Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-04-29
SPORTING GOSSIP OF WEEK
Last Chance to Win Pennant Before the
Season Opens.
WESTERN A VIDE OPEN GUESS NOW
At Least Three Teams AZ Strong
AZ Last season and Three
that Are LIKELY TO he
ms Good.


ms Good.
Get busy.
A political MAXIM observed by wise per-
sons at least Is to the effect that when
the polls close II is time to stop lying. so
1t Is with base ball When the scheduled
championship season begins the time to
quit making claims Is at hand. AS the
Western starts on Wednesday, the hour
for making final predictions is at hand,
and those who pretend to know are mute
The fact is, until at least one round has
been played one will be able to give an
intelligent opinion Of the relative ability
Of the teams. On paper it looks as If
Omaha, Des Moines and Denver are as
good as last season; Sioux City will be
hardly as strong, while Pueblo and Lin
coin are unknown quantities. Holmes has
a bunch Of reasonably ambitious young
sters, with some seasoned veterans, and is
very likely to make matters interesting
for the rest of the league. Frank Selee
has the best of last seasons Pueblo team,
which was far from being a poor one, and
has filled 1t out with few new men, and
he. too, is quite likely to cut some figure
In the pennant race. BY this time next
week all the teams will &c uncovered. and
Omaha folks viii know what may be
looked for.
During the week Papa Bill solved one OF
his problems by disposing OF Pitchers
Huesser and Port to teams OF the Western
association. These men will be worth their
money in the smaller league, but had
hardly reached the standard of the West
ern. This leaves McNeeley, Sanders, Quick
Dodge, Koukalk and Corns as the Omaha
stan Of pitchers. Three of these men are
tested veterans and may be relied on.
Koukalik and Corns have done very we'll
in their little chance for Omaha, and are
Of the stun that is sure to make good
Dodge comes from the Chicago National
team, having been secured by Chance In
n Wisconsin. The one time he has been
- worked before an Omaha crowd indicated
that he has the goods. So the pitching
stan Is one that is sure to please. Catchers
Gonding, Bender and Freese will very
likely be carried and this accounts for
the Rourke family firing line during the
coming summer. The inheld and outheld
will remain as heretofore outlined. and
this means that Omaha is to have a field
ing team that will not take "a back seat
for any OF them.
These men have been we'll worked In
practice along the famous Rourke system
of playing ball, and are we'll established
In the rudlments, at least OF the inside
game. The rest must come in the actual
school of championship games but the
head Of the family is confident that his
schemes will work out we'll The team is
still weak at the bat, a source of some
worry TO the old man, but he has been
able In the past to substitute strategy for
base hits, and will rely on this to some ex-
tent during the present struggle. How
ever, he fully realizes the value of good,
sharp hitting and isn't overlooking a
chance to improve the work of his men in
this regard. He has coached Perring
steadily for weeks and has worked great
improvement in him as a batter. Rumble
is picking up and Welsh is showing much
better form than last season. Bassey is
a sure hitter and Howard is likely to be
the same sort OF a slugger his brother Del
proved himself. Carter cannot be improved
upon in his line, and Dolan is a steady boy
at the bat, so the weakness is not likely
10 prove fatal in this particular Alto
gether Omaha is as near ready as ever for
the start Of the season and the only re-
greet here is that the first six games will
have to be won from Lincoln. Omaha ad-
mirers Of DucSy hate to see him get q
bad start, but II can't be helped under the
O'Neil schedule.
-
Denver has been strengthened during the
week by the transfer of two pitchers and
frst baseman from Louisville. In Louis.
willie howl is sent up because Of the trans.
fer Of Meyers, the first baseman. who il
SAID to have been the flower OF the Col.
onels, and a man who is likely to be
badly needed in the south before the sea.
Is over. He is from Texas, is de,
scrbed as a giant in size and a cyclon,
in action, and hopes to head the Grizzlies
in a winning night all summer. Tebeal
has always had a good team at Denver anC
doesn't propose to be found there with
weak one this season. IL his last year,
team had been well handled It would hav,
won the pennant easier than Des Moinei
did. Mike Cantillon has fallen heir Il
some comisley castoffs and has pulled on
or two men from Brother Joe's Brewers
end will show n strong line at the start
sGreppy Jack Doyle will head the gang
ard this leads Otto F1oto TO the c6nclu
sion that Des Moines has the pennan
cinehed at the beginning. II Norris O'Ne
viii let his umpires alone and they Civ
Des Moines a square deal the Cantillon
will have a much harder time winning tn
peunant this year than they did last. TIL
EaDire who didn't give Des Moines all o
the close ones and a few that weren't eve
ers got and that wasn't pleasant to take
II may be different this season. II surel
will not. though. II Mike and scrappy JAG
can have their way.
The race in the big league up to the pres
ent shows that the teams were not In shap
10 enter on the contest. The lack Of sprin
practice is accountable for this, but the ba
weather has been In a measure responsible
for the showing One thing has bee
demonstrated and that is the wester
teams are more evenly matched than N
eastern, and that the real line on possib
winners cannot be had until the west an
the east meet, Jimmy Collins and his oil
timers are starting just they did La
year. and so Is Clark Griffith and his bunC
Of Highlanders. Jake stahi is making II
same sort OF splurge with his Nationals an
there are a few who hope he will be alb
10 keen IL up longer. In the west the s