Los Angeles herald., 1910-10-10
JIMMY TOMBSTONE
PICKS CUBS TO WIN
Famous Indicator Handler De-
CIares Chicago Catchers
Will Stop Athletics

ST. LOUIS. Mo, Oct. 9.-"Jimmy''
Johnstone, umpire. picks the Chicago
Cubs to beat the Philadelphia Athlet-
les in the worlds championship series
this fall. Johnstone and KLEIN were
the National league umpires for the
Pittsburg- Detroit series last fall.
1T looks to me as though the Chi
cago catchers will stop the Athletics
said Mr. Johnstone.
"Chance has two of the greatest
catchers in the game in King and
Archer. Archer has better arm than
Killing, but Johnny is wise old owl
behind the bat, and his arm is plenty
good enough to stop the best base
runners in the game.
Livingstone, Thomas and Lapp will
hardly be compared with Killing and
Archer by the most rabid American
league rooters. King and Archer rank
with Bresnahan, Doom, Mclean, Glib
son and the other star receivers of
the National league. On the other
hand, they tell me that Street OF
Washington. Sullivan of Chicago and
Carrigan of Boston are the premier
catchers of the American league.
1T will take good throwing to keep
the Cubs from running the bases and
scoring runs. Ameican league fans
seem to think that Plank, Bender ana
Ccombs will prevent the Cubs from
getting on. OfSCourse, il the Athletic
pitchers can keep Chances men from
getting to first the Philadelphia back
stops will have comparatively easy
task.
But 1 don't think there is a pitch
ing corps in baseball that can stop the
Cub hitters. Holman, Chance, Tinker,
Evers, Schultz and King are all going
good. The best pitchers in the Ma
tional league have not prevented the
Cubs from hitting the pill. / don't
think the Philadelphia pitchers Will
fare any better against Chicago than
the National league twirllng stars.
"If the Cubs get to first 1t takes a
great catcher to prevent them from
moving around. Chances men viii
run the sacks wild on a poor throwing
catcher. The Athletics pitchers are
nearly all experienced men, who know
how to watch the bases and chain
runners to the sacks, but the catcher
must also be there with his part of the
proposition-a good arm and ability to
get the ball away fast. That's the
only way you can prevent Chances
men from making runs after they get
on.
LAT that l think Philadelphia will
give Chicago a Stiffer argument tnan
Detroit did in 1907 and 1908. Chicago
has a wonderful baseball machine.
There isn't q weak spot in the whole
works. Holman, Sheckard and Schultz
are going great in the outfield. and the
infield is a regular stone wall. I've
heard a lot about the famous old
stonewall inf1elds of twenty years ago.
Up in Detroit they will tell you that
the Detroit bunch of 1SS7-Brouthers,
Dunlap, Rowe and White-was the
king of all infields. Veteran fans in
Chicago still swear by the old White
hanson and Burns. Down in New
York the old timers are still talking
about the New York infield of 1888
Roger Connor, Dan Richardson, john
NY Ward and Arthur Whitney.
Now, 1 have seen them all work,
and you can take it from me that for
general value to a ball club, the Chi
cago infield of 1906-7-8-9-10 is the
greatest that ever came down the pike.
Barring the unexpected. think the
1910 series will prove the most in
teresting ever staged. Mack'S team
looks like a far stronger aggregation
than the one he tried for the worlds
championship in 1905. Harry Davis,
Dannie Murphy, Eddie Plank, Chief
Bender and 'Topsy' Hartsel are all
that is left of the 1905 Athletics team.
Mack will enter the series this year
with better inf1eld and far better
outheld. But I can't say as much for
his catchers. If they hold up their
end of the battle the result is going
to be a whole lot closer than a lot or
persons imagine"