Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-08

somewhere else for1that. I'm only telling
you the facts, and trying to put you hep
as to why I dream o. nights about that
slump thing. !.
The club bound and determined to get
out of the slump would individually and
collectively try all of the inside kinks OF
the old stuff and even pull some new
ones. all to no avail.
THE crack pitcher who'd participated
in the slump would take the mound after
having slept eighteen hours and trained
himself to the minute, and In the mrs.
inning lot of punk 200 hitters would
pick his heaves up by the teeth ana run
out of the yard with 'em and bat him
or the works before he knew whether
he had an arm or not.
THE swagger hitters of the slumpeo
club nd trudge up to the platter, LOOKING
like men that are going to do 1t or else
go right off the grounds and cut tnelr
threats; and they'd Whit on stuff d.shed
up by some bum of pitcher who, In or
binary unslumped circumstances. they
could make look like nickel's worth OF
anthracite at Reading. Pa, or else tney
pop up or kick some snoopy little tnlng
at the infield. after swinging fit to nreak
their spines in fourteen different places: .
do anything. in short. except take a 1aii
out of the ball and start something.
I've seen a great catcher. not to say
renowned catcher, belonging to q pail
club In a slump heave the pellet about
snag a stealer, half q dozen times IN a
row in one afternoon. And when fell
low does stuff like that OF course. II only
makes the slump worse: for the man who
pulls that stuff goes around Tor tne mex.
two or three days hating himself and
everybody else and looking for aged and
decrepit persons on the streets so that
he can bite their arms on close to the
shoulder or otherwise MAIN en- And
these sulks have their influence upon the
remainder of the gang, OF COURSE, ana SO
the slump continues.
'By the time I'm ready to quit the
base ball business / believe l snail have
about reached the conclusion that It's
pure foolishness for manager to at
tempt to fight slumpitis, at that. AS a
matter Of fact reckon that, deep down
under the surcingle, I've just about
reached that conclusion already, although
I'm not ready to admit 1t yet, even to
myself.
it? He can traipse around encouraging
and jollying his men, of course, but as a
matter Of fact that stuff isn't neces-
sary at all. for it's rarely or never the
fault of the men themselves that the
team has slumped. It's the fault OF some
been able to classify yet. But the men
really don't need joshing by their
manager. They want to come out of II.
for their own sake, as well as for the
clubs. They're willing to do all they
know to beat the devil around the bush
can't. Can't. cause why? Why. because
they're victims OF slumpitis and have
slumped, that's all. I can't toss any more
on 1t than that.
The slump thing, I am beginning to
be convinced, simply has to wear itself
out and so away from the club, and it
can't be chased out or purged out or
out or anything like that.
It's got to go anyway.
'.'If I've got to be the stevedore OF a
tack of slumpitis I'm always roofing
that the outf1tll get its little dose early
in the season: right at the outset Of
the season best Of all. II the club looks
punk. owing to slumpitis after the trein-
ing trip. at the very outset Of the season.
and the newspapers'll come out and
pronounce the club a fliv organization
and bunch of piano movers out Of work,
and all that stun: but II the manager OF
the team is privately aware that he has a
good club, and that the gang is only
suffering from one OF those early at
tacks of slumpitis, as young 'uns get
the chickenpox and mumps and things
early in life, he's willing to put up with
the squeaks that the fans and news
papers pull on him for the sake of hav-
ing the disease over with before the
between three or four of the Clubs. Next
to the early season thing, I'd prefer to
have my bunch get slumpitis right in
even If it takes 'em down
a whole passel Of pegs in the percentage
column. There's chance for recovery
then, you know. But when gang OF
ball players begin to develop slumpitis
symptoms at this stage Of the playing
game. excuse little Sunlocks, that's all,
for he's bound. for a sanitarium finish.
Let's not even talk about it any more,
for If you talk Of the divvle he surely
appears. But you can 60 as far as you
like In putting me down as a-skeeart Of
slumpitis, for I sure am that