Daily Kennebec journal., 1896-05-07
THE KeMNEBEcs
Some Reasons Tor the Showing Made on
The Present Trip.

1t is just a trifie early as yet in this
cold month of May to reach any very
definite conclusions regarding the Ken
ncbec ball team. OF course the loss of
so many successive games has been
bit depressing; but the season is
young yet. One thing is certain no
team in the league has fielded in
greater form. 1t is true that the other
teams have outbatted us a little but
even here our boys have done good
work, and made constant gain.
1t would seem as if our games had
been lost in the box; but a look at the
games shows that our pitchers have
not been batted as hard as those of
some other teams. For instance New
Bedfords batted Williams the crack
pitcher of the Lewiston team last
Saturday for % with a total of q hits,
and the Lewistons returned the COM
plment by batting Maynahan and
Hallowell, the New Bedford pitchers.
for 16 with a total of 20 hits. The most
hits made off the Kennebec pitchers in
any one of the first four games was Il.
Dilworth pitched mastery game
against Brockton on the opening day
of the season, holding them down TO
seven hits. Conroy and McDermott
have done effective work in the box.
The trouble with our pitchers has not
lack of control There are reasons for
this. 1st in the lack of preliminary
practice. 2nd in the fact that We
have been obliged at the start to carry,
FOR a short time. more pitchers than
we could work TO advantage. AS soon
as those who are palpably too slow to
bulk of the work put upon u few men
the team will be sure to strike
winning gait A glance over our
files shows that it is batting and field
ing twenty five per cent better than it
did at this time last year.
The working out of few pitchers
from number isalways attended with
some loss to Il team: but the men Sc
cured in this way are pretty sure to
have the staying powers to make it up
| in the run of a season.
If Manager Harrington succeeds in
working out a good quartet of pitchers
| on this trip he will do more real ser
vice for the club in the long run than
he could do by winning two or three
games.
1t was unfortunate for the kennebec
team that it was forced to develop
experimental pitchers this spring.
With Dilworth and Coyle reserved it
had hoped to be in a measure, spared
this task; but the attempt of Brock
ton to take Coyle, has deprived the
Remedies of his services in these
opening games. and forced it to rely
upon new men aside from the veteran
Dilworth. who is in fine form and due
TO win many games before the club
closes. By putting more work upon Dill
Manager Harrington could possibly have
won one or two games; but he has
been anxious to try out his new pitchers
as rapidly as possible and relieve the
team of the expense of carrying those
who are unable to fill the bill. The
idea is to work the number of pitchers
down to four three right handed and
one left handed. When this is done
the pitcher problem will be in fair
way of solution.
Meanwhile our people must not lose
their faith in the team. 1t is a strong
one. and sure to give good account
of itself before the season closes. The
Maine clubs have rarely made very
creditable showing on the first Western
| trip, for the conditions then are all
against them; but they have way of
coming in very strongly on the home
stretch.