The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-16
.MILLERS PICK UP
Local Baseball Is Strengthened Ma
terially in Both Fielding
Il and Batting.
St. Paul Sporting Writers Pick Local
Aggregation to Finish in 3
First Division.

The Minneapolis team surprised every
one this week by taking the first game
with st. Paul at Nicollet park, and then
going to Lexington and repeating the feat.
There Is no doubt that the millers are
playing as fast fielding game at pres
ent as any aggregation In the league. If
Spooner, the new first baseman, fills the
bill, no bunch can claim any advantage
over Minneapolis in this one department
OF the game. In the outield Lally and
McCreery have been taking in everything
that has come within half a mile of them,
and Smith, the right gardener secured in
sWllmot,s place, should be as good as
either -Lally or McCreery, if he plays up
to his last seasons form.
The work of Oyler and Mcintyre in the
infield has been sensational Both men
cover acres of ground, but their work is
as clean as it is fast. Mcintyre has
picked up decidedly in his play, and
promises to cover the third sack in
satisfactory manner. Spooner has not had
a. fair trial, but in his first game Thurs.
day he accepted all his chances, and
judging from his last years record he
should hold down the bag acceptably. It
is to be hoped that such will be the case,
for Vasbinder, altho he played the position
well for pitcher, has much to. learn
about the duties of a first baseman. ca
gers catching and throwing to bases has
been beyond criticism. In the ten games
pay GU SlICS lie ELSdul sISluIuSu nome, he
has invariably nailed every man who has
tried to steal second unless he was handi-
capped by a wild pitch.
In short if the team continues at it's
present gait, it is hard to point out po-
sition which could be improved, SO far as
fielding is concerned. 1t takes more than
fielding to win ball games, however. The
team still continues weak in batting, and
that the pitchers must pitch gilt edged
ball everyday for the team to win
majority Of its games To date the mil
lers have scored only fty-six runs in
eighteen games reckoning up to Thurs
day mighty, or an average of slightly more
than three runs game. Sensational Twill
ing and fielding are necessary to keep
the average of runs scored by the millers
opponents below this figure. Whether the
miller pitchers are strong enough to win
with such poor support in run getting by
their team mates is doubtful. Stimmel
has pitched sensational ball in his last
three games, holding his opponents to six
runs in the three contests To date, how
ever, he is the only one Of the twirlers
who appears to have reached mid-season
form. st. Vrain has been hit hard in
every game; Sporer and Thomas have
been cratic, and Vasbinder and Katoll
had been out of the game almost alto
gether up to Thursday night. Katoll $
arm is slowly rounding to, and when his
! throwing wing regains its normal strength
the fans can depend upon him to, pitch
consistent ball The other four are I'M
known quantities, altho both Sporer and
Thomas are more likely to make good
| than otherwise. 13fFE ~ sf5s5Tsf.z
IF past records show anything. how
ever, the millers should take a decided
brace in their hitting. Smith has a repu-
tation as slugger, and can reasonably
be expected to hit over 800. Spooner.
who was one of the best batters in the
New England league last summer should
also strengthen the teams batting, and
both Mcintyre and Martin should do bet
! ter than they have been doing. All the
regulars, in fact, save Oyler, are due to
hit over $50, and it is probable that at
least five will be close to or above the 800
mark.
With the pitchers fast getting into
shape, if the team ever does strike it's
gait in hitting, something is sure to drop.
st. Paul sporting writer's. after seeing
the millers play two games, were unani-
nous in picking them to finish in the first
division, and expressed themselves at a
loss to understand the local teams long
string Of defeats. Those losses were
mainly attributable to poor pitching and
weak hitting, with poor field work in one
or two positions. The fielding is O.. K.
just now, and when the other two depart
ments are on a, par, look out.
There is another point which ought to
help the millers out during the remain
der Of the home series. Every team has
bad days, and every pitcher, no matter
how reliable, gets his bumps sometime s
during the season. To date Minneapolis
has been unlucky in not having chance
+ to profit by some such slip ol the part
nf her
millers have won, the opposing team has
played gilt-edged ball and fought to a
finish. True, Wheeler presented the mill
ers with the winning run in one contest