The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-09-16
CHICAGO NATIONALS
C|NCH HOLD ON PENNAKT
Injuries to Catcher Sullivan
and Others Break Up White
SOX's Team Work.


Nationals have gone on cinching their
hold to the penuant and establishing
record for winning games which will
long stand as Eigh-water mark.
While good fortune has thus favored
one Chicago team. the other has suf
fered reverse and dropped 20 second
place in the American league pennanf
race. The following article from the
Lnicago Tribune discusses the situation
in sn entertaining manner:
While Chicago s First Nationals hive
gone on cinching their pennant unit: 1t
now is as near a certainty as toDor-
row IS sun, tine White Stockings lave
had their fair sailing turned into the
toughest kind of water by recurrence
of the run Of accidents which apparent
ly put them out of the race early In
the season,
The loss of Catcher Sullivan last
Sunday. followed Immediately by the
injury to Tannehill on Monday, and
later by Tovne s disability. due to the
sudden heavy demands made npon his
arm. gave the team setback from
strength 20 recover. The breaking up
of the team work which had been per
fected through constantly working with
the same men for so long time had
greater effect on Jones s men than
it would have on many teams because
their success depends so largely on
team plav instead of individual ability.
The Sox have won many games solely
on their nerve, also, and disheartening
injuries are an additional handicap in
that way.
Not Enough Allowance for Injuries.
The backstop has been the White
So1's most vulnerable point for some
time, and President Comiskey has
courted disaster, in a way, by not fore
stalling the present situation, largely
| because of too great tolerance toward
| Mcfarland, who repeatedly has thrown
! him down. A couple OF years ago in
the fall when Mcfarland was out Of
| condition Sullivan was injured just as
the Sox were threatening to break into
the fight for the pennant between Bos-
ton and New York. AT that time Hey
den now of Washington, had been Sc
cured as an emergency man, and hlled
in well. although green to the team and
to the league. When spring came Nc,
Farlend promised all kinds of good
things. and on the strength of them
lngton. which was in catching straits.
Today Hayden is rated as q fine
catcher. and il he had been retained,
allowing Mcfarland 10 GO his own way
unchecked, the Sox would have an eI-
perienced catcher to replace Sullivan,
II is easy TO correct mistakes, looking
backward.
sully's Loss Not overestimated.
To many il may seem as If Sullivan g
loss has been overestimated, the aver
age fan overlooking the prominence
which "inside' and complicated team
work plays in the games OF today The
catcher in baseball is as important a
cog in the machine as the quarterback
is in football. Like the quarter, he
signals and guides practically every
play when the team Is in the field, and
is the pivotal point of many Of them
All except the veteran pitchers depend
upon their catcher for knowing and
working the batsman s weakness. Not
that any such thing would be possible
in baseball, but merely by way of illus
tration. If Manager Chance could loar
Manager Jones the use of Johnny King
for the rest of the season he could moi
fill Sulivan's 3 place, despite the fact
they are rated at the top in their re
spective leagues. King would have
to learn all the White Sox plays and
the peculiarities Of the lntlelders, be
sides learning all the American league
batsmen, their weak and strong points
Nor could Sullivan take Kings place
on the west side with any better sue
! cess.
Little Chance TO Stop Spuds.
If there is any question of the value
of experienced backstopping to team
look at the Boston Americans. which
were turned from a first division club
into hopeless tail.ender, driving g
clever manager to ruin, so far as base
ball is concerned and almost entirely
bv the loss of Catcher Criger.
1t would take pretty nearly an earth
quake or a railroad wreck TO smash
Chances s team so it could not carry of
the pennant. With their present leac
the Spuds could take things easy. il
thev cared TO. and float home in front
! by scratching out a few more victorie:
} over the second division clubs. But
that is not the Spuds way Of doing
things. With the race practically over
they have been playing at faster cliI
lately than at any previous time this
> year. They have been doing this, too
; with substitute players in almost every
game. 1t will be noticed. however. thai