Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-08-26
THE SPORTING NEWS.
CONNECTICUT LEAGUE
One Sarcastic Individual Who Gives Us the Merry Ha Ha

I Us the Merry Ha Ha
 Say MT Sporting Editor, do yod
 know that the Connecticut league,
 from the officers down to the low
 est salaried player, is the biggest
 joke that comedian ever propound-
 ed. Well .its is just that and a
 whole lot more; and If you glance over the teams and the doings in
 this bush league you will find that
 the statement is no joke, if the
 league and it's officials, managers
 and players are"
 Get busy and explain the joke,
 said the sporting writer" for we | love to be let in on the ground
 floor. when there is a good story
 floating around.
 | Well, to begin right at the very
 head, let me tell you that Dan
 O'Neil is a pretty good fellow, there
 Is no doubt about that and even it
 he does not stand in with the presi-
 dent, for so it looks from the out
 side, he gets by with many things
 that would banish him to the woods
 if he were in any league but this
 one. Springfield can gobble up
 Maggert, who belonged to Water>
 bury, and the weak protest of the | Waterbury manager is ignored. He
 will have Gus Soffel of the Meri- dens as sure as you were born and
 it will all be done by the farming
 process. Dan didn't want the pen.
 nant, as he preferred to come in sec-
 ond or third, but the fracas in | Hartford made the Celtic blood of
 the O'Neils boil and now. Dan is out | to slaughter Hartford
 And the latter city, what of her?
 All the mush and slush that has | been written about that team would
 make Johnny McGraw feel like driv- | ing the writers of the stuff to the
 tall timbers. It is said, too, that Hartford has several players on the team, who are working under | aliases. At any rate the team has the president on her side, if one
 can judge from recent actions.
 Hartford wants the pennant, even
 more so than does O'Neil and in or, der to bind the bargain, double
 headers have been arranged for this
 week and about all of them ill Hartford. Even the secretary of the league has agreed to play four games in [: Hartford in the next few
 days. Wouldn't that make dumb
 person shout in glee? And that fiasco up in Hartford, where 5000
 people had to go home, because President Tracy. and the Hartford manager insisted on putting Rorty in to umpire, while he was sitting In the grandstand under suspension by this same president. Of course 1t was not prearranged, but you won't find many who don't believe, that way. Hartford and not Dan O'Neil was to blame for the disap- pointing of the crowd and the pro- posed suit of Clarkin against Tracy, Is one more of the huge laughs in the big joke, book. Watch out for more trouble from that quarter if Hartford does not win the pennant.
 New Haven and Georgie Bone, my, how synonymous. It must make the home of Yale college blush. Georgie would drive away more good players than he could keep, because of his abuse when they make an error. Here is city that should have the best team in the league and 1t is lucky to be where 1t is. Tuckey was formerly a member of that team, but he was not good l enough and so Meriden got him and now Boston is writing his praises. The management in New Haven | doesn't seem to comprehend the ] good qualities of player, but they 1 do recognize and pay a lot of has. | beens.
 "Holyoke has probably had more hard luck than anything else and Sc | let the dead rest. New Britain, too, was going to the bad until a hus- ting manager in the person of Billy | Hanna took hold of the team and | some things are being done over there at the present time.
 Bridgeport, oh my, oh my. The secretary's team, too. He is kept | pretty busy just now keeping John I Waller under restraint. He might just as we'll try to drive a wild bronco, before the animal is brok- en. But go down to Bridgeport and listen to the comments of the fans on the street. Here is a man, who owns his own grounds, has less ex> penses than any other manager ana look at the team. Hi Ladd. play ing ball since the time of the war. Jim o'Rourke himself, Terry Rogers and few more.
 There is not much use in saying anything about Meriden for in it's palmiest days Meriden was a dead one. They gobbled up the price in a jiffy. when Tuckey was bid for. The only thing about Meriden this year is that the cry has not yet gone out that she must quit unless the patronage is better. That was the old battle scared cry that was hung over the grandstand for many years.
 And now comes Waterbury, the lowest of all in the standing! And to think that on several occasions such men as Maggert. Miller, Ed Bastian. Singleton and others were released who are more than making good elsewhere. Joe Q 0'Rourke. too. was let go for the sake of $50 a month. so they tell me. The only city in the league, with the exception of Bridgeport, hat is allowed to play Sunday baseball and still Waterbury is in he cellar, for the managers say hey are not making money. and glance at the standing shows that t is impossible to go much lower wrong in Waterbury sure. y. Look at the attendance yester- lay. a mere handful. when if the cam held a decent place. there