Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-06
BASE BALL GOSSIP OF WEEK
Omaha Boosts on Top Rail in Western
League Race,
NICE WORK BY RoURKES ON LONG TRIP
sixty Per Cent of Games Played Won
by the Team in Despite of
Most Adverse Con-
ditIons. t.f

What do you think Of that?
Same old team. same old place in the
standing table. And the home knockers,
Of which peculiar genus Of base ball crank
Omaha has a lovely bunch, have sent their
little hammers TO the shops to get new
tips. Back In the lead again after taking
Kansas City's dust for more than a month,
after running third to Denver's second for
q few days, and by steady, honest con-
: sistent playing. Robbed by incompetent
umpires, roasted by incompetent writer's
and battered by the most vindictive gang Of
home r~oasters that ever maligned a team,
the Rourke family has gone forward with
its work in a conscientious, careful man
per that has delighted its ardent supporters.
When the team left Omaha it was after the
hardest possible run OF luck. Five sue
cessive defeats on the home grounds had
pulled It down and the first game away
from home was lost. making Denver within
easy reach Of second place. Three defeats
at Denver did the trick and then three at
Colorado Springs seemed to cllnch the mat
ter. But the turn came after the team
had lost twelve out Of fifteen games. on
the trip which ended Friday evening at
Kansas City the Omahas played twenty
three games, winning thirteen, losing nine
and one was tied. That is a good enough
record for anyone. II is over SO per cent
and is mighty close to championship form.
The gait is the best possible answer to the
croakers who raised that Joyful chorus Of
II told you So when the team was losing.
II looked SO easy, then, to see history re-
peatlng itself that many bets were made
that Omaha would not be better than fourth
or its return. 1t is needless, perhaps. to
say that none Of these bets went begging
for takers. And here the team is at home
again in first place. with a series Of
eighteen games on the home grounds. 1t
will be mighty queer II Omaha doesn't
lead the league race for a few days, at any
rate. n
Denver has been doing the slide act with
the greatest vigor and persistency of any.
II will be something to wonder at II the
Grizzlies, which left home in second place
for a short trip through the east, get home
any better than hfth. Milwaukee has al
ready passed Denver and holds third place,
while st. Joe is in fifth and is apparently
the only reason that will prevent Denver
from falling, out Of the first division bunch
before the end of the present disastrous
, expedition. When ST. Joe started its little
runaway by taking four straight from
Omaha and three out Of four from Kansas
City, The Bee remarked that the pace was
a trine fast for the McKibben crowd,
which, on public form at least, had no
right to be turning off quarters at the rate
they were. The soundness Of that judg-
ment has been proven by the performance
of the Saints lately. Milwaukee has gotten
together a good team and is playing first
rate ball. Moreover, the people Of Schlitz-
VILE are slowly swinging around to Duffy,
and his gate receipts are increasing cor
respondingly. Des Moines is out Of last
place now and is putting up a game that
ought. to send It still higher up in the
table,. Peoria has the BOBBY prize for the
present, but Colorado Springs is a bidder
for the place. Bill Everitt is h%ustling for
players. though. and may get his team
In better condition. His bunch never did
look fast. though, and gives no sign Of re-
covery.
Just how steadily consistent the game
presented by the Omaha team is can be
told better by the figures given herewith:
BATTING AVERAGES.