Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-21
SPORTING COMMENT.
BY j. ED. GRILLO.

mere does not seem to be any other OBJ
stacle in the way of pulling off the JEFF
fries-Johnson fight in Frisco now that the
district attorney has decided that the ar
ticles of agreement for this contest are
drawn within the law and that there can
be no interference by police or any other
authorities.
The decision is signal victory for the
promoters of the affair and eliminates all
doubts as to whether or not the fight will
take place. Those who oppose boxing
contests in California have found that I'M
der existing laws it is impossible to pre-
vent these affairs, and not until the lesis-
lature changes the code can there be re-
lief for them
That an effort will be made to have the
law changed SO as to make boxing bouts
an impossibility in the state seems as
sured, and whether it will be possible to
have the law which is favorable to these
contests repealed depends largely upon
what sort of a fight Jeffries and Johnson
put up. If it is clean-cut, we'll regulated
affair the opponents of the game in Cali
fornia will remain in the minority, though
should things go wrong there is no doubt
that they will have many adherents and
that no other big pugilistic contest will
take place on the coast.
One would not suppose after a team
Idd "O1l INN Teen StidISll SdIueS ana was
leading the league by comfortable
margin that when defeat met such a team
its admirers and followers would resort
to severe criticism. and yet that is what
happened in Philadelphia when the Tigers
gave the Athletics a severe druDbing
Thursday.
The fans, who had been praising Connie
Mack's team and ceploring the fact that
there was danger Of it making a rum
away race this year, thus killing the in
CT cd q
players on the day that the Tigers in
f!cted the walloping and broke the win
ming streak. What fickelness there is in
base ball. and yet were it not for this
perhaps the game would not be so popu-
lar.
1t is the ball player who realizes that
half of what fans say when thing are
breaking badly does not go that does not
give away under the torrents of criticism
which are hurled at him. The roasters Of
today are the boosters of tomorrow. But
it is not every ball player who can take
a philosophical view of this condition, and
many is the one who has been shorn of
his usefulness to the team because he did
not stop to realize the peculiar makeup
of the average individual who becomes in
tereSted in base ball.
An even break in Philadelphia is all
the Tigers can hope for and it is neces-
sary TO keep them within striking distance
of the leaders. To accomplish less than
this would place a serious handicap on
Jennings team, one from which it may
never revive unless the Athletics should
have a serious slump later in the race.
But the Tigers were going much better
year ago than they are now Their
percentage then was almost 100 points
higher. and they were leading the race
by small margin, after having come
from the rear. Jennings may be able
to come with a rush again this year,
but he is delaying it much more than he
r; = sv, y otI,1
every day his chances are decreasing
That base running has fallen off pre-
ceptibly in recent years is not an indi-
cation that the catchers of today are
cleverer than they were years ago. nor
that the base runners are less speedy.
1t is the system of play now in vogue
which keeps the stolen base column full
of ciphers. There was time when the
hit-and-run game was not played It was
then that straight steals were attempted
and successfully accomplished. Nowadays
it is only on rare occasions that one
sees a base stolen without the attempt
is made in conjunction with the batter
who tries to hit the ball on-jwhich the
steal is attempted.
This leads to the employing Of strategy
on the part of the pitcher. which keeps
the ball away from the batsmen when a
steal is anticipated and the catcher has a
clear throw.
What is more, in this so-called hit-and-
run play the average base runner does not
get the lead he would if he were trying to
make clean steal, for the reason that he
expects the batter to help him out
1t is very plain. therefore. that the hit
and-run play has robbed the game of one
of its most delightful features-base run
ming.
BY making numerous trades for two sea-
sons Roger BreSnahan has finally sue
ceeded in gathering about him a pretty
fair ball team which may cause many up
sets in the National League race this sea-
son. The Cardinals are now fairly we'll
balanced team and one that can no longer
be figured to give victories to its rivals
without hard struggle. Two men whom
Bresnahan secured from Cincinnati-Mow-
rey and Huggins-have made that ball
team, for they gave it what it needed,
couple of good infeders. Bresnahan,
whose ability to manage team was ques-
toned last season, is now regarded as one
of the shrewd men in base ball, simply
because he has finally secured team
which has strength enough to win a few
ball games.