密歇根新闻广播 底特律老虎主教练应该相信自己的直觉和球员

The Detroit Tigers entered this season with expectations as big as their payroll¹. It's currently at $196 million, the fourth-largest in the major leagues. The only teams who spent more are the Los Angeles Dodgers², the New York Yankees, and the Boston Red Sox.

You know, big city teams that compete for things like the World Series.

The Tigers might have been paying like the big boys, but they weren't playing like them.

Through Saturday, the Tigers had lost 11 of their last 12 games. And they were losing them in the worst possible ways: by blowing great pitching performances due to anemic hitting, or by blowing gigantic leads through horrendous³ relief pitching—the most frustrating⁴ losses to watch.

When the Tigers looked up, they were mired⁵ in fourth place, next-to-last in their division. It was only mid-May, but most pundits⁶ and fans were already calling it a lost season. They predicted their manager, Brad Ausmus, might not survive the week.

But how much blame can you really pin on a baseball manager?

Unlike other sports, in baseball coaches rarely call plays. Most decisions, like when to pull a starting pitcher⁷, or put in a pinch hitter, should be fairly obvious.

The problem is Ausmus doesn't seem to be enrolled⁸ in either school.

There are now two main approaches to managing: old school, where you trust your instincts, and new school, where you trust your computer—a method made famous in Moneyball.

For example, when his starting pitching is throwing a gem⁹, he pulls after the seventh inning, then watches Detroit's woeful relievers blow huge leads. But when his starter is getting shelled, he sticks with him, for reasons no one can discern.

Watching the Tigers lose games this way is an awesome¹⁰ thing to behold¹¹. And the fans love it!

But there's more to managing than just making decisions. And Ausmus seems to be missing those tools, too.

Ausmus' predecessor¹², the salty old dog Jim Leyland, had plenty of critics.

When he made all-star hitters bunt with men in scoring position, the fans booed—and should have.

But Leyland's teams always won. Everywhere. In the minors¹³, in the majors, in the National League, and in the American League—at every level, in eight states, and five decades.

How'd he do it?

To be honest, I don't know, but he seemed to have the rare ability to connect with his players, and get the most out of them. They almost always had their best seasons playing for him.

For Ausmus, it seems to be the opposite. They sign big money relief pitchers¹⁴, and watch them bomb.

But nothing cures a losing streak¹⁵ like weak opposition¹⁶, and the Tigers have been blessed with a nine-game homestand, starting with the even worse Minnesota Twins.

On Monday night, Detroit was in the process of blowing an eight-run lead, when Ausmus went out to argue a third strike call. He got so worked up, he ended up pulling off his hooded¹⁷ sweatshirt—the kind your kids forget at summer camp—and draped it over home plate.

It was one of the strangest protests I've seen—but it worked. The player he defended ending up hitting the game-winning home run.

Ausmus missed the next game, because he had to serve a one-game suspension. The Tigers won anyway, which kind of cuts both ways. But Ausmus isn't dead yet. The rest of this homestand will likely determine if he'll get a stay of execution.

If he does, he'd be wise to start trusting his instincts, and his players—or he soon won't be in a position to trust either.

1 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

2 dodgers   

n.躲闪者，欺瞒者( dodger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a crackdown on fare dodgers on trains 对火车逃票者的严厉打击
• But Twain, Howells, and James were jeeringly described by Mencken as "draft-dodgers". 不过吐温、豪威尔斯和詹姆斯都是被门肯讥诮地叫做“逃避兵役的人。” 来自辞典例句

3 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

4 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

7 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

8 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

10 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

11 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

12 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

13 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 pitchers   

大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里，他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
• Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖：投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。

15 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

17 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句