来源: The New York Times
网址: http://tinyurl.com/y6vuteej
How the Astros Built a Contender From the Ground Up
到底太空人是怎么打掉重练的?
HOUSTON — His bumbling team was 40 games under .500. Eleven times, the
Houston Astros had pushed a game into extra innings. Eleven times, they had
lost. This was an August morning in 2012, and few fans would show up to
Minute Maid Park later that night. The Astros would be shut out and lose for
the 25th time in 28 games.
他的队伍那时距离五成胜率还差40场。11次太空人把比赛打进延长，但是11次都输掉。那
时是2012年八月的早上，没有什么球迷会要来看那天晚上的比赛。那场比赛太空人被完
封，近28场比赛输了25场。
From his office beyond left field, in a converted train station on Crawford
Street, the team’s new architect made no excuses. Jeff Luhnow, the general
manager, had inherited the worst team in baseball. Fixing it would take time.
He didn’t have much else, but he had that.
Jeff Luhnow，太空人的新总管，坐在左外野外火车站改建的办公室，他没有任何的藉
口。太空人是个超级大烂队，把它搞好需要时间，Luhnow什么没有，就是有时间。
“A lot of clubs get into a situation where you know in your heart that the
team needs to rebuild, but at the same time you want to put a product on the
field that gives the fans some hope for the present,” said Luhnow, who had
been hired from the St. Louis Cardinals the previous winter. “You end up
getting stuck in the middle.”
“很多球队会陷入一种状况，就是你知我知大家都知道整队需要打掉重练，但是又想把一
些好货放在场上让球迷有一点希望，”Luhnow说。Luhnow是前一年从红雀队聘来的。“这
样常常会把自己陷在中间，两边都不行。”
The Astros wanted no part of the middle. Baseball had just implemented a new
collective bargaining agreement that greatly incentivized losing, giving the
worst teams the most money to spend on amateur talent. The Astros had picked
first in the draft that June, and would do so again in each of the next two
seasons.
太空人一点都不想这样。有了新的团体协商协议激励弱队，让烂队有最多的钱可以花在有
希望的球员。那时太空人在六月可以有状元签，接下来两年也是一样。
Those No. 1 picks — the good and the bad — help shape the story of today’s
Astros, who roll into the Bronx for Game 3 of the American League
Championship Series on Monday after two victories at home.
这些状元签