The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-07-05
MAJOR DOPE
BY MANHATTAN.

I what has struck BROOKLYN what put
that tobasco into the boys from the town
of rubber plants, baby carriages and Pat
McCarren? The way the Dodgers went
through the sleepytown aggregation In
the first two games since their disastrous
western trip was a caution to the old
est fan.
When the Brooklynites arrived at the
home end 6f the bridge they called a
messenger boy and sent the toboggan
they have been using out west to the
poor old Yanks. and the Yanks made
good use of 1t.
And while the Dodgers were making
| the Quakers look like 30 cents in the
vaults of the National City bank, Charley
Ebbetts was being flooded with tele-
| grams and the postoffice had to put on
extra carriers to bring him advices that
he was butting into Lumley's manage
ment too much and must desist. OF
course, the owner of a ball club is only
| figurehead. All he has to do Is put
up the dollars and his manager will do
the rest. Charley should have known
better than to advise Lumley that he
should strengthen his twirling staff He
| shouldn't have announced that he was
ready to spend $4,000 for pitching staff
| that would land the Dodgers somewhere
| in the first division. He should have
| given that $4,000 to the fans and let
| them do It, We are fan and will take
| some of that $4,000 and invest it to bet
| ter advantage than Ebbetts possibly
could
| Charley Ebbetts didn't butt in, and
we can prove It, There IL no more
| thoughtful gentleman connected with
baseball today than Charley All he did
was try and patch up his has-beens
so that they wouldnx get whitewashed
every time they played. Show us an
| other manager In either of the big
leagues that will tote around a wad of
| adhesive plaster to paste on a skinned
shin, and needle and thread to sew up
| a split finger. If that is butting in, we
| don't know it.
| But speaking of that toboggan. The
! Yanks have certainly earned the right
| to use 1t. Before the season opened we
| had 1t dinned into our ears that the Stall
| lings aggregation would never be headed
| no. not even nosed-and our dlsap-
! pointment is keen. week ago the Hill
| tops wanted warm weather to put the
| team on their mettle. Now they have it
| as hot, II not hotter. and still they lose
with a sang froid that is truly pathetic
| When will we get ball team in either
| of our boroughs that will bring home
| the bacon?
| The poor misguided baseball writer and
| follower of the Giants is shrieking in his
loudest tones that the Cubs and Pirates
are scared into fits every time McGraw's
bunch heaves in sight But don't mind
him, gentle reader, he is paid for doing
that. He even talks of the Giants win
ming the pennant THE year. ell quotes
''one of the oldest and shrewdest baseball
magnates in the west as saying:
The team we will have to watch is the
| Giants. You can never tell what Nc
| Graw will spring on YOU"
| Us 1t to laugh-yes, no.
| Many nice things were said of George
Dovey, late president of the Boston Ma
| tionals when he was alive, and since his
sudden death he has been mourned as
! perhaps no other club owner would have
been mourned. He played his hard luck
as a magnate, but was game and never
whinpered. This season Ill fortune sim
| gled him out for special mark His
team went to pieces and the weather
cut down the receipts day by day, but
he smiled and professed faith In the fu-
, ture. Not only was Mr.. Dovey a good
/ fellow among his associates, but he
was well liked by everybody connected
with the game, and actually beloved by
his players. He always had a good
word for erybody and was such lover
of the game that he knew nearly every
/ player in the league personally. And
they all had a good word for him.
He was a man of fine and tender SEN
timents and the soul of honor. The Ma
tional league needs more men like Dewey.
| Heinie Berger of the Maps has some
thing on the ball this year that the bat
tiers can't understand. He has made Is
fan the air in nine games, a remark
able record.
New York baseball fans are looking for
the Pirates to take an awful slump since
their defeat at the hands of the Giants.
1t will have to be an awful slump to
hurt their standing much. The lead they
have now will be hard one to over
come.
1t looks now as If good old Hansswag-
ner will again lead the league In batting
this year. Hans is still pounding them
1t appears that the Cubs will have to
do without the services of Joe Tinker
for the balance of the season. Joe is in
the hospital, where an operation was
performed for appendicitis. and he is not
yet out of danger. Even II Joe does get
around it will be so late in the season
that he will hardly be able to get into
condition for gruellfng wind-up. Tin
ker's position Is being filled by thinner
man, who recently recovered from Sc
rious illness.
| Some baseball sharps seem to think
| that the Boston Americans landed a
| player that is the equal of Ty Cobb when
| they got Speaker to play center for the
| Taylor nne They give him credit for
| handling grounders better than any one
| in the business. Speaker is also clean
| hitter and good base runner.
| George Van Haltren, the old New York
| player, recently released by the Sacra-
! mento club, has been given position as
| umpire in the Pacific Coast league.
| Silk OLoughlin has his own way of
| indicating strikes and balls. The strikes
| he remarks upon like this: Sterrerrerrike,
, and points a long finger at the clouds
! When 1t is ball-as he sees 1.-THE NUT
tiers something to himself and digs his
| right hand downward as If 1t were q
! trowel and he had to pillow through the
sward or bust.