Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-08-19
LEADERS TO BATTLE
The New York and Boston
 Clubs to Meet To-Day.
IT WILL BE AN EXCITING CAME.
Tho Result of the Series at tho Hub Mar
 Decide the Championship.

1 Close Enough to Bother the Leaders. Chicago Not Likely to Get a Better Place Than It IIas-The St. Louis Browns Re- tain Their Fine Lead in the Association. Standing of the Clubs.
 NEW YORK, Aug. 1e.-When New
 York meets Boston to-day will occur 8 1 struggle. As the two representative
 teams are stretching their necks, col lectively speaking, for supremacy, these games will have a decidedly important bearing upon the pennant race. As the clubs now stand. the chances are that there will be only slight margin be- tween them when they come together, and the club which loses the series will go far down on the percentage list. Bos- ton and New York and Philadelphia and Cleveland are still close enough to make every game count, now that the clubs are on tho three-quarter stretch. Bos- ton did not make very creditable start on its Western trip, losing ground in Indianapolis and Pittsburg. Philadel- phia and Cleveland are close. but all the chances should favor the former beat ing the latter out, and anything short of this would cause surprise. Chicago got severe setback when 1t met New
 York, and Pittsburg has lost so much ground that 1t Is not likely to get a much better place than it has, though 1t will be dangerous If 1t ever gets into playing form. Washington is doomed to be tail-ender, though it's improved work makes the fight the more inter- esting and every club that meets it is required to put up its very best game.
 To offset the popular prejudice that the Boston team has been playing losing ball purposely to repay Director Billings for the selfish criticism which he has been passingt1pon their individual work, gentleman who is travelling with the club in the capacity of cor respondent writes that a more disap- pointed lot of ball players never existed than those who comprise the Boston team, during the lead in the present struggle. Their anxiety to regain 1t made them very jealous, and their de- sire to do phenomenal work Is responsi- ble for the poor game which they put up. The boys sAy 1t has been a great strain on them to remain in front, from the fact that every club in the League made a special effort to down the lead CTS and never paid any attention to the New Works.
 Philadelphia has played about as steady a game all season as could be desired. This club is by no means out of the race, and the same may be said of Baltimore in the Association. They have both had many ups and downs, but just now they are figuring as dark horses. The desperate character of Harry Wright's team in the past in knocking out would-be champions is known and they loom up in great form just now, and the Giants and Beaneat- CTS are asking themselves the question as to who will be floored by the Quakers this season. They are third in the race, with little fear of being overtaken by the Clevelands or Chicagos.
 The past week has been one of fiuctua- tions in the Association. When the BroOklyns encountered the Browns week ago they were much closer rivals of the champions than they are at pres ent. Three of the most remarkable games ever played by the St. Louis team were those in which they took all the pluck out of the Grooms. They not only defeated them but they wiped tho field up with their remains, and then sent them to Kansas City feeling that they could; only battle with the tail-enders. Even <rith the cowboys as opponents they have had the hardest time to win From this series of games it is easily seen that the Grooms have lost heart. St. Louis has won most of its games from weak clubs, while the case is just the reverse with the Brooklyns