Sporting News Special Edition, Part 1: Grover Alexander Ignites Cardinals' Pennant Push
Part one of Diamond Ghosts' Sporting News Special Edition from July 1, 1926 features league-wide pennant reports, Grover Alexander's Cardinals debut, Ted Lyons' dominance, and club dispatches from every major league city.
From the Sporting News - Thursday July 1, 1926
In This Edition
- Cardinals
- Tigers
- Yankees
- Reds
- White Sox
- Senators
- Robins
- Pirates
- Indians
- Athletics
- Red Sox
- Player Bios
- ADVERTISEMENTS
CARDINALS
GROVER ALEXANDER HELPS CARDS FAN PENNANT FIRE IN ST. LOUIS
VETERAN LOOKS GOOD AS EVER IN FIRST OUT
Rogers Hornsby's men continue to play good ball and get taste of second place; Browns hold up fairly well.
ST. LOUIS, Mo., June 28.—The Cardinals thus far have done nothing to discourage the pennant hopes that St. Louis fans, and it might be added, those of the great Southwest, have reposed in them. Indeed, Rogers Hornsby's team has stirred up more excitement hereabouts than this city has experienced since 1922, when the Yankees beat out the Browns for the pennant by a mole's eyebrow. That year the Browns' rush came late in the season and its duration thereby was restricted, but here we find the Cardinals fighting for the leadership and it is not yet the Fourth of July.
An indication of the popularity of the Cardinals and the interest being taken in them was brought out on Sunday, when they met the Chicago Cubs in a doubleheader. A crowd of 37,196 (40,000 including deadheads) jammed its way into the enlarged Sportsman's Park to view the two games. It was the greatest throng that had ever paid to witness a baseball attraction in this city. And what an enthusiastic, yelling and pleading mob it was.
At 8 o'clock in the morning lines formed at the ticket windows and by noon Dodier street, on which the main entrance to the park is situated, had to be roped off. By 1 p. m. the small detachment of police was unable to control the milling throng and a riot call was sounded to bring out additional gendarmes. When 2 o'clock came there was not a seat to be had and it was estimated that fully 10,000 persons were turned away or had become discouraged in their efforts to get inside.
The remodeled park has a seating capacity of approximately 34,000, and when they were gone the overflow hundreds found vantage places wherever they could, some draping themselves around the steel network of the stands, hanging over the concrete walls, and on other perilous perches, while numberless fans crowded the ramps in the rear of the stands where they, if their eyes were good, got a fleeting glimpse of the batter, but could not see the playing field.
It was a more enthusiastic crowd than ever witnessed a World's Series game.
President Sam Breadon might have turned thousands onto the playing field, but preferred to give those who managed to get in two games unrestricted by ground rules.
King Alex Makes His Bow.
An added attraction that day was the debut of Grover Cleveland Alexander as a member of the Cardinals. Big Alex, who strayed from rectitude and therefore was banished by the Cubs, pitched the first game, and if there was any question about his vulnerable right arm not functioning, he certainly left no doubt in the minds of the mammoth jury. Alexander had no compassion for Joe McCarthy and his former mates whatever. He pitched with the same deliberacy and acumen that made him one of the great right-handers of the day 15 years ago with the Phillies. He had his old half side-arm delivery. He had a fast breaking curve, and he had a fast one.
It so happened that Alex had to travel ten innings to get the verdict, though only four hits were made off him over the route. The score was 3 to 2 for the Cardinals and would have been 2 to 0 at the end of the regulation distance had not Charlie Grimm hit one over the fence after Riggs Stephenson had singled in the seventh inning. It was an honest-to-goodness ball game, with [Guy Bush Osborn?] No—the article refers to Osborn, who pitched for the Cubs, pulling out of several tangles though allowing nine hits and ten walks.
The verdict of St. Louis fandom at large is that the Cardinals were decidedly fortunate in getting the veteran, especially since he was claimed at the waiver price of $4,000. The 39-year-old pitcher, upon joining the team, declared that he was here to do his utmost for the team and that he was going to pitch down any bad impressions that had got out about him. Bill Killefer, his former boss at Chicago, is Hornsby's chief assistant; always knew how to handle the veteran, both as his catcher and his manager.
It will be remembered that Alexander and Killefer, when with the Phillies, formed what was regarded as one of the greatest batteries in the National League. They went together when the Cubs parted with $55,000 and two players for them in December, 1917.
Likes Chances of Cards.
"This looks like a pennant team," said Alex. of the Cardinals, when he joined them. "I'm not going to say anything about myself, but don't let anybody tell you that this arm hasn't a few more good ones left in it. I'm tickled to be with the team and Hornsby and Killefer. All Rog has to do is nod his head and I'll jump through a hoop for him."
Perhaps Alexander's arm will provide the margin of victory and a championship. That's the way the fans feel about it. Who knows? St. Louis would welcome a World's Series ticket scandal.
Getting back to accomplishments, the Cardinals dropped the second game of the double-header that big afternoon because Blake was a great pitcher. He had a fast breaking curve which stood the men of Hornsby on their ears and they did more futile swinging in the nightcap than they had done any time this year. Only one hit was registered, that by Billy Southworth in the seventh inning, and the Cards drew a 5 to 0 beating. Blake fanned ten men to help make it a big afternoon.
In the Saturday game against the Cubs, the Cardinals put on a real thriller to pull through. Going into their half of the seventh inning they were trailing, 6 to 2, and most of the customers had given up hope. Then came an attack which netted six runs and the old ball game, a home run by Hornsby, with two bases occupied, being the chief feature.
The Saturday victory over Chicago, while Cincinnati was taking care of the Pirates, saw the Cardinals advance to second place in the standings. If they can keep up their stride and knock off the Reds when they come along, they can take possession of first place.
The St. Louis Browns have been sailing along quite merrily on the road. They dropped a two-game series with the Detroit Tigers and after two open dates, slipped into Chicago to molest the White Sox. In the opening contest, George Sisler's men turned 15 hits into 11 runs, while Milt Gaston was holding Eddie Collins' men to four markers.
Then came a double-header and the Browns halved it. Tom Zachary was credited with a win in the first game, 5 to 4, although he stepped out for a pinch-hitter in the final round. This contest saw a typical Brown rally in the ninth inning, three tallies being sent across to put the game in the bag. In the second game, Wingard and Davis failed to hold up and the Sox registered, 6 to 3. Next day the Sox evened the series by combing Chester Falk for timely bingles.
Bing Miller has proved a valuable addition to the offensive machinery of Sisler's team. He has been hitting the ball far, wide and handsome ever since he joined the team. In the first game in Chicago he had a single, triple and home run and he also hit a homer in Detroit along with divers other bingles.
HORNSBY IN HOSPITAL; TO BE OUT TEN DAYS
Cardinal manager and star operated on for carbuncles; sticks to task, though suffering for three weeks.
ST. LOUIS, Mo., June 28.—In the midst of a campaign which St. Louis fans had hoped would carry the team to first place in the National League standings, Rogers Hornsby, manager and star second baseman, today went to St. John's Hospital to be operated on for removal of carbuncle infection in the tissues of the thighs. He may be missing from the lineup ten days or more.
The public did not learn of the misery under which Hornsby had been performing his daily tasks until the final game of the series with the Chicago Cubs here yesterday, when the manager removed himself from the game in the late innings. The pain then became so intense that he consulted Dr. Robert F. Hyland, club physician, and he directed that Rogers go to the hospital to have the matter attended to. It was then that the press learned that the manager had been suffering from carbuncles for more than three weeks.
Hornsby gave a remarkable display of gameness, for in Sunday's double-header he could hardly stoop to pick up grounders, yet stuck to his task throughout.
The removal of Hornsby to the hospital came as the team left for a short road trip which included a game in Chicago and four games in Pittsburg. Hornsby wanted to accompany the team, but Dr. Hyland insisted his condition would become more painful the longer he put off surgical attention.
In the absence of Hornsby, Bill Killefer will have charge of the team. It is the plan to use Specs Toporcer at second base when a right-hander is pitching and Jake Flowers will get the assignment if a southpaw happens to work for the opposition.
Tigers
THEY DO OR DON'T WITH EDWIN WELLS
TYRUS COBB'S PSYCHOLOGIST PUTS EMPHASIS ON SHUTOUTS.
By: SAM GREENE.
Left-hander runs up two more scoreless games in row for fourth of year; Tigers in winning mood.
DETROIT, Mich., June 26.—Edwin Wells is at it again. The Detroit southpaw added another glittering chapter to his record for 1926 when he shut out the Cleveland Indians in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday and thereby enabled the Tigers to continue their longest winning march of the year. It was Wells' fourth shutout victory of the season and made 18 successive innings he had pitched against the Tribe without yielding a run. Both feats are unparalleled in the major leagues this season.
In blanking Cleveland for the second time, Wells registered his seventh game in the won column. In this respect he is still rated below George Dauss and Augie Johns among Tiger pitchers, but both Dauss and Johns have profited while on relief duty. Neither has pitched so sensationally as Wells. Besides, the Bethany psychologist did not get a chance until the pennant race was well advanced.
It developed that a chance was all Wells needed. In his first start he shut out Cleveland and to prove that it was no fluke performance, he treated Washington and Boston in similar fashion in his next two appearances.
The Athletics finally stopped Wells' streak of scoreless innings at 33, but he regained his winning form against the Browns and then turned in his second whitewashing of the Indians. Wells has rarely been better than he was against the Tribe. He allowed only five hits and after the first inning, no two of them came within the same frame. Only three runners reached third base and each time two men were out and Wells easily checked the Cleveland attack.
Opening Splurge Decides Game.
Detroit batsmen provided Wells with a four-run lead in the first inning and he did not have the slightest difficulty in holding it. After that bad start, Ben Karr, who was Wells' pitching rival, settled down and even outpitched the left-hander, but his defeat already had been wrought.
The second game found Gibson strong in the pinches and the Tigers bounded into a tie with the Athletics for third place and within striking distance of the second-place White Sox.
A crowd of 20,000 was on hand, despite cool weather, to witness the double Tiger triumph. Besides the able pitching of Wells and Gibson, they were treated to some spectacular fielding. In fact, it was exceptional fielding as much as Gibson's work in the box that was responsible for the Detroits' winning the second game.
The Tigers failed to profit by their first home stand of the season against the Eastern clubs, although they rallied encouragingly after the departure of the Yankees. That, incidentally, seems to point to the trouble with the American League race. The Yankees simply are too good for the rest of the field. The battle for second place is as close as one could desire.
After the Yankees left Navin Field, the Tigers took three of four games with the Red Sox and earned an even break with the Athletics. Among other things, they beat the former Tiger, Howard Ehmke, in his last appearance in a Boston uniform, although competent fielding by the Sox would have brought victory to the blonde right-hander.
In splitting the four-game Philadelphia series, Detroit came back after the Athletics had won the first two games and beaten the star left-handers of the Tiger staff, Earl Whitehill and Wells.
Bassler's Wound Coming Around.
Johnny Bassler, the injured catcher, expects to join the Tigers about the middle of July. Writing from his home in Sawtelle, Cal., Bassler informed Ty Cobb that his broken leg is mending rapidly and that he is eager to return to the lineup. Since he joined the Tigers, Bassler has never failed to catch more than 100 games a season. His ambition is to reach the 100 mark again this year.
His long lay-off will put the veteran catcher under a tremendous handicap, but his goal is not impossible of achievement. When he was injured in Cleveland, May 26, Bassler was taking part in his thirty-fourth game. That means he must catch 66 more games if he is to keep his record intact. From July until the end of the season the Tigers will play about 70 games.
There is little doubt that Bassler's absence hurt the Tigers. His batting punch particularly has been missed. At the time of his accident, Bassler was batting .354, indicative of hitting power far in excess of that produced by his successors, Clyde Manion and Larry Woodall.
Bob Fothergill is again ready for duty, although he still favors his ankle that was sprained in Cleveland, June 2. Fothergill reappeared in the box score June 15 and again June 22, but it was not until June 25 that he again took his place in the starting lineup. It was then necessary to find a substitute for Harry Heilmann, stricken by a bad cold, and Fothergill was the choice.
An Able Running Mate.
Heinie Manush likewise has been getting his base hits frequently of late and his average has soared. Since he was promoted to the position of center fielder, Manush also has been playing a sterling game in the field. Some of his recent catches will take rank with the most sensational ever produced at Navin Field.
A glance at the records proves that Manush and Heilmann are not the only Tigers that have been climbing up the batting column. The power of the team as a whole has begun to assert itself, as witness a team average of .290. That is still somewhat below the traditional Tiger standard, but the season isn't yet half over.
Lu Blue has contributed to the general uplift of the Tigers since he returned to first base. His defensive play takes rank with the best in the league and his batting has been improving steadily.
Lest we forget, here's real news. Since the Tigers have the reputation of taking more time for their games than any other club in the major leagues, it must not be overlooked that they played the first game of the Cleveland double-header in one hour and 34 minutes. The oldest fan could not recall when any previous contest at Navin Field had lasted less than two hours. The fact becomes the more astonishing when it is considered that Wells was in the box for the Tigers, because Wells is the most deliberate of pitchers.
YANKEES
HUG DRIVES YANKEES WITH A STIFF REIN
SHOWS HE IS ALERT TO ANY LET-UP BY ACTION ON KOENIG.
BY: JOE VILA.
Brings youngster around to expected pace by threat to bench him; Jones joins list of winning flingers.
NEW YORK, N.Y., June 28.—The most encouraging feature of the Yankees' recent series with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park was the sudden recovery of Pitcher Sam Jones, who started his first game in a month in the first act of last Friday's double-header. Jones, in possession of all the skill that made him famous in past years, held the slugging Beaneaters to seven hits and registered his third victory since April 13. The score was 12 to 2, the Yankees knocking Fred Heimach out of the box in the opening inning for a total of six runs.
Provided with this strong lead, Jones breezed along with ever-increasing confidence. His control was almost perfect and when he had finished his task, Miller Huggins and several New York players slapped him on the back. If Jones' victory wasn't a flash in the pan, the Yankees' pitching staff will be tremendously strengthened.
At his best, Jones always has been one of the smartest pitchers in baseball. His splendid exhibition in Boston seemed to indicate a permanent come-back just at the right time, for recently Waite Hoyt and Herb Pennock have been staggering under their heavy burden. Urban Shocker, who chloroformed the Red Sox in the first battle on Friday, is improving steadily, while Walter Beall now seems to outclass the other youngsters, Thomas, Jimmy Ring Braxton and McQuaid.
Pitching in a regular turn with Shocker, Hoyt and Pennock, Jones can afford plenty of rest for those worthies. And better still, Bob Shawkey, who has been a cripple for nearly two months, now is ready for business. So it is safe to say that Huggins, who has been worried over his pitching staff, is able to breathe more freely.
Hugmen Protect Their Lead.
Coming back from their Western trip with a record of nine victories and six defeats, also leading the American League race by ten full games, the Yankees arrived in Washington last Tuesday and broke even in a double-header with the tottering Senators, who collected 13 hits off Beall, Pennock and Shocker and won the first game, 8 to 1.
Hoyt pitched superbly in the second game, which the Yankees won, 9 to 1. The Senators were held to five hits by the former Brooklyn schoolboy.
Jumping to Boston, the Yankees sustained another unexpected fall when the Red Sox beat them on Thursday, 6 to 5, in 11 innings. The pacemakers entered that affair in a crippled condition. Babe Ruth was limping, Earle Combs had a wrenched back and Joe Dugan was nursing a twisted leg.
Hooks Wiltse and Wingfield limited the New York ball breakers to six hits, including a home run by Tony Lazzeri. The Red Sox, on the other hand, hit Pennock and Hoyt savagely, winning the game when Phil Todt made a lucky scratch hit off Braxton, who, a moment before, had supplanted Hoyt.
The Yankees' double victory on Friday re-established a lead of nine and one-half games, their record since leaving the Stadium being 12 won and eight lost. However, the second game of the dual contest with the Red Hose proved costly to the Yanks. Bob Meusel, hard hitting outfielder, broke a bone in his left foot, trying to steal a base, and will be out of it for five weeks or more. Meusel had been playing fine ball and had an ambition to lead the majors in the matter of stolen bases.
Knows How To Get Results.
Huggins, after defeats in Washington and Boston last week, was quoted as saying that he had become dissatisfied with the batting and fielding of Shortstop Mark Koenig. The big infielder's sudden slump could not be accounted for by the mite manager, who seemed to think that a short rest would do him good.
Koenig, however, took a great brace in Friday's game and Huggins decided to keep him at work. Should it become necessary to lay off Koenig, Huggins has Aaron Ward or Mike Gazella to take his place, but the Dutchman is dead game and is fighting hard against Old Hard Luck.
Ruth knocked out his twenty-fourth homer on Friday and Lazzeri lined out his tenth. Two days later, Babe got his twenty-fifth and Lazzeri his eleventh. The California Italian is playing great ball. He is covering second base beautifully and is beginning to hammer the apple as he did in the Coast League last year.
What is the matter with the Giants? That is a leading question which the wise guys seem unable to answer. They are playing sand-lot ball at times and brilliant ball on other occasions. They were sad to look at while the Pirates beat them three out of four, and thousands of loyal friends couldn't solve the problem. To show how eager New York fans are to see the Giants win, the turnstiles recorded 40,000 admissions to the Polo Grounds on Sunday a week ago. Those 40,000 rooters saw Vic Aldridge shut out John McGraw's former champions, 8 to 0. He allowed eight hits while the Pirates found Rube Greenfield so easily that he retired in the fourth inning to make room for a pinch hitter.
Carlson Does it for Phils.
Along came the disjointed Phillies on Monday and the Giants, with Scott in the box, buried them, 10 to 8. A comparatively small crowd turned out on Tuesday when, to the utter amazement of the spectators, the Phillies won, 6 to 2, the great pitching of Hal Carlson making the Giants look like rattle-headed collegians.
The teams rested on Wednesday because of rain and played a double-header on Thursday, the Giants slaughtering the Phillies' boxmen and capturing both games, to the delight of 12,000 fans. Visiting Ebbets Field on Friday, however, the Giants turned a complete form reversal. They couldn't hit Jess Barnes, while the Robins pounded the daylights out of his brother Virgil Barnes, and others.
McGraw, always a hard loser, appears to be planning a stunning shakeup for next year. He has a small regiment of college players in practice at the Polo Grounds, although they are not under contract. The other day, the Little Napoleon put Andy Cohen, the Jewish infielder, into the fag end of one of the games. Cohen promptly hammered a triple to the center field fence amid intense excitement. He ran around the bases like a deer and tried to score a home run. A long, accurate throw nipped him just in time at the plate, but that made no difference to several thousands of Jewish fans who carried their hero off the field in triumph.
REDS
REDS MATCH MOUND LET-UP WITH PUNCH
IN OTHER WORDS, JACK HENDRICKS FINDS A WAY TO WIN.
BY: TOM SWOPE.
Pitching Is Not What It Was Expected to Be, While Batting Is Surprise; Frank Emmer Fools His Critics.
CINCINNATI, O., June 28.—This may or may not be Cincinnati's year to win a National League pennant, but up to the present the Reds, despite considerable bad baseball on the road, have done enough to make it appear they have a darn good chance for the flag. Sunday's game with Pittsburg that drew 34,371 cash customers to Redland Field, was their sixty-seventh contest of the year and they made it their most impressive victory of the season by humiliating the world champions, 16 to 0.
It was all the more distasteful for Pittsburg because it was the third victory scored over the Pirates by the Reds in as many days and cinched a series of five games that was looked upon as the first important fight of the year for first place.
This game was Pete Donohue's eleventh victory of the season and his first 1926 shutout.
So far, the Reds have not been shut out this year, something no other National League club can say. They are far in front as an offensive team, with a club batting average of .295 and a record of having scored 368 runs. They lead the league in triples and also in the number of bases on balls received and they also have the best team fielding average in the circuit.
Bats Take Up Pitching Slack.
At times this year the Reds have received some excellent pitching. But there have been few periods of any length in which their hurlers carried on as effectively as even the most pessimistic followers of the club expected before the season opened. Early in the Spring it appeared the Reds had the greatest pitching staff in the league. It looked so able that many observers figured the club would be a sure winner if it could average three runs a game.
The pitchers have not been that effective, but by averaging more than five runs a game and by making more than one run for every two hits, the Reds have held up their pitchers and won pretty steadily from the start.
Suppose Cincy's pitchers should suddenly begin pitching in their anticipated form and start holding the enemy to an average of less than three runs a game the balance of the year? And suppose the club should continue its murderous attack and clean fielding? We're not going to give the answer to this, but just suppose, anyway.
Hitting and fielding with some fine pitching now and then have put the Reds on top and kept them there and the hitting and fielding is from the heart, not just from pure mechanical ability. Cincy has a team that has plenty of courage.
And one of the finest fighters of the lot is Frank Emmer, a boy whom Sunday's crowd gave an ovation every time he came to bat because he seemingly has won an uphill fight for his job just as he and his mates have won several uphill fights for games.
Simply Has to Make Good.
Emmer is playing great ball and has found the knack of hitting the ball safely instead of popping up or missing entirely. For quite awhile he was about the most helpless batter one ever saw in major league company. And his fielding was very uncertain, too. Of late he's been hitting extra base blows in the pinches and fielding like a Wagner. Frank probably would have been shipped some time ago had the club been able to get another man for his job. But the Red scouts didn't unearth anyone on whom Jack Hendricks was willing to take a chance, and when Emmer found it was strictly up to him to play shortstop he began playing it.
Sam Bohne, a man who would have taken the job away from him had his legs not failed him, is gone. The Reds disposed of his services to Brooklyn late last week. Sammy never was really popular here. He seldom made an error that didn't cost dearly.
Hendricks refused to part with Bohne last Spring when Brooklyn made a tempting offer for him, but with Howard Carter, the young Fordham lad, showing to such good advantage in practice, the Red skipper decided the Jewish boy could be spared. Carter played short in an exhibition game last week and looked great. Another young collegian who is showing much promise in a Red uniform is Ethan Allen of the University of Cincinnati. Allen has been in several championship games and has delivered fine baseball.
Next to Emmer's arrival as a shortstop, Carl Mays is the big sensation of the team. Three weeks ago, Hendricks was so disgusted with Carl's pitching he was about to recommend that the submarine flinger be given his unconditional release. A shortage of pitchers, however, forced Jack to give Carl another chance and he has been pitching so well of late that it appears those who reported from Florida this Spring that he was over his arm trouble and as good as ever, were correct.
Tough on The Knobs.
The past week, besides being notable for the way the Reds cracked the ball and the Pirates when a lot of persons thought they were due to crack under the strain, brought considerable excitement through players being hit in the head. Early in the week Bill Piercy laid Hughie Critz low with a wild pitch in the fourth inning of a 16-inning game which the Reds won by twice coming from behind. Hughey had to remain out of the lineup the next three days but since returning to second base has been hitting the ball harder than ever, showing he is another game guy.
Wednesday, Adolfo Luque was hit above the left temple with a wild pitch by Charlie Root in the fifth inning and flattened. Luque refused to leave the game and when Root led off for the Cubs in the sixth the Cuban's first pitch went right at Charley's head. The latter threw up his arms and saved his head. There came near being a scrap between the two teams but no blows were struck and Barry McCormick evidently didn't think Luque tried to hit Root as he didn't put him out of the game. This hit batsmen paved the way for two Cub runs, kept Luque from winning in nine innings and cost him the game in the tenth when he collapsed from the effects of the blow he received on the head and lost his grip on the game.
However, the Cuban recovered in a few days and was ready for duty.
WHITE SOX
SOX IN MOTION, BUT IT'S A BUGGY RIDE
YANKS TAKING MUCH OF THRILL OUT OF SECOND PLACE JOY.
BY: IRVING VAUGHAN.
Collins' Team Can Improve Its Percentage Figure If Pitching Help Comes; Cub Fans Regret Alex's Going.
CHICAGO, Ill., June 28.—The White Sox, bossed by Eddie Collins, are beginning to wonder whether there is some kind of a joke attached to second place. They worked like beavers during their long at-home stay and managed to get a clear claim to the position, but what has it profited them? Not much, because nobody seems able to slow down the Yankees and as long as the latter continue to top the column by a ridiculous margin of ten games or more, who is going to take seriously the pennant aspirations of any other aggregation?
There are two good reasons why the Sox haven't received as much attention as pennant possibilities as their second position status warrants. One, of course, is that second place is a long way from first under the present arrangement. The gap between first and second in the American is bigger than between the first five in the National. The other thing that kept the Sox from considerable notice as a serious contender is that the team has been inconsistent. At home they play the steadiest ball in the league, but on the road fall with a sickening thud.
The first Eastern trip of the year was a satellite to this. They lost ten and won five. This record might have been reversed easily if games that seemed already won hadn't been lost in the last few minutes. That happened because the weak spots showed up just when least wanted.
Pitchers Won't Go 'Round.
Collins' biggest drawback is that he is limited when it comes to pitching. Ted Lyons, Ted Blankenship and Tom Thomas give him a fairly formidable trio, but beyond that he has nothing reliable. Red Faber has been doing some good work and will do more, but he can't work his turn with the others. That is what makes the acquisition of another good hurler a matter of great importance. But where can you get pitchers who can step into the majors and win? It can't be done without spending a lot of coin, and even then the odds are against the purchaser.
One thing that can't be complained about is that the Sox can hit most of the time and this feature has gone a long way to minimize some of their pitching deficiencies. Two of the outfielders, Bibb Falk and Johnny Mostil, are right up with the top-notchers, the former with a rating of .349 and the latter with .344. This pair also have been fielding wonderfully well, but the strength they give to the team defensively and offensively is discounted somewhat by the erratic Johnny Barrett in right field. The latter seems to be an unlucky cuss. The sun, or the wind, always is keeping him from making a catch when it counts.
If present plans are carried through the Sox will have a palatial home in which to entertain their guests and customers. Comiskey Park, which in its day was the park of parks, but which has since deteriorated considerably, is going to be remodeled and enlarged. Owner Charles Comiskey already has plans drawn calling for the double-decking of the entire layout, except in dead center, where a single deck of about 3,000 bleacher seats will be erected. The new park will seat 55,000 and work in the revamping of the plant is expected to start as soon as the ball players have gone home for the Winter.
Regrets Follow Big Alex.
When Chicago fandom awakened one morning last week to see by the public prints that Grover Cleveland Alexander had been released to the St. Louis Cardinals for the waiver pittance of $4,000, there was considerable surprise expressed.
Alex had been looked upon as a sort of institution hereabouts. The fans, always eager to recognize the distinctive persons, had come to regard him as the hub of the North Side outfit, hence it is easy to imagine why his departure registered so heavily among those who have been rooting for him since the day that he and Bill Killefer were purchased from the Phillies for $55,000.
The release came so quickly on the heels of Alexander's suspension for failure to keep in condition that the fans hardly had time to figure out what the whole thing was about. Nobody knew that Alex hadn't always been a model athlete and the club might have done better had it stretched the interval of time between the suspension and the release. That would have given the public ample time in which to think over the situation and possibly reach a conclusion that the sale or transfer of the old-timer might redound to the benefit of the Cubs.
There is no doubt but that for the time being the club management lost in popularity among a large number of the patrons. Comments on all sides were along the same lines—that Alexander had done his work well and deserved better treatment than being shunted along to some team that would risk $4,000 on him. That was the spot judgment of the case, but now you hear expressions such as, "Well, the club probably was justified in taking such drastic action." On a cold business basis, and that is the way baseball is conducted, the club WAS justified, because it was paying the pitcher a big salary and he wasn't giving his undivided attention to the earning of it.
Probably Welcomed Change.
Without knowing just how Alex feels about his trip "down the river," we venture the opinion that it was good news to him. During the Spring training siege on Catalina Island one could see that the old fellow was a sort of hangover from another regime. The men he had been able to call his pals were gone. He stood alone among young bloods, even a younger manager who had, and has, no time to meditate over human shortcomings. Alex knew this, and maybe that helped to bow down his indomitable spirit and led him astray.
Anyway, he's back under the guiding hand of Bill Killefer, the catcher who helped to make him a great pitcher. Killefer, if anybody, knows how to handle his former battery mate. And if Alex is properly handled, his old arm is going to creak through more than one triumph during the rest of the present National League campaign. He should be a better pitcher with the Cards because he'll have a run-getting team behind him. There even is a possibility that he might win enough games to hoist the Cards into a pennant, but it is yet too early to grow enthusiastic over such a prospect.
During the last few weeks there have been so many changes in the Cub personnel that Joe McCarthy has almost turned his team inside out. Cooper, Shannon, Munson, Brooks and Alex, all men who figured in the Spring plans of McCarthy, are among the missing. The young leader has been so bold in his strokes that hardly any of the remaining players feel safe enough to unpack their trunks and they are wise because it may not be long before additional switches are made. The boss hints continually about something new arriving.
Senators
WHERE THERE'S LIFE THERE'S SOME HOPE
SO, WASHINGTON FOLLOWERS AWAIT SPLURGE BY SENATORS.
BY: PAUL W. EATON.
Bucky Harris' Team Breaks Athletic Spell and If Pitching Can Do Its Part, Team May Yet Get Somewhere.
WASHINGTON, D. C., June 28.—The return of the Washingtons to Clark Griffith Stadium was signalized by a split double-header with the Yankees and the debut of Pitcher Emilio Palmero as a Senator. For about 15 minutes the local fans looked at real championship stuff, when the Griffs won the opener by a six-run rally in the ninth inning. In the course of the uprising, two visiting hurlers, including the league-leading Herb Pennock, were knocked off the peak.
The Senators then went to Philadelphia, where a double bill was staged on Thursday, the champs winning both games. In the first one they again came from behind, to tie the score in the ninth inning and, when the Macks matched their one-run lead, the Griffs put on another batting splurge in the tenth, adding two more markers, and then Pitcher Bill Morrell held the A's in their half.
These Garrison finishes of the Griffs are getting more frequent, which is very encouraging, and their resumption of their old habit of licking the Athletics, who had them on the run for a short time, also indicates a return to normalcy.
Beall Shows the Neighbors.
Walter Beall pitched a fine game against the locals in the first Yankee contest. It was his premier appearance as a starter here in his home town, and he never tried harder. He put so much on nearly every ball thrown that many thought he would pitch himself out early, but he stuck, though not quite to the end.
Dutch Ruether opposed and also did well on the slab, but was not himself at bat, striking out twice with the bases full and being an easy out with two on. Twice with the sacks crowded, Beall fanned the next two, all good batters, to retire the side.
In the ninth, with the score 7 to 1 in favor of the Yanks, Sam Rice, the first man up, singled. Bucky Harris then doubled, Rice stopping at third. Beall was then lifted, and received an ovation from the big crowd for his fine work. Pennock replaced him.
Goslin greeted the star southpaw with an infield single, filling the bases. Joe Harris then hit into a double play in which Rice was killed off at the plate. Joe Judge walked, and the bases were full again. Ossie Bluege then hit a grounder to Mark Koenig, who had a soft chance to end the game by a short chuck to second, but erred and all were safe and Harris scored. Hits by Roger Peckinpaugh and Muddy Ruel sent three more home, and Pitcher Pennock was replaced by Urban Shocker.
Benny Tate, pinch hitting, lined one to left, scoring Peck with the tying run, and when Bob Meusel let the hard hit ball go through him, Ruel crossed the plate with the winning marker. It was the greatest upset seen here this year.
Error Bothers Cuban.
Palmero started for the Griffs in the second encounter, but all it got him was a nickname. The fans greeted him as Palmolive from the start. Earle Combs, first up, hit a pop fly which Peck dropped, and the error seemed to affect Palmero, who passed the next three and sandwiched a wild pitch among the passes. Emilio faded out of the picture, and the Yanks, after cuffing around a few more hurlers, won an easy victory.
Two days later, in Philadelphia, Palmero pitched well until Palmero made an error at an awkward moment, after which he seemed to lose his poise. If this is a habit it will be a handicap. The Cuban has a good curve ball and a deceptive change of pace and should do well for the locals if he has confidence and can ignore errors behind him.
It took Stan Coveleski, Firpo Marberry, George Ogden and Morrell to win the first game in Philly, and Sammy Hudlin and Marberry to win the second one in five innings, rain cutting it short.
A triple play by the Senators was a great help in the last encounter, and it was a very unusual one. These three-ply killings usually are faster than a double play, and start with a liner into a fielder's mitt. This one started with a grounder to Bucky Harris and consisted of six distinct parts.
Palmero started the inning by walking Galloway and Quinn; Harris grabbed Bishop's grounder, tried to tag Quinn going to second, and failed. He threw to Judge, who got Bishop and threw to second, where Peck eliminated Quinn. Galloway had rounded third, and Peck threw to Bluege to catch him off the base. Galloway continued toward the plate, where Ruel had the ball waiting, and when the runner turned back, Muddy returned the ball to Bluege, who tagged Galloway.
Two Veterans Dropped.
Pitchers Joe Bush and Alex Ferguson were released last week. Bullet Joe was let go unconditionally, after all the major league clubs had waived on him, he being a ten-year man and entitled to become a free agent in those circumstances.
The trade that brought Bush here was one of the big deals of the intra-season period. It looked like a good one when it was made, but turned out badly. Joe won only one game out of nine here, while Tom Zachary, who was exchanged for him, has copped nine for the Browns. Add those eight games, the difference between the two pitchers' victories, to the Washington's record, and they would be within easy striking distance of the Yankees.
Ferguson did good work last year, but couldn't get going this season. He has been traded to the Buffalo Club of the International League for Outfielder Dan Taylor. The new gardener was only a substitute for the Bisons and has hit for but .245, but President Clark Griffith believes he sees great possibilities in him.
PIRATES
PIRATES FEEL SURE WORST IS NOW OVER
BUCS HAVE RID SCHEDULE OF MOST OF GAMES IN WEST.
BY: RALPH S. DAVIS.
Pitching Stalks as Nightmare in Front of Bill McKechnie; Chester Nichols Bought from New Haven.
PITTSBURG, Pa., June 28.—The Pirates are now due for a long stay on their own grounds, except for an over-Sunday trip to Chicago this week-end for a single game with the Cubs. During the next three weeks they will devote most of their time to playing the Eastern outfits here, and these games should prove considerably less strenuous than the battles in which they have engaged during the past week.
Indeed, it might be said that the hardest part of the season's program is over, so far as the Pirates are concerned. There is no doubt about the balance of strength and power in the National League this year being in the West. The standing of the Reds, Pirates, Cards and Cubs prove that as a quartet they outclass the Giants, Robins, Braves and Phillies. It would not be greatly surprising if at least three of the Westerners should find a final resting place in the first division, and the entire four may be there in the end.
To date, the Pirates have done a lot of battling with the other three Western outfits. They have already disposed of more than half of their season's allotment of games with St. Louis, Cincinnati and Chicago. There is nothing in the East to equal them in ability. The locals still have four series to dispose of with the East, two here and two abroad.
If the Pirates have been able to keep in the race thus far, they should be doubly able to make progress the rest of the way. The Pirates have not yet counted the Giants out of the running, but it is a fact that unless John McGraw gets his men started in the right direction soon, they are not going to cut a great deal of a figure.
Dope Receives a Jolt.
The Giants' failure to come through has been one of the season's big upsets. Before the campaign opened, it was figured that the race in the National League this season would be, at the best, a two-team affair, with the Pirates front-running most of the way, and the New Yorkers waging a valiant battle to keep pace. The Reds and the Cardinals were figured to have an outside chance of making the battle interesting, but few observers expected much of them in the way of stamina. They were regarded as Spring bloomers, who would wilt in mid-season.
How differently have things turned out. The Giants have been considerable of a flop, and the Pirates had difficulty in keeping their heads above water.
The fine form shown by the Reds has been a potent factor in making the race interesting. Jack Hendricks' men were conceded to have a fine pitching staff, and not much else, but the latest batch of unofficial averages show that the Redlanders are first in both batting and fielding. If they can maintain that sort of work, with consistent pitching, they will be a tough bunch for Pittsburg, or any other contender, to shake off.
The Cardinals, too, have done their share toward making the race worth while. Rogers Hornsby's men started like a house afire, then slumped a bit, but came back strong. Their sensational spurt on their first Eastern trip was the talk of the league, and kept them up with the leaders.
There are really two clubs out of it in the parent loop—the Braves and the Phillies. Brooklyn and New York both have possibilities, and may yet figure stronger than at present.
Rabbit Loses His Way.
An interesting note came out of Brooklyn the other day regarding Rabbit Maranville. According to this report, the former Brave, Pirate and Cub is paving the way for another move. He is said to have broken training with the Robins, and as a result was removed from the lineup.
What a foolish gentleman Mr. Maranville is! He was one of the game's greatest infielders, and today retains much of his original prowess, but he seems destined to finally pass out of the big show under a cloud, simply because he allows his appetite to run away with him. Brooklyn is now getting a taste of the sort of thing that made Maranville persona non grata with the Braves, the Pirates and the Cubs.
Joe McCarthy certainly made no mistake when he let Maranville out. The Cubs, just like the Pirates the previous year, started to win as soon as the Rabbit was canned.
Many Pittsburg fans regretted the disciplining of the veteran Grover Cleveland Alexander by Manager McCarthy of the Cubs, who asked for waivers on him, rather than stand for frequent breaks in discipline. The Cardinals may have been extremely fortunate in getting him. The old boy still possesses plenty of baseball ability, and can more than earn his salt in the Mound City if he will buckle down to business.
Grover has long been an offender along certain lines, but apparently McCarthy was the first manager for whom he worked who had the nerve to balk his pleasures. McCarthy is a strict disciplinarian, and has made it plain that he will wreck his team rather than stand for any cutting up.
Pittsburg, St. Louis and Cincinnati all claimed Alexander when waivers were asked and only the fact that Pittsburg defeated St. Louis on the day his fate was decided prevented the Pirates from getting him.
A Break for Hornsby.
Had the champions lost that day, they would have been passed in the standing by the Cardinals. But when St. Louis remained in third place, as a result of the defeat, lower in the standing than either the Reds or the Pirates, under baseball law, it had first claim on the pitcher, and took him.
Pittsburg could have used Alexander to advantage, provided he could have been made to shoulder responsibility. The local staff is still more or less wobbly, and strenuous efforts are being made to bolster it.
Several of the regulars are still unable to deliver with any consistency, and the bulk of the work has been falling on the shoulders of two or three hurlers.
The Pirate scouts have been given orders to overlook no pitching talent they may find in the minors, and the chances are that in the Fall, Manager Bill McKechnie will devote himself largely to looking over prospects who have been purchased or drafted by that time. Chester Nichols was purchased from New Haven of the Eastern League last week. The Pirates sent Bud Culloton to New Haven on option as part of the deal.
The Washington Americans picked up a near-Pittsburg boy last week when they purchased Outfielder Dan Taylor from the Buffalo Internationals. Dan is said to be only 23 years old. However, he has been playing ball for a number of seasons, although this is his first year in the ranks of Organized Baseball. He was with West Newton, which won the semi-professional championship last year, and this Spring went to Buffalo, where his hitting and fielding shortly attracted the attention of Clark Griffith.
INDIANS
A NEMESIS LEADS CLEVELAND ASTRAY
LYONS OF SOX, HAS BEATEN TRIBE 13 OUT OF 14 STARTS.
BY: FRANCIS J. POWERS.
Chicago, Incidentally, Is Real Stumbling Block for Speaker's Men; Miller Out with Injury to Arm.
CLEVELAND, O., June 28.—The Cleveland Indians did not fare so well during the past week, dropping three out of the five games played and those to the Chicago White Sox—who seem to be the Indians' jinx this season. The Tribe took three out of four from the Hose in their first engagement of the season, but since then they have had no luck against the Chicago team and have won only five of the 15 games played to date. The Indians wound up their home stay with a 1 to 0 victory over Boston, hurled by Walter Miller. That victory gave the Tribe a record of 14 victories out of the 20 games played at home and ten out of 14 against the Eastern clubs.
On going to Chicago, the Indians grabbed the first game and took undisputed possession of second place when Joe Shaute hurled his first full game in over a month. Then came three defeats. In the second game, Sherrod Smith opposed Ted Lyons. Lyons has faced the Tribe 14 times since he came into the league and has won 13 of the games. This time he was carried ten innings before he could win and then only a good break saved him.
In the eighth inning, with the score tied and runners on third and first, Glenn Myatt lashed a wicked drive towards short. Willie Kamm raced over and knocked the ball down, but could not handle it. George Spurgeon was close to the plate and Myatt near first when Moe Hunnefield darted down and scooped up the ball and whipped it to Eddie Collins in time to get Tris Speaker on a force play. It was a play that could not have been made once in 50 times. But Lyons always gets the luck when he is working against the Indians.
Tribe Is Outpitched.
Ted Blankenship beat George Uhle in the third game, while John "Red" Edwards and Steengrafe were better than Buckeye and Dutch Levsen. So the Tribe left Chicago one game below the mark it held when it arrived there.
The Indians might have fared better in Chicago, but they were without the services of Walter Miller again. Miller injured his pitching arm in the final game of the series with Boston and may be out of the game for several weeks. This is the second time Walter has been forced out of the game just when he was going good. The loss of Miller is a severe blow to Manager Speaker for neither Buckeye nor Levsen are showing the form expected of them early in the Spring.
The Indians have a good pitching staff with Miller, Uhle, Smith and Shaute working in rotation, but take one of those men out of the equation and the team loses much of its strength. Buckeye has won only one game this season. His inability to win may be traced to the fact that the big fellow is not in shape to go the route. By that, I do not mean he is not taking care of himself, for no one adheres to training rules more closely than Buckeye. But a year ago he worked much harder than this season and he will only achieve his 1925 form when he goes through the same grind as he did then.
Spoke Up to Old Tricks.
Colonel Speaker is the Indians' most valuable offensive cog at present. The Texan, as this was written, had reached first 18 out of his last 32 walks to the plate. He has been passed eight times; reached first on errors twice and the rest of the time has hit safely. Joe Sewell and George Burns also have been hitting, but the rest of the club has shown no improvement in stick work.
One thing that militates against the Indians is the lack of extra base hits made by the club. They are among the leaders in doubles, but there are no triplers nor home run hitters on the team. And many games are being won on home runs. Bibb Falk put one of the Chicago games on ice with a four-bagger and had the Indians been able to get one in that series it would have made a different story. We will have to admit a homer helps now and then.
The Tribe is at home for two days this week and then goes away for another series. It will be home one more day before July 6 and then comes the second Eastern trip of the season.
Phillies
MACKS MUST BRACE ON LONG HOME STAY
PITCHING NOT WHAT IT SHOULD BE FOR TITLE ASPIRANTS.
BY: JAMES C. ISAMINGER.
Bob Grove Luck Getting to Be One of Sad Tales of League; Outfield Will Soon Be at Full Strength Again.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa., June 28.—After nearly a month on the road, the Athletics returned home June 21 and they will be on the home sward until July 26. Howard Ehmke, the man of the hour in Philadelphia, because he came here in a big trade with the Red Sox, expected the Philadelphia crowd to be refreshed and strong for his Athletic debut against the Red Sox Monday, but as is so frequent in baseball under similar conditions, he had his troubles. Ehmke was making his baptism in Athletic vestments against his old team and tried to do miracles instead of pitching his normal game. He tried too hard, put too much on the ball because of anxiety to make good and as a result Boston stormed him off the hill in four innings.
Nevertheless, Ehmke was not destined to be charged with a loss. Boston hitting stopped as soon as there was a pitching substitution and eventually the Macks won in 11 innings, 7 to 6. Cy Perkins Willis and Eddie Rommel pitched brilliantly after Ehmke withdrew and Edward Americus was rewarded with credit for the victory.
The first rain postponements of the season struck Shibe Park last week. The Red Sox and Macks couldn't play Tuesday and it also ruined Wednesday and kept the Athletics and Washington team apart. So the Macks and Griffs played a double-header Thursday and Bucky Harris' team dealt the Athletics a facer by winning both games of a double bill. The first game ran ten innings and the second was stopped by rain in the sixth inning, the score reverting to the fifth inning.
No Luck for Grove.
Lefty Grove had his usual hard luck. Washington tabbed four runs in the first inning when they should have been retired runless. Mickey Cochrane made a wild throw and Jimmy Dykes lost a pop fly in the sun and four tainted runs grew from these two slips. The Athletics should have won anyway.
They rallied in the middle of the game and tied the score. Then they worked out in front by one run. Fate was doing a capital rescue pitching trick until the ninth when the Griffs scored two runs. The first of these scored when Fitz French, still limping, could not quite reach Goose Goslin's fake double. That was a bad break and a sound French would easily have caught the ball.
Sam Gray went in with runners on third and first and one out and Joe Harris hit straight to the pitcher. Sammy paid no attention to Stan Harris, who was on third. He had plenty of time to chase Stan back to third before throwing Joe out, but did not do this. As soon as Sammy arched to throw to first, Stan bolted home and just beat Joe Poole's return chuck. That play lost the game, for the Macks scored a run in the last half of the ninth that would have won the game instead of just tying the score.
Rommel went on duty in the tenth and the Griffs quickly tanned him for two runs and victory. Rommel was the loser and George Ogden the winner of this contest.
The second game was stopped by rain while Al Simmons was batting in the lower half of the sixth. The score reverted back to the fifth, which was 3 to 1 in favor of the Griffs, who lost credit for the fourth run they tabbed in the outlawed sixth.
Mack Files Protest.
Connie Mack protested this game because of a ruling by Chief Umpire Geisel, who refused to allow a home run on a ball batted by Jim Dykes against the base of the upper pavilion in left field. The ball bounded into the playing field and the umpire would not let Dykes go beyond second base although there is a Shibe Park ground rule that allows homers on all batted balls that hit any part of the stand above the screen whether the ball stays in or bounds out.
They announced the unconditional release of Joe Bush and the transfer of Alex Ferguson to Buffalo in part payment for Outfielder Dan Taylor. According to rumors here, two more Griff players will soon be unconditionally released.
Bucky Harris is said to now have an itch for young blood, and is letting out high-salaried veterans.
Last Winter, the Athletics were interested in acquiring Joe Bush, but Mack does not need him now after the recent readjustment of the pitching staff. If the Ehmke deal had not been made, Mack might have signed Joe.
The Athletics did not have any championship game scheduled Friday, but Mack took two teams to Milford, Del., and played an exhibition game for the benefit of the Emergency Hospital of Milford. The game was arranged through the good offices of Dr. Walter Grier of Milford, dentist to Connie Mack and Athletic players. Grier is one of the owners of a big dental supply firm that has branches in all parts of the world. Their headquarters are in Milford where they have a large research laboratory and for two years Mack and his players have their dental work done under the experts in charge of the laboratory.
The team went over to Washington for games Saturday and Sunday, the only two dates away from here until July 26. They dropped the Saturday game to the Senators, 3 to 2. Walter Johnson broke his losing streak in the contest. On Sunday, the Senators again downed the Macks, 6 to 2, Ehmke being batted for five runs in the fourth inning.
Mack Denies Wild Report.
While the Athletics were in Detroit, a Philadelphia paper printed a story that Outfielder Ray Rohwer had arrived in Philadelphia and would join the Athletics on their return. Connie Mack at once denied that he had made any efforts to get Rohwer and on his return it was revealed that a kidder had palmed off a young man of this city as Rohwer just as a joke on some friends.
While Fitz French played in one game last week, he is not yet in his best condition and has to favor the leg he injured by crashing into the concrete wall at Comiskey Park on the recent trip. Welch also had a trial and batted the ball hard. His injured hand is slow in mending.
Therefore, the Athletics are weak in right field until either French or Welch is able to do his best work. Mack still has a problem at first base and is alternating Poole and Jimmie Hauser at the post. Neither man is hitting his weight nor fielding up to normal and that point is the vulnerable spot of the infield.
There are stories that this weakness will be corrected before the season ends. Chick Galloway is back at short and playing a strong game, with Charley Engle in reserve and aching to show his skill before the Philadelphians. The rest will do Engle good, for he had to make his major league debut in Cleveland with an injured thumb.
The Phillies, in the meantime, have started a road trip that will keep them away until July 27. Pitcher Jack Knight made a rare record in the first game of the double bill in New York Thursday when he made two consecutive home runs. In a hasty glance over the records I do not find where any pitcher made two homers in one game in succession. Nevertheless, the Phils lost the game, the Giants also mopping up the double bill by taking the second game as well.
Ray Grimes is now covering first base for Art Fletcher's men and doing well in all departments. The Phils left on their long road trip in last place and it is asking pretty much of a team to get out of the ruck while on the road.
Therefore, the outlook is anything but rosy for Fletcher and his men, but they are fighting. The team has been batting hard in recent games and making the games close and exciting.
RED SOX
FOHLS LOOK BETTER, BUT LOOKS DECEIVE
SOMEHOW FENWAY PARK THROWS A SPELL ON BOSTON'S HOSE.
BY: BURT WHITMAN.
New Comers Do Good Enough on Road, but Forget Their Lines at Home; Fans Think Team Has Improved.
BOSTON, Mass., June 28.—The changes that Bob Quinn and Lee Fohl have made in the Red Sox have helped the team 10 per cent, according to both Bob and Lee, and also to a jury composed of observant Boston fans. However, the improvement has not yet expressed itself in more winning contests. That is one of the things that must wait on the arrival of team play or the spirit of whatever it is that starts a team on a winning splurge.
The game which Bill Regan, the second sacker from the Columbus Club, put up in the West for the Sox, just prior to their arrival home, was sensational, according to the eye witnesses. But when Bill came here and fell under the spell which seems to be brooding over Fenway Park, then Bill, too, started to go wrong and looked like other Red Sox infielders of recent vintage.
Big Bill Jacobson, from the Browns, has been put in right field here at the Fens. That is one of the toughest right fields in the game. It is deep and more difficult than most sun fields because of the way the sun comes through the back of the grand stand and over its top. Jake played center field for the Browns. It may be that there will be some shift made, with Big Bill again in center. Ira Flagstead, of course, is the star center fielder for the Sox, but he might be able to make a go of the difficult right field patrol and then there should be little difficulty for Jake to take care of center.
More Work for the Jury.
Outfielder Howard Fitzgerald from the Wichita Falls Club, is another new Hoseman, and Walter Shaner, the outfielder who broke his leg down in New York this Spring, is just beginning to get back into the game and might be rated as a brand new man for the Hose. The evidence is not in on either of these outfielders yet.
All of the new men, with the exception of Slim Harriss, have shown some promise since they joined the Sox, but they have done their best away from home, and the Boston faithful have not been given the fun of watching a Sox team go along rapidly under its own steam. Harriss says his arm has been sore ever since the last game he pitched against the Red Sox when he was a member of the Athletics. Fred (Lefty) Heimach has shown both very good and very bad streaks since he joined the Red Sox.
It is difficult to convince Boston fans these days that there is any particular high joy in big league baseball. So far things here have been a disappointment. Probably no team ever had the backing of so many good wishers as the Bob Quinn outfit has here. The older heads in sport claim that the Quinn regime still will make good, but the younger element is hollering its head off for a winner without any more delay.
In the recent New York Yankee series here the unusual sound of a crowd petting after a Boston pitcher because he dared to walk Babe Ruth was heard. It shows that times have changed here. Only a couple years ago the crowd, much as it liked Babe Ruth, who really is a Boston big league product anyhow, and not a New York Yorker, except by purchase, used to yell for the Red Sox flinger to strike out the big boy. Now they want to see the Bam bust one out of the park.
Still They Want Sox to Win.
Of course, this does not apply when the game is close, but only when the score is one-sided and when a homer would make no difference. But a lack of success over quite a period is getting under the skin of the average Hub fanatic on baseball. You cannot blame him, and, anyhow, this same bug, when once the Bob Quinn regime starts to have its run of good fortune, will be the best booster possible for the team. It simply is not on the books that the Sox are not to have their innings soon. All the laws of average and also the laws of baseball indicate a revival at Fenway Park.
Despite the fact that there have been good crowds at some of the holiday attractions at Fenway Park, it seems almost sure that the total attendance, per game, has been smaller this year than last Spring, over the same period, at Fenway. Yet, there have been so many thousands out there that Bob Quinn ought to realize, and undoubtedly does realize, that Boston will almost jump out of its skin for a consistent winner.
Phil Todt seems to be one of the few Hosemen who stands out steadily as a valuable performer. At first base he does his stuff and he is one of the most dangerous hitters in a pinch. He is such an easy going, moderate and sensible performer that he does not attract the attention that would be going to a more dramatic athlete, or to a better showman.
Of course, the biggest disappointment of the Sox this season so far has been the failure of big Charley Ruffing to come through. This pitcher has great natural stuff, but seems to lack the proper temperament for a winning pitcher under big league pressure. That does not mean or hint that he lacks the fighting qualities needed for success in the large leagues. It rather means that he is not fiery enough or lively enough upstairs.
A Contageous Despair.
Just why so many good looking athletes, when once they have donned the Red Socks of Boston, should suddenly seem to lose their pepper and effectiveness, is something that puzzles Hub fans. It does not seem natural or right for Doc Haney and Joe Rigney, for instance, to go to pieces in the fielding end of the game, when once they have joined the Red Sox. Regan, too, played a whirlwind game with the Sox on the road, but fell flatter than a sheet of gold leaf when once he had adjourned to Fenway Park.
Of course, the manager of such a team comes in for adverse criticism. Some cities long ago would have been riding Lee Fohl to a fare-thee-well, but Boston always has been kind and considerate to its big league managers, even in those days when the Sox were having a new manager every other week, back in the days before Patsy Donovan, Jake Stahl and Bill Carrigan made a winning combination of what looked like a hopeless outfit.
Yet, it is difficult in these times to convince hard-boiled baseball men that it pays to shift managers when things go bad. They merely point to the case of Connie Mack, and how his hopeless and helpless cellar teams finally became contenders, just when all Philadelphia seemed on the point of sending Connie to a home for the aged feeble-minded. Bob Quinn has yet, so far as I know, to hint or intimate anything about Fohl not getting the best results possible from the given material. You certainly can not beat that for loyalty.
PLAYER BIOS
PITCHER TED LYONS
TEXAS, among other things, has turned out probably more present-day big league ball players than any state in the Union. They run up and down the line from Rogers Hornsby to Tris Speaker and a horde of others. If they were not born in the Lone Star state they belong there by adoption if nothing else. And Texas is mighty proud of the athletic prowess of her sons.
Just at present the fans of Texas are very much interested in the Chicago White Sox because the two Teds—Ted Lyons and Ted Blankenship—who graduated from Baylor University, one of the state's institutions of higher education, to Eddie Collins' team. Both Teds are doing what they can to keep the White Sox in the pennant race, or what is left of it with the Yankees running wild, with Texas' star in the ascendency.
Lyons has turned in his twelfth victory of the season for the Sox and has lost but four games. That makes him the leading winner of the big leagues just at present. The young right-hander has been Manager Collins' chief reliance all season and with any kind of luck will enter the 30-win class without trouble. Last season he won 21 and lost 11 games for the Chicago team.
Lyons, who stands five feet 11 inches, and weighs 173 pounds, jumped directly to the White Sox from Baylor University in 1923. He was born at St. Charles, La., December 28, 1900, but Texans claim him as one of their own, and you can't blame them.
PITCHER GROVER ALEXANDER
WHEN the St. Louis Cardinals were placed under the glass at the start of the season, the experts conceded that Rogers Hornsby had a potentially strong team in attack, of fair to middlin' defensive ability, but lamented the apparent lack of that all-important agency—pitching. Hornsby went about his task, feeling his way with his flingers, giving everybody a chance, and soon found he had two real winners—Flint Rhem and Jesse Haines "Specs" Keen—and a few other men who might come around to fill out a rotative pitching arrangement. But his main reliance had to be placed in Rhem and Keen, and it was asking a little too much for two moundsmen to keep a team in a pennant race in this day and age of baseball.
Then Grover Cleveland Alexander got in bad with Joe McCarthy at Chicago, and the first thing the fans knew, waivers were dangling on the big right-hander. Three National League clubs, the Cardinals, Pirates and Cincinnati, claimed him. It so happened that on the day the waiver period closed, the St. Louis team was the lower of the three in the standings and he became a member of Hornsby's team.
Since Big Alex has already given the St. Louis fans a sample of the work from his 39-year-old arm—a four-hit, ten-inning victory over his former mates—they feel confident that the veteran will be of great assistance to Hornsby's team. Alex in his one game belied all that had been said about his arm going dead and, while probably not as fast as he was ten years ago, had just about everything he ever had.
Maybe Alex is just the man Hornsby needed to "make" his pitching staff.
Born in St. Paul, Neb., February 26, 1887, the six foot, one, farmer boy got his first professional job with Galesburg, Ill., in 1909. After the 1910 season with Indianapolis and Syracuse, he went to the Phillies, where he became one of the greatest right-handers in the business. His biggest seasons with the Phils were in 1915, '16 and '17, when he won 31, 33, and 30 games, respectively. He went to the Cubs with his catcher, Bill Killefer, after the 1917 season for $55,000 and two players.
