The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-26
GORDON PREPARES HIS CRACKER TEAM Policies of Bill Smith to Be
 Abandoned FEW PRACTICE GAMES There Won't be the Usual Forty Play CTS in Atlanta Next Spring. Some Live Winter Sport
 ing Gossip.
BY PERCY H. WHITING.

Atlanta. December 25-(Special.) .)-It Is marvellous the bad repute into which spring practice games have fallen. In some southern cities. Memphis notably. the change has been coming on grad ually for several years. In Atlanta the transformation came with 6 whoop and was the result of the passing of Man ager Smith and the appointment of Manager Jordan.
 Bill Smith believed in practice games. Last season he had one every day of every week until the last big league club had gone out of the south. This year there will be 80 or 40 per cent less.
 The assortment of teams played this year will also be less. Last year Bill Smith had a game or two with every thing in sight. This year almost all of Atlanta's games will be with the Philadelphia Americans. who will train at Ponce DeLeon. The colts of the Philadelphia team, with Connie Mack in charge, will arrive in Atlanta March l and remain until March 1S. Then they go on the road and play through out the country, returning to Phila- dephia by easy stages, playing as they go. The regulars will land March 10 and remain until March 27. They will then ''barn storm it" home
 While the Athletics are in Atlanta they will have the field to themselves. In that time not an outside team will be played. The Crackers and the Mo Gillicuddies will mingle probably Thursday, Friday and Saturday of every week except the first.
 The very first game of the local base ball season will be played March 5, between the Tech. team and the Phil adelphia Yannigans.
 The only other major team which will be allowed on the local lot will be the Boston Nationals, who get April Fools Day and April 2. A couple of Sally league teams will be brought in for a couple of games each. The rest of the days will be used by Manager Jordan to drill the secrets of team play and the mythical thing called "in- side baseball"
 The no-practice game theory has in fected the big league teams to a de- cfded extent. When President J. W. Heisman was in New York he had a talk with George Stallings of the New Y ork Americans. Stallings will train in Athens this year, just step from Atlanta.
 "I suppose now that you are go- ing to train right next door" said MT. Heisman, ''that you will want a few games with us."
 'I think not" was the unexpected reply, 'T don't care so much for this practice game thing. I may not play a one this coming spring The Cleveland team has for several years been one which has not believed in practice games, though the Maps may be regarded more as a horrible example" than anything else. Jordan explains his desire for few | games and much practice this way. "In a game an outf1elder may not get | over 6 single chance in the field. We'll can't learn anything about him from 1 that. I would rather see him get un der more flies, even if in practice. l can work out moro men that way than 1 in a game"
 | l lanta will also have less men than usual. Bill Smith was always a firm, 1 believer in having plenty of men on I hand for trials, and then he wrung 1 his very nerves out by the roots trying 1 to decide which ones to let so. The year there will be at least 10 men less than usual to try out. Under the Heisman-Jordan regime no men l have been bought who are not pretty sure of filling the bill.
 1 Of course it happened this year that Atlanta did not have many bad gaps l to fill.
 Sid Smith will be back to do most oi tho catching. Mitchell. formerly oi l Syracuse but now ovnAA by the Cubs will probably bs ssoured te nll tn, gap left vacant by the drafting of Mo Murray.
 | Atlanta didn't have . real first base man last year. but this season Phila delphia is to let the Cxackers have man. It is rumorsd that Big Bin Abstein Is the one. If the Crack or got him they will have no furth e
 cause for worry. They may not ge
 the fastest thinkey in modern base
 ball but they will get m awful swat
 ter and that is something that Atlant,
 badly needs.
 otto Jordan will play second, al usual ana 5cotty Walker 10 081ll
 a fixture at third. Atlanta has als,
 bought . man of almost major leagu
 calfbre for the sh ortstop position, bu
 his name will not be announced fo
 months.
 In the optneld Roy Moran will b.
 back on the job and so will Dick Bay | less. DeHaven and Feitz, two new out 1 fielders who can hit, are also on tn lists--or will be when Connie Macl sells them to the Crackers--so the out field sh ould be all right.
 The best news anent the pitching de partment Is the assurance by Conni Mack that he thinks he can let At l lanta have Tommy Atkins for anothe l years use. Mack bought Atkins tt have on hand in case any of his regu lars cracked" For awhile 1t seemet that Jimmy Dygert was the man wht needed . substitute and right now hs is the weak member of the Athletics staff. However. if he lasts through another year Atkins will be turned back to Atlanta for another. year oI | seasoning.
 It is not impossible also that Hsins Heitmuiler may get . year of season l ing with Atlanta In 1e1o. Desptts the wonderful batting o1 this man last year Mack believes he would not suf- far for auoth ar yoaR fn q minor 1ea wu<