肯米的棒球天空

12/18/08 10:00 AM EST

Kuo collects TYIB Setup Man Award
Dodgers left-hander receives 30.3 percent of fans' votes
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

TYIB Awards: Top Setup Man

原文連結：http://tinyurl.com/4qxb2k
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LOS ANGELES -- Hong-Chih Kuo was so effective pitching for the Dodgers this past season, he not only won MLB.com's annual This Year in Baseball Award as best setup man, he's now in the mix with Jonathan Broxton for the closer role if Takashi Saito does not return.

郭泓志本球季在道奇隊具有影響力的投手，不只贏得今年度最佳中繼投手，如果今年齊藤未能回來擔任守護神工作，明年將與Jonathan Broxton共同競爭道奇隊守護神一職。

Kuo was chosen as the 2008 Setup Man in MLB.com's annual This Year in Baseball Awards presented by State Farm, which was voted on by fans. A record 12 million votes were cast, eclipsing last year's total of 9.6 million.

郭泓志被美國職棒大聯盟挑選出來成為今年最佳中繼投手，被超過１２００萬球迷投票後所大多數認同的結果。

Kuo won with 30.3 percent of the vote. He was followed by Grant Balfour of the Rays (19.2 percent), Carlos Marmol of the Cubs (17.6), Scot Shields of the Angels (7.5), Brad Ziegler of the Athletics (6.1), Scott Downs of the Blue Jays (4.9), Mike Adams of the Padres (4.5), Dan Wheeler of the Rays (4.2), Taylor Buchholz of the Rockies (3.8) and Chad Qualls of theDiamondbacks (2.1).

郭泓志拿下30.3%的選票，其它有如Grant Balfour拿下19.2%以及小熊隊的Carlos Marmol的17.6%（下略）

Kuo went 5-3 with a 2.14 ERA and his first career save in 42 games (including three starts), allowing only 60 hits in a career-high 80 innings while striking out 96 and only walking 21. His relief ERA of 1.69 led the league
(minimum of 50 innings), and opponents hit only .204 against him.

郭泓志今年拿下５勝３敗且僅僅只有２。１４防禦率，投出生涯最高８０局且拿下９６次三振及２１次四壞，在超過５０局的後援局數中僅僅只有１。６９防禦率，被安打率也僅有０。２０４而已

As impressive as those numbers were, what really mattered was he stayed healthy. Kuo was signed out of Taiwan for $1.25 million as a teenager, blew out his elbow in his first professional game after striking out seven of the 10 batters he faced and it's been a wild ride ever since. That includes the first five years he spent trying to get healthy, when he pitched a total of 42 1/3 innings (averaging fewer than nine innings per year).
讓許多球迷印象深刻的是，本季他的身體健康到本季結束，剛從台灣來的時候與球團簽約１２５萬美元，在他生涯第一場球中短短３局就投出７次三振，但緊接而來的就是手肘傷痛而開刀治療，所以生涯前五年她常是保持健康，所以累計前五年只有４２。１局的紀錄（平均一年不到９局）

He's nothing if not persistent. Kuo signed in 1999, meaning he's been in the organization longer than any current active Dodgers player other than Jason Repko, who signed a week earlier. That year, Kevin Malone was general manager, Davey Johnson the field manager and Gary Sheffield and Eric Karros hit 34 home runs -- each.
如果他沒有堅持下去就不能成大器。郭泓志在1999年與道奇簽約，這樣代表他在此團隊中比目前25人名單裡的任何人待更久（除了比郭泓志早一個星期簽約的Jason Repko）。

Kuo's journey to the Major Leagues hit one pothole after another. He missed 2003 entirely, was taken off the Major League roster at one point and could have been selected by any club in the Rule 5 Draft. When his rehab stalled for the umpteenth time, he had to be talked out of quitting the game. He has often credited Darren Dreifort (who underwent two Tommy John surgeries) and Eric Gagne (one) for their advice and counsel to keep him going. As recently as 2007, he had rotator cuff problems and elbow surgery, and his career was in jeopardy.

郭泓志在美國職棒大聯盟的剛開始是很崎嶇不平的。他因傷錯過了2003年整個球季，且被移出球隊的40人名單後沒有任何球隊透過規則五選秀選進他。他復建過無數次但狀況依舊不見好轉，當時他想離開但有前輩支持他堅持下去，這兩位來自Darren Dreifort曾開過兩次TJ和剛爺（開過一次）的建議。2007年郭泓志又遇到了旋轉肌跟手肘手術清除碎片，使他的棒球生涯陷入危機。

But Kuo is nothing if not determined. He showed up for Spring Training in 2008 with a new manager and not really being counted on for anything. He caught Joe Torre's eye with two scoreless innings of relief against the
Padres during the Dodgers' goodwill series in China, and he made the club with a 1.69 spring ERA while holding opponents to a .121 average.

但郭泓志堅持下去直到今年參加了2008年的春訓，並且來了個新總教練（報導沒提到Joe Torre），沒有依靠任何人的幫助之下，在中國與教士進行的春訓賽事中，郭泓志後援兩局並幫助道奇春訓防禦率維持在1.69，且吸引到Joe Torre的注意力，平均被打擊率只有。１２１

Because of Kuo's injury history, Torre treated the native of Taiwan like fine China early on. When he used Kuo in multiple innings, the manager tried to give him multiple days off. In games in which Kuo pitched multiple innings, his ERA was 0.38. His longest outing was 4 1/3 innings, and in one game he struck out eight of the 11 batters he retired. By June, Kuo had supplanted Joe Beimel as the club's primary left-handed reliever.

因為郭泓志的傷病史，初期托瑞對待這位來自台灣的選手很小心的使用他，當它讓郭泓志投超過一局後，托瑞會讓郭泓志多休息幾天來保護手臂，郭泓志在投球超過一局的比賽中，防禦率僅僅０。３８而已，最長的投球局數也才４。１局，且他在某一場球賽中面對１１位打者三振了８位，因此到六月郭泓志取代了Joe Beimel成為道奇的後援左投。

The workload finally got to Kuo. He was limited to only one appearance from early September to early October, missing the first round of the playoffs, because of triceps discomfort, but he returned for the National League
Championship Series and allowed one earned run in three innings.
但在球季末郭泓志還是受到投球限制。三頭肌不適的緣故讓他在九月初到十月前期這一段時間限制上場初賽，僅僅出賽了一場並錯過首輪季後賽，但在國家聯盟冠軍賽中有上場投三局僅掉一分的成績。

下表為０２年至０８年Set up Man選手一覽表

2002 Chris Hammond
2003 Brendan Donnelly
2004 Francisco Rodriguez
2005 Neal Cotts
2006 Joel Zumaya
2007 Hideki Okajima
2008 Hong-Chih Kuo