BY JUNE 22, the Diamondbacks have won 10 of 15 games, pulling themselves to a .500 record, 6 1/2 games behind the division-leading Dodgers. The streak coincides with renewed production from Upton, who bats .327, hits two home runs and drives in eight runs during the stretch. 到6月22日，响尾蛇近15场赢了10场，胜率提升至五成，落後分区首位道奇6场半，Upton 在这段期间也打出0.327，2发全垒打，8分打点。 At lunch one afternoon in Scottsdale, Upton rattles off his team's lineup. Paul Goldschmidt, the 24-year-old first baseman in his second season, is slugging .505 and is on his way to becoming a dominant middle-of-the-lineup player. Second baseman Aaron Hill, 30, is having a near-career season, with an OPS of .859. Leftfielder Jason Kubel, also 30, has a .297 average and nine home runs. "That guy is good, man," Upton says of Kubel, who signed with Arizona in the offseason after seven seasons with the Twins. "Who was behind [Joe] Mauer in the lineup when he won the MVP? Who was behind [Justin] Morneau when he won his MVP? Kubel. And now he's behind me, so I'm next in line." Upton smiles. "I'm just going to nestle myself into the three hole and hack," he says. "I'll take this lineup against anyone." 某天在Scottsdale的午餐，Upton背出队上的打线。Paul Goldschmidt，24岁的一垒手， 缴出0.505的长打率，正往优秀中心打者之路迈进。二垒手Aaron Hill，30岁，打出近 生涯颠峰的OPS 0.859。同样30岁的左外野手Jason Kubel，今年打出0.297，9发全垒打。 「这家伙好样的。」Upton谈到这位待过双城队7年，今年转到响尾蛇的球员。「谁打序在 当年拿下MVP的Mauer後面？谁保护拿到MVP的Morneau？就是Kubel。他现在在我後面，所 以该我了！」Upton微笑道。「这条打线是万人敌。」 While Upton can bask in his team's recent success, his benching earlier in the month has troubled him far more than the comments from Kendrick, whom Upton texted shortly afterward. "He said what he meant ... but he has my back," Upton says. He thinks Gibson's decision, on the other hand, has hurt him in ways most people can't see -- or hear. To Upton, the forced days off gave Arizona fans a target for the team's sluggish season. Out there, all by himself in rightfield, Upton began hearing boos, taunts from the people wearing D-backs jerseys. 当Upton沉浸於队上近期的成功时，早先被板凳的效应袭来，更胜於之前Kendrick对他的 评论。他之後对评论回应：「他就是这个意思...，但他是我的靠山。」他认为Gibson的 调度，一方面也对他造成无形的伤害。对Upton来说，自己的降板给了球迷们目标，宣泄 今年不好的表现。在那辉煌象徵的右外野，Upton开始听到球迷的嘘声，身穿响尾蛇球衣 的人对他冷嘲热讽。 "Granted, Gibby was trying to help me, but he could have rethought that," Upton says. "It wasn't his intention, but he sure threw me into the street." Gibson disagrees. "I'm on his side; I'm not against him," he says. "I'd do anything I could for the kid. Anything." 「当然，Gibby试着想要帮助我，但他应该要再想一下。」Upton说：「这不是他的本意， 但他像是把我扔到街上。」Gibson不同意：「我是站在他这边的，为了他我会尽我所能， 不管是任何事。」 Upton seethes privately, angry at himself for hearing the boos. The past few weeks have seemed like an avalanche of negativity, and he's gotten caught up in it. So he's disabled the Twitter application on his phone to block out what fans are saying about him. He also refuses to watch video of his poor at-bats after he gets home at night. "If I look stressed out, I am," he says as he sits at a restaurant table and sips lemonade. "I'm pushing myself. I'm going to be pissed and disappointed in myself if I don't perform." Upton私底下很激动，听到嘘声让他很自责。过去几周就像一连串的厄运袭来，他被吞没 在其中。他把手机的推特APP关了以挡掉球迷对他的留言，当深夜回到家，他也不去看自 己表现不好的影片。「如果我看起来坏掉了，那我的确是。」他在餐厅里边吸着柠檬水 边说：「我鞭策着自己，如果打不出来，我对自己会很怒很失望。」 Later that night, Upton and Ashley Borror, his girlfriend of four years, return to their townhome following a 10-5 win against the Cubs, a game in which the outfielder hit his seventh home run. Upton heads for the refrigerator and grabs a yogurt container. The 27-year-old Borror, an attractive former teacher with a wide smile, opens a box of flaxseed crackers, takes a bite and frowns. "This doesn't taste right," she tells Upton. "Want some?" 当天稍晚，Upton跟他交往四年的女朋友Ashley Borror回到家中，那天球队以10比5打败 小熊，他也打了第7发全垒打。Upton往冰箱走去，拿了一杯优格。27岁的Borror，一位 充满魅力的前任教师带着满满笑意，打开了一盒香葱饼乾，吃了一口然後皱起眉头，「 吃起来怪怪的...」他告诉Upton：「要吃点吗？」 A few minutes later, as baseball highlights play in the family room, Borror curls up on a couch and reads emails on her laptop while Upton pulls a seat from the granite-topped kitchen island and mixes granola into his yogurt. The couple are building a 12,000-square-foot home a few miles away in Paradise Valley, and it's on Upton's mind. He wants to decorate the basement with a series of clear mannequin-like figures on which he'll hang game jerseys from players he respects. "Damn, Ash, Seattle was just in town and I didn't get an Ichiro," he tells Borror. "Or a Felix? Man, I could have had a Felix." 几分钟後，棒球精华在家人房里播放，Borror缩在沙发上用电脑读信，Upton则从花岗岩 做的岛式厨房拿了一张椅子，把麦片加进优格中。这对情侣正在Paradise Valley几英哩 外的地方盖新房，Upton十分重视。他想要在地下室放一些展示用人型，好让他们穿上自 己崇拜的球员球衣。「妈呀，Ash，西雅图正在作客，我却没拿到Ichiro的球衣。」他告 诉Borror：「还是Felix，天，我应该要拿到的。」 "I'm sure you can still get one," Borror calls from the couch. "You know, you have people who can do that." 「我确定你能拿到。」Borror在沙发上说：「你知道的，有人可以做到。」 "I guess you're right," Upton says. "Man, why didn't I just get those guys when they were here?" 「我想你是对的。」Upton说：「嗯，我为什麽不趁他们来的时候找他们呢？」 He pulls out his phone and looks at the Diamondbacks' remaining schedule. "Maybe I'll get an old-school Ryan Howard when we're in Philadelphia," he says. "And you know I have to get a Roy Halladay." 他拿出手机查响尾蛇的赛程：「也许在费城我能拿到复古版的Ryan Howard，还有Halladay 也是非到手不可。」 The television flashes a highlight of Upton's home run, although he barely notices. A Kubel ground-rule double follows, and Upton looks up. "He smoked that," he says, then goes back to his phone. 电视播着Upton的全垒打，虽然他几乎没注意到。然後是Kubel的场地二安，Upton看到了。 「他尻中那球。」说完他便转回电话上。 "I thought you looked good too," Borror says. 「我想你也很棒。」Borror说。 Anyone who knows him says this is the real Upton -- the guy at home, watching baseball with his girlfriend, scrolling through his phone. "I try to be a normal guy," he says. In Scottsdale, where there's an abundance of young wealth, there are always parties and dinners and clubs. Upton, though, has settled into a different, quieter lifestyle. "We go out," Borror says, "but it's not crazy. Sometimes, we kind of feel like the old couple." 任何认识他的人都会说这是真实的Upton─他在家里跟女友看棒球，拿着手机画来画去。 「我想成为一个普通人。」他说。在Scottdale，一个充满年轻商机的地方，到处都是派 对、晚宴跟夜店，但Upton已经步入截然不同、恬静的生活方式。Borror说：「我们会出 去，但不会这麽疯狂。有时，我们就像老夫老妻。」 Much of the time, Upton is content to go sneaker shopping or to play dominoes with Young. Recently, Upton and Borror hired a chef to prepare healthy meals for them. Upton cut junk food from his diet a few months ago -- except for an occasional pizza with Young -- and he started getting up earlier. "My rookie year, I'd wake up at 12:30, go to get fast food on my way to the yard," Upton says. "Or I'd get up at 1:30 and never eat." The couple also recently began attending church. "He was so cocky when he was younger," Borror says. "But he's grown up." 多数时间，Upton满足於逛球鞋店或是跟Young玩骨牌。最近则是跟女朋友热衷於养生饮 食，雇了厨师做菜。Upton几个月前为了减肥戒掉垃圾食物─除了偶尔跟Young吃Pizza 外，也开始早起。「新人那年，我12点半起床，去球场的路上买速食当午餐。」Upton 说：「不然就1点半起床，然後不吃东西。」他们最近开始上教堂。「年轻的他很狂傲。」 Borror说：「但他长大了。」 Upton's watch soon reads 1:25 a.m. He pushes away from the counter and stands up to go to bed. But before he goes upstairs, Borror says he first needs to see his Silver Slugger Award that arrived in the mail a day earlier. The award is given to each league's best offensive players by position. Borror and Upton walk downstairs, to a rectangular cardboard box next to their garage. Borror bends down and untangles the bubble wrap protecting the trophy. Finally, she sets it on the floor. The award -- a gleaming bat attached to a black background, with a cutout at the bottom that looks like home plate -- shines under the house lights. "This," she says, and gingerly hands it to Upton. Upton表上的时间来到凌晨1点25分，他离开吧台，站起来准备去睡觉。但他走上楼之前， Borror说他要先看昨天才送到的银棒奖盃，这个奖项是颁给各联盟每个位置的最佳攻击 球员。Upton跟Borror步下楼梯，走向车库旁一个四方型的厚纸箱。Borror弯腰弄开泡棉， 最後，他把奖盃放在地上。这个奖盃─发光的棒子附在黑色背板上，底部裁切成像本垒 板一样，在灯光下闪闪发亮。「这个。」她说着，然後小心的递给Upton。 "I'm scared to scratch it," he says. 「我很怕刮伤它。」他说。 "Where are you going to put it?" she asks. 「你想把它放在哪？」她问道。 "I don't know," Upton says. "How about a centerpiece on the table?" Borror laughs. 「我不知道耶。」Upton回答。「不然放在桌子中间好了。」Borror笑了。 Names are engraved on a plaque to the side of the bat. It's a who's who of baseball stars: Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton. Upton holds the trophy in front of him and breaks into a wide grin. He pulls it close to his face. Then he kisses the bat. 名字被刻在棒子旁边的铭版上，这是球星版的猜人名游戏：Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton。Upton把奖盃拿到身前，满足的笑着。他又把奖盃靠近脸，然 後亲了上面的棒子。 (待续...) --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 118.169.200.70 ※ 编辑: mittermeyer 来自: 118.169.200.70 (10/03 22:33)