The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-09
TEAM APPEARS IN BIRMINGHAM NEXT WEEK FOR PRACTICE GAMES WITH THE BARoNS. DOPE FROM PRESS AGENT.

Frank Chance, of the worlds champion
 Cubs" is a firm believer in the theory
 that the best spring practice that a
 major league team can get is playing
 strong minor league clubs, and for that
 reason he has had President Murphy ar-
 range quite long list of games with the
 best teams in the south. Interest in the
 tour of this great aggregation of ball
 tossers many of whom are college gradu-
 ates, is accentuated by the fact that all
 the starA will bo soon in every city Tn
 which the world-beaters are scheduled.
 This wonderful team will not be divided
 up in sections, like most other major
 league clubs, in the preliminary games In
 the spring. Manager Chance expects to
 get his great staff of twirlers in condi-
 ton by alternating them for a few in-
 nings each in these early games. The
 Cubs staff includes such great pitch CTS as Brown, Reulbach, Overall, Lund- gren, Fraser, Pfeister and Durbin. The postulants of 1908 are Martin Walsh, a
 brother of Edward Walsh of the White
 Sox; Dona'hue and Merker. These young sters are all said to be most promising.
 In the days of Ansons old Chicago
 White Stockings that team had what was known as the "stonewalI infeld in Captain Anson, the grand old man of baseball; Pfeffer Williamson and Burns. Pioneer fans thought great deal of that combination, but most of them admit that the present quartet of the worlds cham pion "Cubs"-Chance,. Evers, Tinker and Steinfeldt-is still better. The present champions and record breakers of the | world are also well fortified in having Holman and Howard, who are equally at home in the infleld and in the outfield. In | fact, when all things are considered, there | is little doubt that the 'Cubs'' are better | fortified for infeld timber than any major | league team in the country. Young Zim- merman is also fine infielder and out 1 fielder, and it can be realized that | Manager Frank Chance will go into the 1 National league campaign of 1908 feeling | that no matter what happens in the way of accidents or illness to his infielders, he | will always be able to put winning com bination on the diamond.
 It has been definitely shown during the past two seasons that in Sheckard. Slagle and Schulte-the three S's-the Chicago | Cubs" have an outfield that, for col lective work. is difficult to surpass. They are all seasoned men, and yet young enough to have many years of usefulness left as stars of the outer garden in the major league. Pitcher Blaine Durbin can also play the outfield like a regular, as 1 he not only covers a great deal of ground but Is a good batsman and very fleet base runner Artie Hoffman is a vertabie in the outfield, in addition to being a fine batsman and baserunner, and the same can be truthfully said of 'Def' Howard who gets his sobrquet because he is supposed by ball players to hit a ball as hard as the late Edward Dele- hanty, the slugger of the old Philadelphia National league team. With this fine ar ray of outer gardeners, Manager Chance feels that the Cubs are ready at any and all times to meet all corners. It certainly Is a most formidable array of star outfielders.
 No baseball team that has succeeded Tn the major leagues has ever attained great distinction afeld with good catchers.
 
 rare, and in this respect the Chicago excel, as they have In Kling and Moran probably the greatest two catchers n the country. Boston has never been ,ble to fill Morans place, and the ability ,f Kling is almost too well known to re- 1uire comment. Kling and Moran, in ad- 1ition to being fine catchers, are hard and finely batsmen whom most National eague pitchers have great respect for. No matter which one Is catching, the Cubs" are well fortified behind the bat, md that is not only a great help to the ,itchers but to the entire team as well. Manager Chance is said to have secured another good young catcher in Arthur Evans the throwing marvel of the vir- sinia league last season. and he also has frank Oils, another promising young who was with the Cubs for he major portion of 1907.