来源: The USA Today
网址: https://tinyurl.com/y8kkfcn9
Nationals embarrassment: GM Mike Rizzo officially waves the white flag
难堪的国民队：总管Mike Rizzo正式举白旗了
The shameful, national embarrassment in Washington, D.C., mercifully is over.
在华盛顿DC令人感到羞耻的尴尬状况总算是结束了。
At least.
至少目前是。
Folks, we’re talking about the baseball team, here.
呃，我们这里讲的是棒球队。
The team was once again projected to be a World Series contender, and the
runaway favorites to win the National League East.
曾经一开始一度被预测是争冠热门队伍，国联东区冠军的候选。
The team that had the arrogance to fire manager Dusty Baker after leading it
to back-to-back NL East titles, losing Game 5 of the NL Division Series to
the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs, and tell him it simply wasn
’t good enough.
国民队曾经自大到开除带领他们拿下连两届国联东区冠军的总教练Dusty Baker，在国联分
区赛第五战输给世界大赛卫冕军小熊，而国民队就只跟他说那不够好。
Now, five weeks before the end of the season, the Nationals finally have
looked in the mirror and saw what everyone else has already known all year:
They are the greatest group of underachievers in all of baseball, resulting
in the most humiliating season in their franchise history.
现在，距离正规赛季还有五周，国民队终于愿意揽镜自照，终于看到了其他人一整年在说
的：他们是棒球界里表现不良队伍里面的最强队，最终导致本季是他们队史上最丢脸的一
季。
The Nats officially raised the white flag Tuesday and abruptly quit, letting
the upstart Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies, whose talent absolutely
pales in comparison, to fight for the division title.
星期二的时候，国民队算是正是举白旗投降了，就让同区的勇士跟费城人去争夺分区冠
军，国民的天赋跟他们相比，只是小巫见大巫。
The Nationals traded three-time All-Star second baseman Daniel Murphy to the
Chicago Cubs for fringe minor-league prospect Andruw Monasterio and a player
to be named later, while also permitting the St. Louis Cardinals to simply
take power hitter Matt Adams on a waiver claim. The deals will save the
Nationals nearly $5 million.
国民把三届全明星二垒手Daniel Murphy交易到小熊，但换回少少的小联盟潜力新秀Andruw
Monasterio跟一位还不知道会是哪一位的选手；然后就让红雀从让渡名单内捞走强力打者
Matt Adams。这些交易将会让国民省500万镁。
They could have let the Los Angeles Dodgers have Bryce Harper, too, but
pulled him back after the Dodgers claimed him on waivers and were only
interested in assuming his contract without offering any significant
prospects.
他们本可以让道奇拿走Bryce Harper的，但是他们又把他从名单上抽回来，因为道奇只有
兴趣接手他的合约，但是不给任何有真正潜力的新秀。
“We decided this is the right course of action,’’ Nats GM Mike Rizzo said
at a brief news conference. “We felt this was the best way to facilitate
what we’re trying to do, not only in 2018, but beyond. The money that we are
making from the cash considerations goes straight into procuring talent for
us to compete in the future.’’
“我们决定这才是正确的动作，”国民总管Mike Rizzo在记者会上说到。“我们觉得这会
是最好的方式去加速我们一直在做的，不只为了2018球季，也是为了以后。我们省下的钱
会直接转到将来去签下潜力球员，帮助我们将来保有竞争力。”
It was nothing more than a cover-up. The real blunder came before the July 31
deadline when they could have traded away valuable pieces such as Murphy, who
’s hitting .340 with a .940 on-base-plus slugging percentage since the
All-Star break, for actual real prospects. They just couldn’t face the
reality that their team would continue to grossly underperform throughout
August, but after being humiliated 12-1 at home Sunday by the lowly Miami
Marlins, they couldn’t stand it any longer.
那一切都是在画虎烂。真正的大错误是在7/31交易大限之前，当时就可以把一些有价值的
球员，像是Murphy，在明星赛后的打击率.340，OPS是.940，拿去换一些真正的新秀。他们
就是无法面对真相，他们的球队就是表现极差，一直到八月。而在星期天被烂队马林鱼彻
底羞辱，12-1落败，他们才真正无法再忍受下去。
“That was a litmus test for us,’’ Rizzo said.
“那对我们来说是个试金石，”Rizzo说。
Said Nats manager Davey Martinez: “That game on Sunday said a lot. It was
ugly."
国民总教练Davey Martinez说：“星期天那场比赛说明了一切，那真的很难看。”
It left ownership no choice but to instruct Rizzo to pull the plug.
球团老板没有选择，下令叫Rizzo得要挥刀了。
Immediately.
即刻开始。
The Nats didn’t bother waiting to see if they would even have their call-ups
in time for a full 25-man roster before Tuesday’s game against the Phillies.
’’
国民甚至没有看一下，他们有没有后备的人来得及叫上来进25人先发名单，好在星期二面
对费城人。
“We gambled at the deadline, I admit it ...’’ Nats owner Mark Lerner said
in an open letter. “When something isn’t working, you evaluate the
situation and take the necessary steps to improve it. You don’t just stand
by, cross your fingers and hope for the best.’’
“我承认，我们在交易大限那时赌了一把...”国民老板Mark Lerner在公开信里说到。
“当事情发展不对时，要评估状况后，采取必要的措施去改善。不应该就是袖手旁观，然
后祈祷事情会自己改变。”
The Nationals, 62-63, will tell you incessantly that their injuries created
this mess. They’ll tell you about their bad breaks. Bad luck. Even bad karma.
国民队，目前战绩62-63，不停的告诉大家他们一堆伤势导致了现在的糟糕状况。他们会说
他们就是倒楣，运气不好，业障重。
Please, enough with the excuses. There isn’t a contender in baseball who hasn
’t had injuries. You think the Dodgers, who have been without virtually
every key player on their team at one point, is crying for them? How about
the New York Yankees, who won’t have Aaron Judge back until September? And
the Houston Astros, who have been without American League MVP Jose Altuve?
Anyone? Anyone?
拜托，真是理由伯~~哪一个争冠队伍里面有人没伤的。拿躲人来说，他们几乎没有他们
重要球员全员到齐过，他们有靠腰吗？洋基队，他们的Aaron Judge要到九月才回得来。太
色也没有他们的美联MVP Jose Altuve。他们有靠腰吗？有吗？