The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-05-26
To-Nrorrow's Games.
Richmond at Danville.
Lynchburg at Norfolk.
Roanoke at Portsmouth.
Club Standings.

During the past week radical
Virginia State League teams in the
championship race. From a good sec
ond place In the running. the Colts.
by dropping four straight games-two
burg, and two to Danville in Richmond,
are now tied for third place with
Lynchburg.
On tho other hand, Roanoke, which
was in third place just week ago.
and then went back to fourth because
of the defeat administered by Dan
vile, is now a good second. with fif-
teen games won and thirteen lost.
While there Is nc doubt in the world
that the reverses recently suffered by
the Colts have been due, in the main.
to some blunders and dumb plays still
this does not mean that the locals arc
deserving of the hammer, for 1t can
not be expected that the team can go
throughout the year without one or
two slumps.
AS a matter OF fact, the fans should
rejoice that 1t has come this early in
the season, for. after all, 1T is during
the last six or eight weeks of play In
which the pennant is won. Take, for
example. the winning of the American
League pennant last year by the Chi
cago White Sox. Up to the middle of
August, and even later than that. the
Sox were ambling along. barely keep
ing above last place In the first dlvi-
sion Then. in the last five weeks of
~ hn,, ,,,,n cfa t1,, not
with a rush. and finally won not only
the American flag. but defeated the
Cubs for the championship of the
world.
Plenty of Time For knocking.
or course, If the Richmond team
continues to lose through poor play
ing. such as they have been doing of
late, then Is the time for adverse
criticism. After all. notwithstanding
the fact that ball players are paid to
play the game. they deserve little
slack rope now and then. If, however.
it comes too often. and 1t Is evident
that the team is losing merely because
the men refuse to put forth their best
efforts. then Is the time to bring them
around with criticism to match the
poorness of their play.
End OF First Month.
The first month of the Virginia State
Baseball Leagues season closed last
Saturday. May 18th. and batting re-
cords of the players, compiled from tho
published scores of the games, make
an Interesting showing of the stick
work of the men. Tho records for the
month show that Mcmahon. of Norfolk.
leads the hitters OF the league with an
average OF ALB, which is unusually
high for seventeen games and slNty
kat
popular Richmond boy. playing with
the Danville team. is second. With tho
handsome batting average of 1864 for
twenty games and siXty-siN times at
hnt sullivan, of Portsmouth slug
GER who has participated IN only elsht
Games. in which he was at bat twenty
eight times, comes third, with an aver
ago of .357. but Titman, OF Richmond.
! who has played In tWenty-four games
ond botted ninety times. Is really emu.
tied 10 third honors, with ms iNetase -, ~
TING left-fielder, Is close pehlnd ms
naiebhor In right-tleld, with an aver
of 400 for twenty-five games ana
seventy-nino times up.
o,iy eleven men in the league have
bit ut moro than u 800 clip Tor lVe
Games or more and one of these, Ra-
lev of Roanoke has been out or the
game for more than week, ana three
others, Matney and Buesse, OF Norfolk,
md sullivan, of Portsmouth, nave
n,oyed In fewer than ten games or
the eleven composing baseball aristo-
cracy Richmond contributes two. Nor
folk four, Dnnville two, Portsmouth
two and Roanoke one. kirkpatrick Is
on the outer edge. looking In, having
nm average of ,293 for 20 times at
bat Hooker, of LynchbIrg, Is pushing
him close with Ass in so times at hat.
Hooker, too, Is n Richmond boy. John
Anthony, another Richmond boy, Is
not far away With q percentage OF
,264
Some Good Records.
Week before last there were some note
worthy spurts in batting. figures for
the week showing that soma heavy
hitters have fallen back and that oth-
Iers far down in tho list are setting
their eyes on the ball and swatting II
for keeps Titman hit for 800 last.