The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-04-28

The Champions.
Though Oklahoma City will lift the
pennant which lola won for it last
year, it is almost a safe bet that
Rfsley's crowd will not scamper across
the tape, winners twice in succession.
One big reason is the fact that Morgan
and Milton, the two slabbists who last
year pitched the Lamplighters to sue
cess and the top of the ladder, are
now gone. To these two twir1ers
much of the credit belongs. practically
the big share of it. Besides these two.
however, the same bunch exactly
which wore lola on their shirts last
summer Will wear 80. k this season.
The two months practice at home
which the Nets have been INDUCING in
at Oklahoma City is expected to miti-
gate against their chances, instead of
being an aid. Preliminary season
work without pay. If the team stays
in its home town, if carried on for too
long a time, puts the players and fans
on too familiar a basis-a very bad
thing. Had the Nets been out going
from town to town, that condition
would not have arisen. But it is
feared that the good fellow has in
grated himself into the Oklahoma City
aggregation with bad results.
The Home Team.
Why should Topeka be picked for
the fourth place? For two reasons:
Topeka has a stronger team than last
y
apparent pennant winning calibre,
which would naturally bring this YER
dict medium The White Sox will
have as good an outfield as any team
in the circuit in Crum, Cole and
Persch. So far as pitchers are con-
cerned, Hughes and HOWE can hardly
be duplicated. Carter is good, and
Alderman an entire problem. Behind
the bat Henry and Stewart could not
be improved upon. But the rub comes
IN Toll r~T--
as good form as last year. but he is
suffering from bad leg and conse-
quently is excusable. At short Quig-
ley is showing up fine, and promises
to be the kind of a man in whom the
fans Will have confidence. But he
does not have the lip, spirit and ginger
of Olson or one-half the speed At
second Dunn is frightfully slow. He is
showing his age. He is tbaubling"
badly and throws very errOneOusIv.
The hot weather may bring him out.
but that is also a question. On first
Manager Abbott is not by any means
phenomenal sacker. He cannot throw.
He twists himself up and unwinds
every time he gets the ball away. The
infeld taken as a whole looks Shaky
and a little porous.
There is one ray of hope, however,
which is marked. Every man on the
team excepting Dunn is hitting Brown
threatens a high mark this year if he
creased fielding strength, and the well
indorsed promissory note which the
SOx have given on their batting may
therefore be counted upon when a
guess is made as to their standing at
the end of the season
About the Jobbers.
Wichita looks good. It's stock has
gone up decidedly within the past few
days with the advent of Bemis and
Gehring, two rafting good pitchers. to
be added to the other fine pair Milton
and Cravens. 1t is upon the slab de-
partment Of the Jobbers that some Of
the other teams are already looking
with fear and trembling. Then there
is O'Lear, behind the bat, MacLeary at
short Murray, Price and Roy Bevis
in the field-al high grade stuff. With
good first and second basemen to take
the places of Bennett and Allen, the
Jobbers will look like one, two, three
contenders, and who knows yet but
what they viii be in one of these
places.
The Sedalia Team.
President Lest of the Bugs always
has turned out a team which makes
trouble for everybody over the circuit
at the opening OF the year and then
hattens out after a string of defeats.
But this year Dutch Henry has had
hard luck. He is getting away badly
Some of his best men of last year.
St0ner and Schrant, were taken away
from him. Some of his others. among
these White, Gramley and Bauers are
late in getting into camp. Dick Rohn
therefore has not had chance to or
ganize his squad, with the consequence
that he is getting a late start and this
causes the Bugs to be placed low in
the preliminary pennant winner guess
ing. contest.
Concerning IeavenwOrth.
The Orioles under the leadership
of Armstrong ought to show up this
year with such stars as U1rich. I1apps.
Luettl0e, St John, and Lyons. again
il harness. They ought to be real
winners-but alas and alasg booze
worked extravagan diseord there be-
fore and it may do it again. To pre-
vent a repetition of last years dis
aster, and the tragedy of 1903, Man