The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-13
THE TENANT RACE SEEMS ID BE OVER National and American Leagues
 Are Settling Down LEADERS HAVE ADVANTAGE Present Outlook Gives Detroit and Pittsburg Best Chance To Fight
 for the Honors of Worlds
 Championship.
LEADERS HAVE ADVANTAGE
BY c. VAN LOAN.

New York, September 12.-(Special.)- The baseball bug has shed his wings and picked up his kit of embalming tools. The loud, enthusiastic individual who, but a short month ago, was all lungs, mouth and language, has deteriorated into a sad and silent person who conducts the post-mortem on the home team and tells his friends what might have happened if
 The pennant race in both leagues seems to be over. In the National there remains nothing but the shouting, and Pittsourg seems to have the shouting privilege this season. The Pirates, working like we'll oiled machine, and hitting the ball when ever hits can be turned into runs, have cinched matters very neatly and e11ec- lively. Messrs. Wagner, Leach ana Clarke, constituting the Pittsburg team' will walk home, barring unforeseen accl- dents It Is all over but the shouting, and there are some cities in the National league circuit where even the shouting is over. New York is one of them. The Giants by brilliant performance on the road. rekindled the dying flame and then snuffed it out to ashes by the games with the Pirates and the Cubs. New York will finish on the limb this season, and there is no flag for third place.
 Chance, of the Cubs, who is game to the last inch, and will never know the meaning of the word quit unless he looks it up in the language book mas abandoned hope of catching the Black Flags A few men who can hit the ball consistently have made new National league history, and the Cubs, with their famed inside ball." will finish just out side the spotlight this season. The other teams are hopelessly outclassed In the American league the Tigers have again shown that close race mas no terrors for them+ A slump while on the road and a sudden sprint from Boston and Philadelphia, put the three teams together ! At the head of the stretch, but the Ilgers came again as they came last season and now have a comfortable lead on the Athletes and the Red Sox
 If looks like Detroit and Pittsburg thls year. and in this event the post-season games will take on a new interest. EVl- dently ths Tigers cannot beat the Cups' They have never been able to do very much with the Windy City pitchers Two teams of hitters, with pitching staffs Of nearly even ability, should give us sensational worlds series.
 When the Tigers find pitchers whom they can hit it will take something more than phenomenal fielding to stop them. The other team must hit, too, for Coop' Crawford and the other Tiger stars have a habit of hitting the ball on the sean and driving it to the fence
 The w-you-see-it-and-now- -you-dont match between Langford and Ketchel VIII take place at the Fairmont club in New York on the 17th of this month.
 Willy Britt and his fine line Of opum- ism are well known. People thought Willy was crazy when he signed up to fight Jack Johnson and posted his for felt. inveighing Johnson into doing the same thing Britt who is surely shrewd matchmaker, really believed that his man had chance with the black champion, and he believes it still. He is so sure or the calibre of his champion that he IS going to take on one of the toughest mid dleweights in the world in the squat long armed negro from Boston.
 Langford is a punishing hitter when there are no strings him. Like all negroes who outclass the white men Of their weight, Sam has had to descend 10 what Jack O'Brien used to call per fectly legitimate business methods In order to get fights He has had to do
  order to secure dates. But Langford without any strings on his good right arm is a desperately tough individual. In the few fights when he was not called on to "be reasonable, Samuel showed the fight followers of this coun- try a flash of his real class, and Ketchel or any other light heavyweight in the world will have to show topnotch form fin order to stal off the attack of this squatty black gorilla.
 Willy Britt Is as chipper as a canary bird when he talks about the match.
 q know what I'm doing" says the human chimney Do you think I'd let this fellow steve' (Britt always calls Stanley Ketchel Steve) "go up against man who could trim him when l have this Johnson match in sight? Not hardly. I know what Steve can do and know what Langford can do. and l tell you we'll win this fight and then go after Johnson. Ten rounds is long enough for Steve when he is right. and he will be right as rain water for this datev'
 Should the gorilla get MT. Ketchel in- side of 10 rounds-and he has a fine chance to do the trick-there will be no great shift in the heavyweight division. It will mean nothing more than the elim- ination of Stanley Ketchel from the heavyweight possibilities. There will still remain MT. Johnson to be disposed of. and as Kaufman is not believed to have very much of chance to do anything with the heavyweight champion, the prop osition will return to the old basis-Jef fries and Johnson for the heavyweig ght championship of the world
 From the point of view of the press agent Jeffries made a bad move when he took himself out of the public eye and retired to Germany for a few weeks, leaving matters in the air.
 When Morris was trying to get Jef- fries to sign a theatrical contract, he found that Mrs. Jim, who is always a strong factor in the retired champion's 5 piainsf did not approve. In order to please her. Morris suggested that lief. 1ries' engagement might include a trip 10 Europe As Mrs. Jeffries was born fin Germany and the trip would mean d visit to her mother, whom she has not seen in years, she was immediately won over by the Morris forces and Jim made the trip to Europe, not because 1t was a wise one or there money in sight, but simply because he had promised his mother to take her home for a visit.
 The Hon. Norman Selby, otherwise Kid Mccoy, has just returned from the other side. where he found there was no money in selling spring water on the Parisian bouleyards The Kid thinks that Jeff made blunder by going abroad
 They don't know he's on earth over there" said Mccoy. '"The day he got into London some of the papers carried as