The Minneapolis journal., 1902-06-21
1,WILLJAM.. i.c1.Nf
rGi85Oh VI :NO5J
s~~~

teams managed by these two men that
stamps them as leaders of high order,
and they are pretty likely to beat out
the saints, even though their clubs do not
look quite so strong on paper. 90
That the pacemaker rarely wins the
race is a maxim that applies to the dia-
mond as we'll as to the track. Columbus
started off with the apparent intention of
running the other teams off their feet,
and is now suffering the usual fate of
sprinters who oyerestimate their own
speed and endurance. But the Ohio men
seem to be playing below their true form
now, just as they were playing above it
a few weeks ago. They may not finish
above their present position but they
ought to increase their percentage ma
terially -
Brooklyn's Great Squirt. ,
1t is pretty hard to tell whether Hanlon
has the Brooklyn team in the National
League in their. proper stride, or
whether the phenomenal ascent from the
bottom of the ladder to the top rung but
one is merely temporary spurt The
National League teams are so far below
the standard of former years, and they
are so largely made up of experiments,
that it is difficult to estimate their rela-
tive strength until the youngsters get "a
| more effectual trying out. Ia
l. .sI1dHlOu has Deeu WlSe,aOr fortunate, IN
keeping together staff of experienced
| and fairly reliable pitchers. Nothing up
sets team so much as lack of confidence
in the slab men, and in the caliber of his
| twirling staff Hanlon has an advantage
over any club in the league except Pitts
| burg. Nor is. the team as whole to be
| despised. There are left Dahlen, Keeler
and Farrell of the "old guard" of two and
three years ago, with McCreary at first,
| Irwin at third, and Sheckard and Dolan
| in the outfeld-all veteran players, and
at least four of them Of more than ordi-
nary ability, even judged by the standard
| Of National League clubs before the
\ opening of the present war with the
| American. Flood is practically the only
youngster in the bunch, and his work up
to date has proved his right to stay in
fast company. That team ought to play
steady ball-not nearly so fast as the su-
perbas of 1899, but in. all probability
| faster than the ma ajority of the clubs
in the league. Moreover the team can
probably, be depended upon to stand the
strain of bruising fnish-something that
cannot be said of the clubs which have
4 a larger proportion of inexperienced play
! ers. .... ..-:.s- ... .-esTz2e
Chicago has not yet recovered from the
slump which it began two weeks ago
and with the. Brooklyns playing at their
present gait, it is doubtful whether the
! cubs will get back into second place for
4 some time to come. Pittsburg has taken
UP most sof the week with days off, and her
percentage has varied little in the last
| seven days. 5--.s; =
EWhitesex Look Like Winners.
| The whitesox are looking more and more
| like winners in the American League. In
the opinion OF, the sporting writer's of the
windy city, Comiskey's men have any
team in the country beaten to frazzle,
kand could leave the pirates forty lengths
behind the flag in the first heat. good
many persons will have their own opin-
ions upon the latter point, but no one
will dispute the fact that the sox appear
to be the strongest club in the American,
! both on paper strength and on their pres
ent gait. In the opinion of the writer,
St. Louis will finish a strong second II
they lose it will be for the same reason
that the saints lose in the American as
sociation-lack of management. Burkett
Heidrick, Wallace, and the rest of the
old cardinal aggregation that Pat Te-
beau took down from Cleveland to ST
Louis three years ago, are star individual
players, but like so many veterans, hard
to handle. They finally proved too much
| for even Tebeau himself, and it is not
| at all unlikely that they will prove too
! spirited bunch for Jimmie McAleer to
control. .
The latest rumor in the baseball war
\ is that Hans Wagner and Jack O'Connor
! Of the Pittsburg team have been induced
to Jump by the St. Louis management OF
the American. The story is now ten days
DID, but Wagner and OConnor are still
playing with the Pittsburg team Their
desertion would materially change the
dope figures. The loss would be keenly
felt by the pirates, and while it might not
and probably would not occasion the loss
of the pennant to the smoky city bunch
| it would make the race in the National
much closer and-more interesting
On the other hand the acquisition of
these star men by the browns would cause
the bookmakers to, change their figures on
McAleer's team in hurry. It would make
| the st. Louis team, theoretically at least
about as strong as Chicago, and consid-
erably stronger than any of the other
I American clubs.