The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-04-10
LITTLE TRAINING IN
THE CR|LLO CIRCUIT
American Association Teams
VIII Begin Season In Poor
Condition.

Ordinarily at this season of the year
predictions as to what team will show
pennant- winning qualities are quite
plentiful, but not so this spring, at least
so far as the American association is
concerned. There is scarcely a team
in the circuit that has had enough
practice to permit line being had on
the players, except, perhaps, it is Louis
vile and Kansas City, and the fans
throughout the GrilIo circuit are una
BILE to do anything more than hazard a
guess.
This condition is probably due to the
efforts Of the magnates to economic
by training their teams up North in
stead Of sending them South, where the
baseball weather is to be found, for the
teams that have tried Northern train
ing quarters are now practically with
out preliminary practice and the OPEN
ing of the championship season is but
ten days off. With the exception of the
Tebeau outfits, the some condition con-
fronts all of the teams in the associa-
ton, and while it will result in an
even break for the Northern teams, it
will certainly give Louisville and Kan
sas City handicap not to be despised.
Unless there is a sudden change in
the weather down in Illinois, Indiana
and Ohio within a very short time, the
only training the American association
teams will have will be in the opening
games of the championship series. A
few games lost at the beginning Of the
season might easily make a wide diff
ference in the standing of the teams at
the close of the season.
The first week Of training produced
but two or three days that could be
called baseball weather, and now the
second week has closed with the teams
practically no farther along than when
they reported for duty.
Louisville and Kansas City have had
a good week of it, and they have had
the additional advantage of going up
against some of the best teams in the
major leagues, but with the remaining
six clubs in the American association
there has been but little doing.
The Saints have been idle the great
er part Of the week, and the Millers
have not Jared any better. The balance
of the clubs haev also had cold weather
and rain to contend with, and there has
been but little opportunity for any of
the players to get in any kind of con-
dition. The Brewers have not had the
the advantage of having three recruits
from the Texas league, who joined the
club in good condition, coming, as they
did, from the sunny South, where they
had some training before coming North.
The Columbus team, with whom the
Saints will open the season, has also
had hard luck, so far as training
weather is concerned, but they have
undoubtedly had more of it than the
CniF re- Nd oil IN
hurry to make a showing in the open
ing series. Down at Toledo the Mud
Hens were so tardy in getting a team
together that they will need all of the
practice they are getting down at Nor
wood Inn, near Cincinnati.
Indianapolis win not start the season
with any advantage Of early training,
as the HOOSier manager has fallen in
with his fellow magnates and tried to
save money by training the team near
home. Training as far North as the
majority Of the association teams at
tempted to do this season has been
demonstrated failure. and there will
be little to wonder at if Louisville and
Kansas City sets a pace at the begin
ming of the season which the other
teams will find impossible to follow.
Amid such surroundings there is no
chance to pick the possible pennant
winners, and few writer's are attempt
ing to do so. Spring predictions, as a
rule, do not count for much in any
event, but ordinarily there is some
thing to base the predictions on. This
year there is not.
The Saints won the pennant last
year, but Kelley is compelled to start
the present season with a lot of men
there is no telling whether they will
make good or not. Local pride laid
aside, it cannot be said that the Saints
are as strong as they were last sea-
son.
O'Brien is a good man, but he is no
better than the man whose place he is
filling, for Germany Schaefer is every
inch the ball player that O'Brien is,
and there are some who would rather
see him on the team than the Indian
apolis man. Conceding, however, that
OBrien is able to fill the gap left by
Schaefer, what can be said of the rest
of the new men? Is there anyone who
believes that Kelley's recruits are the
ball players that Higgins, Shannon,
Stewart, Geier and Ferguson proved
themselves to be? 1t is unfortunate for
minor leagues for men to fill the places
of those who went into the larger ones.
In picking pennant winners in adj
vance, st. Paul has an advantage of
having last won the rag, and is there
fore placed by many in the same class
with Louisville, which, on paper, looks
to be by far the strongest team in
the bunch. The Colonies have more of
the old players left than any other
team, and when they have been COM
PEELED to secure new ones they have
done SO by going after big leaguers in
stead of the smaller fry from minor
organizations.
Watkins appears to have gotten to-
gether a good team for Minneapolis
and there ought to be a good chance
for him to finish in the first division
unless the other teams do some uneX-
pected Strengthening before the season
is far advanced. Milwaukee doesn't ap-
pear to have a pennant winning team
but they will have to be recl1oned with
by the leaders and stand to be well
near the top at the close of the sea-
sons work.
Toledo is weak, and Kansas City does