Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-08
CARDINALS MADE
BY BRESNAHAN
ROGER GIVEN CREDIT BY ST.
LOUIS FANS
For First Time In Years Team Is
Climbing and Great Catcher Is Be-
Iieved to Be cause--Young-
sters Get Chance
Friday

ST. LOUIS, Aug. What success
the Cardinals have had this season
seems to be explained in one word
Bresnahan. It's rather odd that the
fans of st. Louis are so proud of the
Cardinals. for they are holding only
sixth place in the National league race
and are not expected to do better than
finish fifth. If Chicago or Pittsburg
were in sixth place the fans Of those
cities would declare their teams abso-
lutte failures. But it Is the improve
ment in the Cardinals over the teams
of other years that has delighted the
fans of this city.
It's almost as much pleasure to the
fans here to get out of last place as it
would be to the fans of Chicago to win
the pennant. But in another year
much more will be expected from Mr..
Bresnahan and his boys and more still
in the following year. Watching the
team grow has been sufficient to please
this year. Now the citizens of St.
Louis expect to see the club fight it's
way to the very top in two or three
more years.
Bresnahan has made a fighting club
of the Cardinals He didn't have as
good material for team as John Nc
Closkey had last year. But the Cardl-
nails of 1909 are much different from
those of 1908. They have won the re-
spect and admiration of the fans in
other cities as well as their own. and
there's not National league team that
does not regard them with some fear
this season, where year ago they
looked upon the st. Louis games as
sure victories.
1t must be Bresnahan that has made
the difference. He's a great ball play
er himself. He asks no player to do
more than he would do himself. His
own daring and speed in the game is
followed by all his men. When he's
away from them they falter in their
attack.
Roger knows how to make his play
ers extend themselves to the limit. He
has made a great third baseman out
of Bobby Byrne, when, a year ago, it
seemed Bob was liable to go back
Konetchy has improved greatly in his
play at first base as well as in hitting
and running the bases. HulsWitt, q
former Cincinnati substitute, has de-
veloped into one of the really good
shortstops of the National league, as
his fielding and batting record so far
this year will show. Charles is much
stronger at second than a year ago.
Rube Ellis of Los Angeles and Evans,
two outfielders who have just broken
into the big league this year, have
compared favorably with the best in
the league, especially Ellis, who is but
21 years old and has been batting
around 300 all season and fielding like
veteran. Al Shaw has shown marked
Improvement and even Joe Delehanty
has more dash to him than in the old
regime.
The pitching staff has been lament
ably weak most of the time. But
Roger quickly disposed of three men
and has gone out into the bushes and
picked up three or four new ones that
seem to possess major league quality
right now.
His latest recruit is Raleigh
youngster just out of the brush, pur-
chased a few days ago from the YER
non team of the Pacific Coast league.
In Harmon he has the most sensa-
tional recruit of the season i'm the Ma
tional league. His siXteen-inning VIC
tory I'm New York brought him out be-
fore the public of the entire country.
Bachman, a boy captured from a small
league in the middle west, seems To
have the possibilities of a Mathewson
or Brown
But 1t has been the scheme of play
employed by Bresnahan that has most
delighted the fans. He plays a daring
game of ball He believes in taking
chances on the bases. AS a result he
has made a scoring machine of the
Cardinals that is hardly surpassed by
any team in the league, unless, per-
haps, Pittsburg with its big batters
It's not that there's any great honor
in holding sixth place In the National
league race that Bresnahan is receiv-
shown the spirit that fights it's way to
the very ton