The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-03-04

balanced pitching staff. yet fine in
field and catching staff, make up the
Cleveland team. Graney and Cough
are each get chances in the outfield
with the Maps, while Hardness and
Koestner try for the pitching staff.
Both the pitchers should stand an ex-
cellent chance of making good, yet it
seems doubtful whether Graney and
Cough can make good.
In New York is where the majority
of western fans are looking. They
want to see Ote Johnson make good in
the big brush. The big Swede worked
faithfully at the third corner in
Portland for two years, and has gone
to the big brush with every hope of
making good in the New York Ameri-
good if he is let alone.
The only thing against him is that
the New York newspapers have been
touting him too highly. They have had
long and glowing accounts of Ote's
hitting and fielding prowess, and the
people of Gotham may have been led
to believe that Ote is a wonder He
isn't. He is a player of sterling abb
lily, who plays ball all the time, yet
when the New York fans see the steady
working Swede in action they are
liable to misjudge him. 1t was long
while before Portland people learned
how good he was, and such length
of time would be fatal to a man break
ing into the big leagues.
Chicago, the White Sox, the team
that Mercedes team meets in Califor-
MIA, is another team with an excellent
chance of breaking into the first divi-
sion, and, in fact, they should finish
either third or fourth. They have some
excellent batteries, and a lot of new
blood from which they plan on building
their infield and outfield. Pat Doug
erty is left field and Hahn are about
y
and outfield who can be expected to
last. Candil, Zeider, Blackburn and
Purtell are the making of an excellent
jinfie!d, while Cole, Messenger Beall and
Parent will round out the team.
The other two teams, st. Louis and
Washington, have scant chance of rails
ing their positions in the race. Neither
lean be said to class with the other six
teams, though both are headed by
heady men. They both lack pitchers
and outfielders.
The National league seems about
due for some surprises, and for the
surprise st. Louis seems the team to
do the springing. Roger Brespahan
has done what appears to be the
shrewdest trading of years, and the
result is that he starts the season OF
1910 with as classy team of ball
players as has represented the Mis-
souri, city in many years.
His chief asset lies in that he has
decided to work largely behind the bat
himself. Roger is the hardest working
catcher in the National league and
lwhen he starts working behind the bat
imnarts a world of confidence to
Young twirler. He has secured very
fair pitching staff with two veterans,
Willis and Corridor, both of whom were
able to win so per cent of their games
last year. Back of the veterans VIII
come Bachman, Geyer, Harmon, LUSH
Loudermilk, Sallee, Marion and Pick
EFT.
Supporting his batteries, Breshahan
has one of the fastest young teams
lever gotten together in the big leagues
He will have RUDE Ellis and Reoel
Cakes of Les Angeles in the outfield
with Evans as the third man. In the
infield Konetchy, the star first base
man, Higgins secured from the Reds
along with Cakes, and Corridor on
second base. Hulswitt at short stop and
either MOWf6N or bdIDtoiu CT IhAi u
base 1t is a good team and its secur-
ing should more than justify the ex-
penditure it has cost.
While the Cardinals are not gong
to be pennant winners this year they
are going to be fighters all the year
They should finish close to the top
of the second division if not at the tail
end of the firsa Picking ST Louis as
the team to create the surprises, 1t
seems probable the old stand-bys,
Chicago and Pittsburg will again be
the teams to be counted in the stretch.
Chance believes that he has streng-
thened his team materially when he
landed Ginger Beaumont from Moston.
Beaumont has been in the big leagues
for years, being a member OF o.d
Pittsburg champions in 1904. He was