The Washington times., 1908-08-26
Detroit Has Better Chance
For World Pennant This Year
Team Deserves Position at Head of American League
and Terror of Cabs Has Been Dispelled-Joe
Jackson Joins Athletics
By THOMAS S. RICE.

By THOMl
Detroit slipped away without giving
/ Washington a chance to make 1t an
even break for the series, Today the
/ Cleveland Maps. personally conducted
! By Napoleon Lajoie, are IN our MIDST
/ for the first of n series OF four games.
/ but their prospects for playing this
! afternoon are not much brighter than
/ those yesterday.
Detroit played good baseball in the
! second and third games Of the series
! that closed yesterday and showed speed.
I hitting. and enthusiasm enough to win
/ the American League peuaant as Things
| row stand. even II It was not sensational
I except IN the matter of some Of lhe
/ sWatting. one thing looks certain. and
/ that IS that the Detroit team this year
/ IS stronger than it was last ia many
! respects and stands a better show Of
Z holding it's own in the world champion
ship series. In 1901 the ~lgCrs under
1 Jennings bulged 10 the froat and won
/ their race in an entirely unexpected
mann. 1t was believed then, and there
( is not much reason for changing the
/ opinion now, thar at that time tie
| Tigers H9ere playing ahead Of their
/ form. while other good teams IN the
American League were playing behind
! theirs
The success In 1907 had a most brac-
ling effect on the Tigers and today they
must in all fairness be looked upon as
leading the other seven teams on merit
They feel that they are not-a lot Of
hukes, but real champions, IN their cir
cult. and that makes a powerful dit-
/ terence. With all due respect 10 the
team IL must be said that there was
hardly a critic who saw the WoEla
series last year with the Chicago cubs
who was not of the opinion mat the
Tigers were buffalOed before they start
ed. This year il is not likely they viii
have any such feeling, especially II New
York or Pittsburg wins the National
League flag. The terror of the Cub
name was over the whole American
iLeague. Now the Cubs have Keen
lDrOved to be but mere human beings,
who can be beaten cruelty when things
do not break for them, and that upset
ting of the representations in the Ma
tional IS going 10 Eave big moral ef-
feet upon whatever club gets the bunt-
ling In the american League IL VIII
be especially helpful to the Tigers.
| Ilajoie's Maps are holding onto third
place II the American League by the
skin of their teeth, eight points ahead
l0f Chicago. The same old trouble or
ILitL NtAlAE 4EdiiAitE - HNttANA tl4E AAAN aHflf
lthis year. Every season they start with
| a strong team, do fairly well ia the race.
hut are seldom serious factors. In TACT,
the dopesters have gotten in the habit
of completely ignoring Cleveland as a
lpennant possibility, and in their figur-
ling on long shots do not hesitate to go
below IL in the race and pick a team
. they Ike. Something wronS somewhere.
| Did Joe Cantillon stand aside and let
n
sas city, sell Boston a lemon in Joe
Wood. the right-handed pitching phe-
nom2 You will remember that Wash
ington was 10 get Wood on a verbal
agreement. but Tebeau broke the agree
ment and sold him 10 Boston for q
sum reported as $1,000 Tebeau and can
tillon have pulled of many strange
deals in their time. and there was much
surprise that George should cross his
pal Joe in such a coarse manner When
= Il occurred il was suggested that pos
sibly things were not what they seemed,
and that Wood might not be all that
was expected OF him Wood pitched for
Boston against Chicago on Monday and
was a 8 I'd affair. He was touched for
four hits in four innings gave four
bases on balls and made an error after
. which Grandpa Jim Mcguire yanked
him out of the box so fast il made his
head swim, but Chicago won the game.
Can il be true that Tebeau was wise
: and slipped Mcclure a dead one?
)
Altizer and Falkeuberg are with the
/ Maps, but Altizer IS not playing reSu-
larly Snd Falkenberg has not plucked
/ any laurels from the brow Of Ed Wa sh.
| They have the best wishes of the Ians
! here. They could not win for Washing
ton. but If they can shine in other com
pany, more power to them.
Al Orth has been gradually slipping
/ back for long time, and there IS no
] jolt in the announcement that he has
/ been released Dv the New Y York AmeFi-
cans 10 Lynchburg, in the Virginia
| League. Al was a member OF the Wash
/ ingtOn team some years ago, and went
from here 10 New York.
'Shoeless" Joe Jackson. the Green
vile, 5. c., phenom, Joined the Athletics
yesterday arriving In tow Of socks
: Seyboid. who had been sent to pilot aim
out of the wilderness. Connie Mack
q chucked him into the game at once, an5
first crack out of the box he made a
! single that scored one of the Athletics
two runs. lie went 10 the plate three
more times, and in every instance con
nected with the ball in savage style, but
: failed to place II in safe territory. As
) the Athletics made only five hits of
Berger, and were beaten to 2 there
, was no kick OD the shoeless wonder
swatting. He is a left-handed hitter
and right-hanSed thrower. His field
ing contributions in center yesterday
were two out, an iissist, and an error
Terry Turner and StovaII. who were
just rounding into shape when Cleye-
land was here last. are back in the
4 game, Turner playing right field and
- Stovan first base.
How they can stand for so many raw
1 deals in Mex York is a mystery. Billy
/ Papke, who, in the opinion Of compe-
tent and fair experts, and also on his
record, Is a roughnouse sWinger with
neither brains nor science and capable