阿東的運動阿斯匹靈

即使Gary Sheffield、松井秀喜、Robinson Cano等主將接連受傷，身價兩億美元的布朗克斯轟炸大隊，今年在美聯還是贏了最多場比賽。當我們再次來到季後賽大門，洋基隊也仍是奪冠的大熱門。可儘管他們的先發投手包括第一輪投票就會入選名人堂的Randy Johnson（年薪1560萬），以及可能入選名人堂的Mike Mussina（年薪1900萬），開幕戰的先發卻將是二年級的下沉球投手，年薪不過353,175美元的王建民。
The $200 million Bronx Bombers won more games than any other team in the American League this year despite key injuries to Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano. And yet here we are again, the beginning of October, with the Yankees the favorites to win it all. But while their starting-pitching staff boasts a first-ballot Hall of Famer in Randy Johnson ($15.6 million) and a borderline candidate in Mike Mussina ($19 million), the Game 1 starter will be Chien-Ming Wang, a second-year sinkerballer who earned a paltry $353,175 in his second major league season.

王的成功是否純屬僥倖，引起了一些爭論。許多數據分析專家指出，王的三振率出奇的低，因此很難不把他的驚人成績視為反常。
There is some debate as to whether Wang's success has been a fluke. Many statistical analysts point to Wang's curiously low strikeout rate and can't fathom his success as being anything less than an aberration.
                                                                              
「這也許只是過早出現的生涯顛峰。」Baseball Prospectus網站的Joe Sheehan說：「他的三振率不再提升，球被打中的結果也不再這麼走運的話，他的成績就不可能超越現在的水準。但一個能吃局數，防禦率4.25的投手，賺到的錢付貸款絕對沒問題。」
"This may just be an early peak year," says Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus. "It's highly unlikely that he can do better than this without upping his strikeout rate or getting extremely lucky on balls in play, but a 4.25 ERA guy who provides innings won't have trouble making his mortgage payments." 

另一方面，洋基捕手Jorge Posada在今年春訓告訴《運動畫刊》，王的球路是所有先發投手之中最出色的：「我看過許多年輕投手來來去去。這孩子與眾不同，他會在這兒站穩腳步。」
On the other hand, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada told Sports Illustrated this spring that Wang had the best stuff of any pitcher in the starting rotation. "I've seen plenty of young pitchers come and go. That kid is special. He's here to stay."

王的投球動作簡明而流暢，在投手丘上舉止穩重；他的節奏很快，狀況好的時候，用球數更是極其精簡。即使慘遭對手砲轟，王也幾乎是心如止水；他穿上洋基制服之後唯一一次怒形於色，是在今年初夏被國民隊的Ryan Zimmerman在九局下敲出再見全壘打敗戰；除了這個失誤，他這次先發的表現極其出色。除了這次之外，身高6呎4吋的王在投手丘上堪稱不動如山，即使他無疑是個好勝心強的鬥士。「我從未見過一個如此冷靜的投手。」洋基隊顧問Gene Michael今年夏天接受《紐約時報》專訪時說：「他在那兒幾乎是靜止不動的。」
Wang has an easy, fluid motion and a deliberate style on the mound. He works quickly and when he's on his game is extremely economical. Wang rarely gets ruffled emotionally even when he's getting hit hard. The only time he's ever gotten visibly angry in pinstripes came earlier this summer when Wang served up a gopher ball to Ryan Zimmerman to lose a game to the Nationals in the bottom of the ninth, his only mistake in an otherwise brilliant outing. Aside from that one moment, the 6-foot-4 Wang is almost serene on the mound, though he's clearly a driven competitor. "I've never seen a pitcher who is so calm," Yankees advisor Gene Michael told The New York Times this summer. "He's almost sleepy out there."

但王的成功並不盡然出人意料。洋基隊以其特有的作風，在2000年開出比另外六隊─紅襪、金鶯、水手、勇士、響尾蛇和洛磯─更高的價碼，以據傳200萬美元的簽約金爭取到他的加盟。王透過翻譯告訴《棒球美國》：「在美國職棒一展身手是我最大的夢想，尤其是加入贏得二十五座世界冠軍的洋基隊......我開心得睡不著。」
Wang's success isn't entirely shocking. The Yankees characteristically outbid six teams -- the Red Sox, Orioles, Mariners, Braves, Diamondbacks and Rockies -- for his services in 2000, shelling out a reported $2 million bonus. Using an interpreter, Wang told Baseball America, "The chance to compete in U.S. baseball is my greatest dream, particularly by joining the Yankees, who have won 25 World Series titles.... I am so excited I can't sleep."

用不了多久，王就證明自己是大聯盟有史以來最出色的台灣選手，而他在故鄉也成為國民英雄。儘管2001年整季，以及03年季中都為傷所困，憑著新近練成的沉球威力，王在04年季末已升上3A的Columbus，並且成為農場最優秀的投手。在此之前，王的球種繁多（甚至多達六種球路），各有長處，但無一能夠制壓打者。Columbus的投手教練Neil Allen教他投快速下沉球，捕手搭檔（現任洋基二線捕手）Sal Fasano也逐漸培養王對新球路的信心，最後甚至一場比賽90%都配沉球。王的沉球球速在90到93m之間，而且下墜幅度極大。
It wasn't long before Wang established himself as the most accomplished player ever to come out of Taiwan, where he's become a national hero. Though derailed by injuries in 2001 and part of '03, Wang had developed into the organization's best pitcher at Triple A Columbus by the end of the '04 season on the strength of a newly acquired sinker. Before that Wang threw a variety of pitches, as many as six, each with varying success but none with dominance. Columbus pitching coach Neil Allen taught him the hard sinker, and his catcher (current Yankees backup) Sal Fasano guided Wang with assurance, eventually calling for the pitch almost 90 percent of the time. Wang's sinker clocks in the low 90s and has tremendous movement.

「沉球的功用在於，」棒球史學家Glenn Stout解釋：「你的球只要壓的夠低，即使快速球水準不怎麼樣，也還是能全身而退。它讓打者隨時準備揮棒，這也意味著當他們試圖鎖定你的快速球，就會去追打那些平常根本不屑一顧的垃圾。就我的經驗而言，這是違反直覺的。」
"What the sinker does," explains baseball historian Glenn Stout, "is allow you to get away with an average fastball if you can keep the ball down. It gets hitters ready to swing, which also tends to mean they swing at all sorts of garbage they normally wouldn't if they were trying to gear up on your fastball. It's a little counterintuitive, in my experience."

一位球探告訴《紐約時報》；「你可以打到旋轉的球；要是球下沉，你就會打成恰到好處的強勁滾地球。要用一大堆這樣的滾地球才能換取勝利。」
One scout told the Times, "You can hit it on the screws, and if it's sinking, you've got a nice, hard ground ball. It takes a lot of ground balls to win."

由於Kevin Brown、Carl Pavano等高薪好手的傷病，王在2005年獲得了大聯盟的表現機會，他也在第一年球季裡完全把握了機會。季中的肩傷是出色的新人球季唯一的缺憾。隔年，王則以19勝和Johan Santana並列美聯第一。王在大聯盟第二年投了218局，比05年在哥倫布和紐約的合計局數多了67局。有些人相信，當一個年輕投手的單季投球局數比之前的最多局數多出30局以上，就很可能導致成績下滑或傷病風險提高。但在王今年的局數超過去年30局之後，他的戰績是先發六場，4勝1敗，防禦率2.79。
Wang made the most of his opportunity in his first big league season in 2005 when called into service because of injuries to the likes of high-priced talent Kevin Brown and Carl Pavano. A midseason shoulder injury was the only blip in a fine rookie campaign. In his sophomore season Wang won 19 games, tied for the league lead with Johan Santana. Wang threw 218 innings, 67 more than he pitched during his rookie year in New York and Columbus combined in '05. There is some belief that after a young pitcher throws more than 30 innings more than his previous high, a drop in performance or the risk of injury grows more likely. Yet after Wang pitched more than 30 innings more this year than he did last season, he went 4-1 with a 2.79 ERA in six starts.

同時，不管你的看法如何，王都可算是一個例外：一個三振不了打者的速球投手。你可以盡情將他的外圍數據(peripheral nubmers)和Carlos Silva、Scott Erickson，甚至Tommy John等投手相比，但它們都不能呈現全貌。
At the same time, no matter how you look at it, Wang is something of an anomaly: a hard thrower who doesn't strike anyone out. You can have a lot of fun comparing his peripheral numbers with other pitchers' -- Carlos Silva, Scott Erickson or even Tommy John, but they don't quite tell the whole story.

「他是個詭異的投手，投球方式不可思議。」Baseball Prospectus的Nate Silver說。除了沉球之外，王還會投四縫線速球，而且球速高達95到96m。他還有差強人意的滑球和普通的變速球。
"He's a weird pitcher, with an unusual approach," says Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus. In addition to the sinker, Wang has a four-seam fastball that he gets up into the 95-96 mph range. He also has an adequate slider and an average changeup.

「他並不嘗試三振打者。」Silver說：「而是試著讓打者打得軟弱無力。」大多數球速和球質能像王那樣又快又重的投手，三振數都遠超過王（想想Brown或Derek Lowe這樣的下沉球投手就知道了）。「最終，」Silver繼續說：「他會明白：如果能夠三振打者，表現就會更好。」
"He's not trying to strike people out," says Silver, "he's trying to induce weak contact." Most guys with the ability to throw as hard as Wang strike out far more hitters (think of power sinkerballers such as Brown or Derek Lowe.) "In the long run," Silver continues, "he'll find if you can strike people out it will make him even better."

並不是每個人都認為王需要變成一個三振型投手才能保持成功。「從定義來說，沉球投手的三振率並不如其他投手那樣高。」Stout說：「所以，你如果要王三振一大堆打者，我想，他就得放棄沉球，這樣做有什麼意義？這可比不上你事先就知道球會被打成游擊滾地。」 
Not everybody is sold on Wang's needing to become a strikeout pitcher in order to be successful. "Sinker pitchers, by definition, don't strike guys out at the same rate as other pitchers," says Stout. "So if you want a lot of K's out of Wang, I think he has to get way from the sinker, and what would be the point of that? Nothing like knowing ahead of time that you're gonna get a ground ball to short."

作家Allen Barra說：「我想王在某種程度上是Dwight Gooden的逆反。Gooden是年輕強力投手的典型。王的資質也許足以成為強力速球投手，但他並不符合年輕強投在生涯早期應有的形象。所以Baseball Prospectus的那些人才會抓狂，不知該怎麼對他歸類。你在這個年齡應該能三振很多打者，而當然，他用滾地球來代替。我要說的是，去他的預測。每隔一段時間，你就會看到一個無法被歸類的厲害角色。一個半球季已經能夠說服我，這孩子就是那種不受傳統形象歸類的好手。」
Says author Allen Barra: "I think of Wang as sort of a Dwight Gooden in reverse. Gooden was the classic young power pitcher. Wang may have it in him to be a power pitcher, but he doesn't fit the profile of what great young pitchers are supposed to be at an early age. That's why the Baseball Prospectus people go nuts with him and don't know how to classify him. You're supposed to have a lot of strikeouts at this age, and, of course, he does it with ground balls. I say, the hell with the projections. Once in a while you get a guy who is great and just doesn't fit the profile. One-and-a-half seasons have convinced me that this is the kid who can be great without fitting the profile."

儘管王今年在壘上有人時投的並不特別好，他仍受惠於防守效率（把打者打到的球變成出局數）排名全聯盟第二的洋基守備陣容。
Though Wang did not pitch especially well with runners in scoring position this year, he benefited from a Yankees defense that was second in the league in defensive efficiency (turning batted balls into outs).

Silver解釋，他對王的想法很矛盾，但整體而言還不錯。他相信，最快在明年上半季，聯盟的對手就能適應王，但王終究能憑著智慧與球質完成必要的轉型。
Silver explained that he had contradictory but overall good thoughts about Wang. He believes that the league may catch up to Wang next year, at least in the first half, but that Wang has the intelligence and the stuff to eventually make the necessary adjustments.

「棒球分析家」網站的Rich Lederer則心存懷疑。儘管王的勝場總數極高，「他的投球實際上並不比2005年的菜鳥球季更好。」Lederer說：「沒錯，他投了更多局。但這些局數的水準跟前一年完全一樣。儘管王的防禦率下降（從4.02到3.63），他的WHIP（1.25到1.31）和每九局三振數（3.64到3.14）卻也略為下滑。由此看來，即使王真有進步，我也不認為他進步了很多。然而，他今年還是以一種獨特的方式展現了能力。他的每九局保送數（從2005年的2.48到2006年的2.15）和每九局全壘打數（從0.70到0.50）都從A進步到A+。」
Rich Lederer of The Baseball Analysts is skeptical. Despite Wang's high win total, "he really didn't pitch any better than he did in his rookie season in 2005," says Lederer. "He threw more innings, yes. But the quality of those innings was about the same as the previous year. Although Wang's ERA dropped (3.63 vs. 4.02), his WHIP (1.31 vs. 1.25) and K/9 (3.14 vs. 3.64) were slightly worse. As a result, I don't think Wang showed much improvement, if at all. Nonetheless, he was still effective this year in a rather unique way. His BB/9 (from 2.48 in 2005 to 2.15 in 2006) and HR/9 (from 0.70 to 0.50) went from very good to outstanding."

王要投出更多三振的話，可能得精通一種次要球路；慢速球種(off-speed)是最有利的選擇，那只會讓他的速球和沉球威力更強。一種出色的慢速球有助於他設定打者，在某些情況下，也能讓王幹掉他們。他也能把四縫線速球投進好球帶偏高位置，以製造三振。「大多數的好投手能讓打者揮空，或是防止全壘打，」Lederer說：「偉大的投手不只讓打者揮空，同時還能防止全壘打。現在的王是好投手，但除非他學會做好這兩件事，否則他就不可能成為偉大的投手。」
In order for Wang to strike out more batters, he will likely have to master a secondary pitch, preferably something off-speed, which would only make his fastball and sinker that much more effective. A plus off-speed pitch would help him set up batters and, in some cases, allow Wang to put them away, too. He could also use his four-seam fastball up in the zone as a strikeout pitch. "Most good pitchers miss a lot of bats or prevent home runs," Lederer says. "The great ones miss bats and prevent home runs. Wang is good now but won't be great unless he learns to do both."

這些問題都只能等待時間來回答。就目前而言，王和洋基隊的做法都是「只要沒出問題就維持現狀」。王在布朗克斯的這兩年，已經證明自己是一位與眾不同的天才投手。但他會以一時僥倖、抑或真正王牌之姿留名棒壇，也許將取決於他在十月的表現；而季後的決戰，即將在對戰老虎隊的開幕戰登場。
These are all questions to be answered in the future. For now, Wang and the Yankees are taking an if-it's-not-broke-don't-fix-it approach. Wang has distinguished himself in his first two years in the Bronx as a uniquely gifted pitcher. His reputation as either a fluke or an ace could be cemented by how he performs in October, starting with Game 1 against the Tigers.