The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-07-25
HOLDING THEIR OWN.
Millers Furnish 9 Surprise by TAX
ing the Odd Game From
Louisville.
Another First Glass Catcher Is Still
Needed-Three Pitchers
in Shape.

With three pitchers who can win games
and three others who by reason of sore
arms or other contingencies are prevented
from taking their regular turns, the mill
ers are worse off than some teams in the
league. but better off than most.
1t has often been remarked before that
superior batting or superior pitching is
needed to win games for the local bunch
At present the millers hold their own
with the best Of them In fielding and
pitching, but their base running is decid-
edly not first class and their batting has
been just fair.
Williams, Mcdonald and Vasbinder have
been doing as good work in the box as
any pitchers in the league. STILL these
men cannot be expected to work every
third day, and at resent neither Stimmel
nor Thomas seems in shape to take his
turn, while Katoll may not enter the box
again this year.
The return of eYager to the game has
strengthened the team. Nevertheless it is
behind the bat that the manager is chiefly
| needed. Ludwigs catching is not up to
par. Otherwise the team is in good shape.
Sullivan still keeps the fans from thinking
about McCreery's loss. Laly and Smith,
in view Of their hitting as we'll as their
| fielding, are as valuable as any outfelders
in the league. The infield also is doing
good work. &, Mechanically Spooner is the
! equal of any first sackman in the league.
He has no head on bases, but it Is doubt
| full If better man could be secured this
season. Oyler and Martin are steady con-
! sc1entious players and withal as fast as
any combination in the association. Nc
lntyre holds down third acceptably, tho
| not perhaps the fastest man In the league.
The locals furnished a surprise to
Louisville. The colonies expected to take
three straight at Minneapolis but struck
l. r0 fl,o oI,.,.
Toledo should not have got away with an
even break, but if the men take the odd
| from Indianapolis, all will be forgiven.
Sunday night the millers start on an
| other eastern trip. 1t is to be presumed
! that they will do better than on the last
excursion. The fans want to see the mill
ers in the first division, because they feel
that the team is capable of reaching that
mark. -
It is still nip and tuck between St. Pau
land Milwaukee for the first honors in the
association. Having expressed his opin
ion half a dozen times, the writer declines
to predict again which will finish ahead
indianapolis seems to be out of it, on &C.
count Of accidents to her best men. Sucf
a series of mishaps as has befallen tn,
Hoosiers on: their present western tril
would have. put any other team out of tn,
race and the Indians will have to hustle
to keep their place in the first division.
The Louisville team looks 100 per cen
stronger than when it played here during
May. Jimmy Hart at first is a f1rst-clas
man and Brashear is a host in himself
Many of the fans will remember this sam
Brashear when he played with Minneap
oils in 1901, under the Beall regime, an,
with two years experience in the National
ever. -" t-t-
All things considered, the millers ough
to finish at the head OF the second division
or in. the first, Louisville can hardly b
overtaken3 when it is considered that tn
millers are on the road for the mex
ponth. Kansas City, however, has n
license to be above the local bunch, an
) certainly Columbus and Toledo are not en-
| titled to rank with the millers.
The situation in the two big leagues ha
shown no change in the past week. Th
sensation, however, was the three straigf
defeats of Pittsburg by the Chicago mi
crobes. This can only be ascribed to on
Of the accidents Of baseball and partly
the fact that Clarke and Phelps are out {
| the game for the pirates
. In the east, however, the event Of tn
week has been the National league meet
ing. In this John T. Brush, trouble make
extraordinary for both leagues, was turne
down good and plenty. The common sens
Brush was knocked out on both the Dav
: and Elbereld cases. This is as 1t Shout
: be. Everybody wanted peace excel
( Brush, who had been a little tin god s
S long under Nick Young that he could NJ
bear to be showed out In the cold. Whe
he was overruled at the Cincinnati cor
/ ference instead Of bowling to the will
!; the majority like a man, he started
p make as much trouble for his associate
- as he could, by fighting case that had a
ready Sbeen settled.
: 1t has been said that Rube Wadden e:
tablished a new record in strike outs /
, tanning fourteen men recently. The S
u Louis Star calls attention to the fact thu
:, Charlie Sweeney, the old Prov1dent
+ pitcher famed nineteen boatsmen in sir
+. gle game in 1884, which record has stoe
!. ever since. It is not necessary to go
d far back nor so far away to beat Waddell
S record, however. In 1890 our own Mart
6 Duke, then in his prime, made eightee
= men swing at the air. True, Duke stoe
q nearer the plate than do pitchers now b,
e on the other hand he had not the az