The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-04
POINTERS ID RANDOM
BY HUGH w. ROBERTS.

Not only were the men of Sarah '
 Bernhard crushed beneath an avalanche l of hits and runs but the Barons showed
 them several new stunts in the way of
 sensational fielding and modern base
 running.
 So all in all. the start was pretty
 good, and the fans at home are filled
 with a hope that the Barons will at
 least break even in the current series.
 A doubleheader will be played this aft ernoon, and as Robertaille will pitch one
 of the games there is hope that both ends will not drop into the Nashville
 column.
 It is probable that Turner will be given
 one more opportunity to lose before he | is turned into that misty region the in
 habitants of which are soon forgot.
 On squeeze play yesterday in Nash i vile Douglass scored from third and Smith from second.
 Carlos Smith is the only player in the { Southern league who has pulled off this ! stunt and yesterdays triumph was not i his first
 In that season of pleasant memory
 19O6-Carlos scored from second on the ! squeeze" following a runner from third. ! The Little Rock Travellers were oppos- i ing the Barons, and after this exhibi- i tion of successful daring their courage ! oozed and the locals won without much 1 trouble.
 The stunt which Smith has twice ac-
 eomplished is often discussed but is sell dom executed. It is a practical certainty
 that less than half dozen men have scored from second on the squeeze
 and the long Mississippian is the only one who has turned the trick more than a single time.
 The play should be more common. All
 that is required is for a fast runner to get a good start and keep trotting. A
 man scores from third on a perfect
 "squeeze' without trouble. The pitcher,
 as a general rule, seeing the man from third scoring, takes his time in throw ing the ball to first. By the time the
 man from third has reached home the
 man from second should be turning third. By the time the ball is caught by the
 first baseman he should be nearing the
 plate and by the time the ball is returned to the catcher he should have slid under
 the big mit's feet landing safely
 But the play requires a great deal of
 daring and few men have the necessary nerve.
 In the language of W. J. Ewing, Jr., sporting editor of the Nashville Ameri-
 can and The Age-Herald's correspondent
 Manager Molesworth in yesterdays en-
 
 catch ever seen in Sulphur Dell
 This reminds that Molesworth, no
 longer than Saturday, made one of the
 most magnificent catches ever witnessed in Birmingham, where he has pulled off so many.
 As an all-round ball player Molesworth
 is not forced to take his hat off to a
 single man in this league. Today it is freely admitted that he can in Speaker or Lord, his nearest competi- tors.
 With the stick Molesworth is the sec ond man in the league and around him
 are grouped Speaker, the leader, and Lord, who takes third place. In the matter of stolen bases, sacri- flee hits and scores, Molesworth tops all three.
 So it is seen that the Barons' manager is just as good an all-round man as is found in minor leagues, and his work is not only matter of personal credit to him, but source of qualification to every fan in Birmingham. Yesterday morning Birmingham asked ] for waivers on Pitcher Turner. When | Turner Is cast aside Fleharty will be again regularly enrolled on the Barons' | staff of twrlers. Fleharty is . most promising youngster and the only local pitcher who stands at the .500 mark. Before his recent Ill.,
 ness he figured in four games and of that number won two. Robinson having won all his games be- fore injuring his leg, comes second He Is a very valuable man, in spite of his recent slump, and as soon as he recovers confidence in himself, will make Bir-
 mingham a most able pitcher In spite of statements to the contrary, Ford is a very fair twirler, and will win half his games in any old season. Bauer is a most promising youngster and will be valuable man with whom to begin a new season. He has lost several more
 games than he has won, but the ma Jority of his defeats are traceable to nervousness
 There is no better pitcher in the league
 than Robertaille. He cannot win in the spring. Last season he finished second in
 the American association after losing
 his first 10 games. After dropping that
 row, he won all but four of the remaind-
 CT in which he appeared. Robertale has won 10 and lost 12 for
 Birmingham, and it would be very great surprise if he finished the season below the 500 mark We desire to stop right here and take our hats off to Montgomery The Pret-
 gels are playing in championship form,
 and if they continue their present stride,
 first division berth Is a matter of cer- tainty.
 The Pretzels' management has done a thing rarely seen within the space of a single season-pra ctically changed it's en-
 tire lineup. Of the original staff of
 dead ones' which Jimmy Ryan brought south from the Chicago lots. but one pitcher remains-Thomas a very good twirler. Baxter has gone from the in- field and Greminger switched to first Perry has been returned to his old posi- ton at third, and Rockenfield last sea- son with Little Rock, has been acquired to play second.
 The number of men that Montgomery has turned adrift is practically innumer- able. Weems, Van Anda, Stackpole, | Helm, Chrystall. Bergman, Burkett and Demaree are a few of the discarded | pitchers.
 But today Montgomery is going at a | killing pace, and unless something hap | pens to disappoint, the Pretzels will again | have the right to change. their present | cognomen to Climbers" | The announcement that Philadelphia | has trade Sid Smith to Columbus | (American association will prove a sur l prise to the fans this morning. | Smith, from all accounts has given
 Connie Mack good service, both in re- | ceiving and in hitting. But at that Smith l looked little light for membership in
 one or the leading American league | teams, and his backslide should not be ! as great surprise as 1t will prove.