The Morning examiner. [volume] (Ogden, Utah) 1904-1910, 1910-06-05
WHEN BASEBALL
is WELL PLAYED
(By c. E. Van Loan.l

|
1t has been said that the Chicago
| Cubs are the legitimate Successors to
that lightning fast outfit from the
oyster town, and every once In a while
some Chicago gent will arise to prove
that Frank Chance and his hired men
have all tho "Inside ball" In the
world sewed up In sack. copy
righted. patented and copper riveted
forty ways from the home plate.
This is not entirely true. but it Is
true that the baseball Of today Is
miles and miles ahead OF the baseball
Of fifteen years ago. when the main
Idea was TO tear the trade mark off
| the ball and take chance that the
other fellow wouldn't be able to hit
quite so hard
| There Is no question about F Leroy
Chance being quito young strate-
glst. He Is all that. and then some
Maohiavelli on the side. He doesn't
sit down and walt for something to
happen, he knows what ought to hap
pen. and then he lays plans to meet
the happening a little more than half
way. Inside baseball as practced by
Frank Chance. John McGraw. Hughey
Jennings and the old fox. Clark Grif-
| filth. depends to a great degree on
| forcing the hitter TO do certain
thing and outguessIng the opposi.
| tlon
A team of second rate performers,
| working together as one man, un1er
the guidance of a baseball general
like Chance or McGraw OF Griffith,
Will worry any team in either league.
Foxy Clark Griffith opened up the
other day. and said a few very inter.
esting things about inside baseball
Somebody bad been trying to tell the
old boss that inside baseball was more
or less the bunk. Mot on your
Paris PANEL" said the manager Of the
Reds. But you've got to have some
regular pitchers before you can pull
off much Of the inside stuff"
With a pitcher In the box who isn't
exactly sure when he lets the ball
60 where it Is going to cross the
plate. if at all, 1t Isn't much use to
attempt the fielding shifts practiced
by the Cubs and Giants. With
pitcher who cal cut the plate at Will,
or keep the ball over either corner as
he chooses, the game becomes as soft
as a coDjurcr's trick when the con
jUrer forces the victim TO take the
card out Of the deck which was Sc
lccted for HIM from the beginning
Suppose now that the eminent Mr.
Brown is pitching The Cubs are sig
nailed that he is going to throw
fast one on the outside of the plate
The whole team swings over to meet
hit toward right field The action
is reversed for curve on the inside
The Cubs have about so per cent the
beet of 1t before tho batter swings
his club
But says MT Griffith. the fox.
there Isn't n thing doing when the
pitcher cannot control the ball The
minute he loses control, all your In
side stuff is knocked into a cooked
hat"
AS an evidence OF this. give a look
at the pitching record of Mordecai
Brown for this season. The star
twirler for the Cubs has not been eff
fective and even with the great In
side ball OF the Cubs behind him, he
has been trimmed nearly every time
he has stuck his nose into the box.
If Mordecai had been able to hold that
ball OF his and put 1t squarely where
he intended 10 throw It, he would have
gone away in his usual stride.
Pitching CONTROLS the secret OF the
defensive side of inside baseball
There is also offensive inside ball, as
well as defensive. and this makes runs
instead of cutting them Off
Every manager and team captain
has his own ideas about this sort of
play. Hal Chase believes that II is
q Icrb 10
plays once In a while. For instance,
1t has become an absolute rule In
baseball. with a man on first base
and none out. to sacrifice the runner
TO second base. The opposing players
lay for" a bout because they know
that the second man up Will try to
lay one down with an eye toward get
ting the man to second, even If IL
costs life to the hitter. Chase be-
lieyes that 1t Is a clever thing to mix
up the opposing team when confront
ed with situation Of this sort.
That Is why the Highlanders do not
always attempt to sacrifice q man
Every little while the second man up
VIII try TO slam n single through the
lnfleld. Other managers rofuse 10
allow their players to do this
They count the chance of the
double play and believe that 1t Is
good baseball TO advance the run
ner to second rather than take a
chance on getting two men out. Some
managers will not try the squeeze
play. The Highlanders revel in that
bit of baseball strategy and If the
hitter can dump the ball any old
place inside the lines. the stands rise
up and say Bully" "1mmense,"
BW If the hitter happens to miss
oil yoil What n rotten thing that
squeeze play Is!
When YOU come right down to cas-
es on the proposition. Inside base
ball is lovely when it works. and Mr.
c. Griffith. old he fox of the big
league. put his finger on the heart
of the whole thing when he said
with the MatheWsons and Browns
working. you can use signs and shifts
and signals galore. When your pitch
ers have perfect control of the ball.
YOU can plug up the grooves, but II
the twirler is wnsteady-good night"
I WEII GEVE G1nnm