The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-16
EDITED BY HUGH W. ROBERTS
WITH THE OBJECT
 OR ESCAPING FROM
 THE DARK CELLAR

It looks like something happens every day.
 Now, they play rotten baseball.
 Then the pitcher happens to go badly
 Then the team goes to pieces on the following day.
 Then there follows exceedingly hard luck-nothing else.
 Then an umpire comes along and makes a mistake-an honest mistake, no doubt, but mistake just the same costing a game.
 And as result the team Is becoming so firmly entrenched on the bottom that nothing other than crowbar can dis lodge 1t.
 There Is this light always to the front, however-Memphis got out of the cellar and Memphis was more firmly bound in the mire of the lower world than we are.
 Then, too, Memphis Is on the road for 2S games. We are at home for about the same number
 So if we don't get out, we should sell stock, lock and barrel and dis band.
 It will be an eternNl shame if we don't get out for a little while at any rate.
 But the home stay has begun very disastrously to say the least.
 First of all, we dropped three out of four to Nashville. True Rudderham did the dropping of one of those games, but 1t went just the same.
 Then we allow the poor old dilapl- dated Montgomery outfit of Sleepers to come to town and win.
 That is the limit
 Montgomery has no right to beat any team in the league.
 With the exception of Thomas, there is not f1rst-rate man in the lot
 They are nice fellows, personally, and popular. But as ball players they are jokes.
 The fans are hammering again Wednesday they roasted Kane because Robinson threw badly to the plate, allowing two or three Nashville play CTS to score. Kane was dntirely blame less.
 On the same afternoon they roasted Molesworth because a ball took a bad bound and went over his head for three bases.
 On the same day they roasted the umpire because he made an awful de- cision while yesterday afternoon they roasted the Barons because they lost that game on the preceding day.
 They were almost personal in their remarks yesterday.
 The atmosphere in Birmingham is bad. The team is not alone to blame. The fans are as bad as those in New Orleans. Under the continual fire of the hammerers 1t is impossible for the players to go into the games with the spirit necessary to win.
 Spirit. too, counts for as much as ability. R+ ~
 Do you know how Memphis got out of the cellar?
 They had the support of the fans
 There was never a roast in a Mem phis paper.
 Everything was harmonious, and soon Babb led his men from the mire
 Let's get that spirit in Birmingham.
 Until we do. we will never have a winner. it matters not the ability of our men.
 You hear 1t said that the fans in Birmingham are faithful They are exceedingly faithful when the team is winning. It's kind of like hungry dog swinging to a piece of fat meat.
 But the fans in Birmingham are not faithful when faithfulness is needed Anybody can be faithful in times of success. But the country needs the man who can stick to his gun when the enemy Is in our midst
 So let's all get torether
 The team should brush down its kinks, and forget everything that has gone before. Just keep plugging, pay ing no attention to those who are hop ing for your defeat.
 The fans should refrain from harsh, personal criticism.
 It does no good. B. A.