方球队只有联盟平均的攻击指数，却还是可以压倒性的
对付小熊，虽然那只是一战一战的打下，靠着坏球上垒得分(只有太空人没拿到)，小熊这
打得像豆腐般的棒球。从 2011 的 Powerhouse里，小熊在球季后放走了两个 OPS leader
，球队里唯二 OPS+ 超过 111 的人。小熊把有缺陷但是还可以预测的角落内野手换成了
有缺陷但没办法预测的球员。所以这个球季小熊可能会打得更烂，但这或许会是好事。因
为这会带领我们进入下面的问题。
Is the Cubs' new management on the right track?
小熊的新任经理会让球队走在正确的道路上吗 ?
It's the only possible track. Under deposed general manager Jim Hendry, the
Cubs saw some tread still on the tires of the 2003 almost-there team, made
some fixes, and produced division champions in 2007 and 2008. By that time,
though, the wear was evident; six of the eight position starters in 2008 were
age 30-plus, and the four main starting pitchers were either well-worn
veterans or Carlos Zambrano.
By then, it was too late for patches, but patch the Cubs did, and the result
was last year's blowout. Now, it's time to throw the old tires away and start
over with new ones, produced by modern technology.
这是唯一有可能的道路。在被火掉的金含吉的带领之下，小熊依稀看到了那差一点成功的
的 2003 年，再做了些调整后于 07 和 08 年拿下了分区冠军。但在那时候，明显的，8
个先发里面有6 个年纪超过了30 岁，而四名主要的先发投手分别是有名的老兵还有大Z。
到了 08 年，要补强已经太晚了。虽然小熊还是试着补强了一下，但结果就是去年的大爆
炸。现在，是时候该把 03 年的模式丢了，以现代科技为基础开始找寻新的通往成功的道
路。
That's certainly the direction new management is going. The Cubs, who got in
this hole by tying themselves to aging players with expensive, sometimes
long-term, contracts, are jettisoning those with both hands. Off go Aramis
Ramirez, Zambrano, Carlos Pena, John Grabow, and Sean Marshall. Kosuke
Fukudome was shipped to the American League last summer.
That's a lot of established major leaguers out the door. With some of them
and some more duct tape, the Cubs maybe could have been a close-to-.500 team
this season, but to what purpose?
这是现任经理试着要做的事。小熊，一支被年老的，昂贵的，长期的合约绑住双手的球队
，试图着想要挣脱枷锁。送走了拉米，大Z，Pena，Grabow，Marshall，福留，这些人在
去年夏天被送到了美联。
这些都是些有用的大联盟球员，有以上部分的人再补强一些洞的话，小熊或许可以在今年
有一个五成胜率的球季，但是这样有什么用呢 ?
If you follow the Cubs at all, you know about Zambrano, who joined Milton
Bradley and Sammy Sosa as 21st-century Cubs whose attitudes should be retired
like so many Ernie Banks No. 14 jerseys.
Pena wasn't responsible for Team Turmoil, but he wasn't the future for a
rebuilding second-division club. Grabow was an expensive mistake. Ditto
Fukudome. Marshall was a luxury, an ace setup man on a losing team who was
about to get more expensive. And Ramirez?
如果你一直有在关注小熊，那你应该很了解大Z。他的态度和 Bradley 与 Sosa 一样应该
要被退休。
Pena 不应该对球队的混乱负责，但他不是重建中的球队的未来。Grabow是个昂贵的错误
。福留也是个昂贵的错误。Marshall 可以当作王牌中继，但是太奢侈了，而且也越来越
贵。而拉米呢 ??
For the past few years, Ramirez has seemed one jog down to first base away
from the disabled list even when he's been playing. He has averaged 118 games
per year over the last three seasons and has spent much of his time on the
field waving at ground balls; it's generally conceded that his offense is
what separates him from American Legion ball. But even that is open to
criticism, and criticize did Cubs broadcast analyst Bob Brenly after the Cubs
allowed Ramiriez to walk away.
"He's a numbers gatherer. He gets his stats at the end of the year, every
year, but defensively he's just fallen off the face of the earth. As a
baserunner, he kills you, he's a log jammer on the bases, and I'm not buying
any of this leadership for Starlin Castro stuff at all."
So the Cubs did their spring cleaning this winter. By next offseason, the
Cubs will be obligated to just two holdovers from the Hendry era—Alfonso
Soriano, whose interminable contract will terminate after 2014, and closer
Carlos Marmol (signed through 2013).
在过去的数年里，拉米似乎像事是个为了避免受伤而漫步上一垒的人。他在过去三年里平
均每年出赛 118 场，并且在场上花了许多时间对着滚地球挥手。唯一能把他跟业余棒球
区别出来的大概只有他的攻击了吧。即使是这样还是被一些人攻击。小熊的广播员 Bob
Brenly 在拉米走路以后这样说：
"他是个数字的收集者，他会在球季末有一些数字，每一年都这样。但是他也只是在慢慢
走下坡(不太确定语意)。以一个跑垒者来说，他会让你想死。在垒上他是个会阻碍你的人
，而我一点都不想为了这种 Castro 般的特质付钱。"
所以小熊在冬天为了来年做了些清仓，到了今年的季末，小熊只会有两个金含吉的烂约。
索爷的约会到 2014 年，还有马毛到 2013 的约。
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晚点继续.....lol