Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-10
PICKS cLEvELbN6
TO WIN The RACE
less TannehiII Likes the Make
Up of Lajoie,s Forest
City Outfit.
Thinks the st. Louis Browns
Will Be Promising Contend
ers for the Pennant.
By ]. G. Morse.

By J. G. Morse.
| when I was in Cincinnati Frank Ban
| croft told me had no idea how near
came to be member of that team" said
Jess Tannehill at Little Rock the other
| day. Let me tell you," he continued. 9th
| ers may have planned It, but at no time
was there ever any chance for that to be
| brought about. You see, it takes two to
make bargain. I was not consulted about
the matter at all. and 1t will perhaps save
some people whole lot of trouble to know
1 that when 1 get through with the Boston
| club 1 want my unconditional release.
4 Thank heaven, I am not dependent upon
base ball for a living and can turn my
| hand to something else What Is more,
| even IL L had been consulted I would not
| have stood for any trade I am wholly in
the dark as to the reason that induced any
| such trade, and 1T really matters little why
| it was attempted.
What is my opinion Of the race this
| year?
We'll, Cleveland looks to me to stand the
| best show of any of the clubs. First, the
| club appears to me to be stronger in pitch
ers than at any time since it was a men,
| Der of the American League. Again. the
club has a very fine trio of catchers. L
know OF no CluD tnat sizes up Detter III
| first-class backstops. good throwers and
! men that are able to hit the ball than
Cleveland with Bemis, Clarke and Wake
| field. The last made very good showing
show to better advantage still in a faster
| club. Then / think that Cleveland will
| show up well in the outfield. The club Will
| be better fortified in that department OF the
game than it has been In past seasons.
| The club is also very strong in the infeld,
| and looking over the whole outfit know OF
no better balanced aggregation than that OF
| Cleveland.
| Il know of no club that has been handi-
| capped more necessarily by accident year
after year than the Cleveland club. Yes,
know what you will say-accidents are
part of the game. Yes, so they are; put
| there is also an element of luck in the
| game, and to my way of thinking Cleve-
land has had more than its share in that
line. Some people have attributed the low
| ment but think it is unfair to LaJoie to
| charge him for the failure of the club to
| land the pennant. 1 think he is very effi-
| ager. and am sure that his greatest ambi-
| ton in life Is to land the worlds champion
| ship for Cleveland, and feel very positive
| he will do some day.
| what club do l think Will give MIN tno
| most trouble?
| Strength Of the Browns.
| ITO tell you the truth. I think the st.
| Louis Browns will be very likely to DO so.
That club has also been strengthening ana
has some of the best material to be FOUND
in any club. Last season it was one of the
strongest In the country in the pitching de-
nartment It Is strong behind the bat and
has nrohably the best outfeld in the coun-
| try stone certainly Is wonder-there
| isn't the least doubt in the world about tnat
| He has a very fast companion IN HemPnli,
| who has very few superiors, ana 1 tnihk
1 40 a
In the country in Pickering, with Columbus
last season and formerly with tine Atnlet.
| les. Pickering is batsman ana alMays
was, and they tel! me that ne mas ru NTH NTH
| calf Of the faults he had when he was WIFI
| Connie Mack. Such a good JUDGE as SSe
| Cantillon, the new manager OF the wasn
| fngton club, told me there was no oetser
! outfielder in the American associatlon. W.
! AIeer has been trying hard to secure man
| Tho would mate well with stone anu
I Hamnhili and 1 think he has struck the
| combination
Two Valuable Players.
| are Mac had succeeded in making the
dea, for Jimmy Collins he tried TO put
| through he would have come very near
| h.v,ne a club of championship caliber, l
| think that Collins will play as good pail
| o.. ever They can talk about their third
| hasemen. but there has been In base pan
| but one Collins. and really WINE .ns.e
| q
men. there has been nobody In Coinns
| class when you combine ability to race
| the hottest of balls In the gamest insn
ner., the knack of handling the most oI-
f1cult of hunted balls and judgment IN
| handling fly balls, combined with phe-
| nomenal throwing ability and the marvel
GUS handling of thrown balls anu pu.'ihs
! the ball on runner. Such man couid not
be replaced, and 1t "onlo taAe d 49, 49,
| long time to find any one who can come
near to replacing him. He certainly is
nower In a club, and you we'll know where
| the Boston club was with him out OF the
game last season.
"Rieht here you can say for me that l
consider that the Browns have the best
shortstop in the American League IN
Bobby Wallace. Wallace has been handl-
capped in never having man play along
side of him who could help him out, ana
~ he had had such a man as Collins 1t
would have helped his own game i'm
mensely and enabled him to shine zeal
more and there isn't shadow or a doupt
about it. He is wonder. a ana ne sss goes
Imaginable making the most difficult plays
seem easy. Perhaps he can't get the Dali
over to first base In rapid fashion! he
certainly is the finished product and one
of the best players the game ever pro-
duced in the game all the time, always to
be relied upon and never falling down IN
his work. He is power In the club at all
times
Jack Chesbro, will quit the gamer
Passing Of the Spit Ball
1T would not be in the least surprised 1
heard that he intended to quit last season. |
Jack has a nice farm and comfortable |
nest egg to fall back upon and Is. there |
fore, in a position to get out of the game. |
and I guess he prefers to quit rather than |
walt to be asked to do SO.
..rhe spit ball brought about the trouble |
with his arm. IT was great while it lasted, |
but 1t was death in the end. and l am !
afraid 1t will be that way with a lot Of |
pitchers who persist In its use None of |
it for me. would prefer to go down and |
out lebeled n. &. than to be obliged to |
have recourse to that kind OF delivery to |
keep me in the game, for the reason that |
l believe 1t il very harmful kind OF !
delivery and you will find that very few
have retained it. There are some who owe |
their presence In major league ball to
their success with this method of delivery,
but they are very few, and l advise ali
young pitchers against 1t.
II was very much surprised that some