Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-16
ATHLETICS MAY SURPRISE
EXPERTS WHO PICK CUBS
History of Worlds Series Shows That Best
Team Usually Wins Chicago Team
Believed to Be on Down Grade.

I heady backstop. Lapp is the best catcher
of foul flies among the catchers of the
present day. and, like Thomas. is also
good sticker, each probably having lit
tie on the Cubs pair in this respect,
while Livingston is man who is more
likely to start something with long
hit at an unexpected moment than get
a big batting average. None of them.
though. is likely to pull any tricks like
Killing is apt to do at any stage. Even
the Athletics partisans grant that the
uation, although throughout the major
league circuits Lapp is not counted upon
as heavily as he is in this city.
In pitching the Athletics more than OFF,
/ set the advantage which the Cubs have
in baCkstops If the admirers of Chances
team will compare the easy manner in
which Brown. Reulbach and Overall roll
ed up victories in previous seasons with
| their showing this season / think they
will concede that this trio not one, but
all. have struck the down grade. Not
one of them is the star that he was
| three years ago, and it is doubtful If
| class condition for the big series. Cole,
splendid as his record has been this sea-
| son. IS an uncertain quantity. He may
| prove to be another Babe" Adams, but
he is more likely not to do so.
| In any case Brown, Reulbach and Over
all would have to be at their best to
stand an equal chance with at least two
of Mack's pitchers. Coombs and Bender
III
! possible exception of Walsh, have ever
| done better work than the Iron Man"
/ from Maine and the Indian twirler. and
the chances are that both will be right
! on edge for the clashes with the Cubs.
| To pit against Chances team Manager
Mack has a pair of right-hand wonders
in CoombS and Bender, two "sOuthpaws
i in Plank and Krause. and two "spitters"
/ in Morgan and Dygert. COombS and
! Bender are the best and the steadiest OF
all. and both are hard hitters, something
| that Chances pitchers are not. Plank
| can no longer stand for extra toll. One
game in the series may be his limit, but
that game is likely to be a brilliant one
| Krause and Dygert are both uncertain.
Both started to Join the Society OF come
Backs but both slipped up after giving
| their admirers cause for rejoicing. Nor
gan has several times this season come
near pitching no-hit games. and he has
| a splitter which it is almost impossible
| to hit safely His weakness is proneness
to become wild at a critical moment. Dy-
CERT and Morgan are both weak when IL
comes to hitting.
| II is almost a certainty that Manager
Mack will have CoOmbs. Bender, Plank
and Morgan right on edge for the games
with the Cubs. while the physical cono1,
! ton of Chances stars at the crlticai
stage is a matter of uncertainty Ger
! tainly, looking ahead, the prospects or
! the Athletics from the twirling standpoint
! could not be better.
| At first base each team has leader
/ and a past master in the art. Each IS
a skillful but not snowy fielder and each
! has directed his team too often to become
! fustered in critical series. In nitting
Davis has gone back. but he is still OF
! the smuggling type, while he combines with
| ability to drive the ball for extra bases
| an amount of shrewdnesS In tapping the
ball over the infield which makes MIN
decidedly dangerous as foxy STICK
smith. Chance, on the other hand, Is
| hot Si CT Davis.
| whose batting average is just as likely to
be low one as it is to be high. On the
bases Davis is the more crafty. So Tar
as first base is concerned this position Is
standon.
| At second base each team has q brill
liant player. Collins is the better hitter
! and the better base runner. while 1t Is
| standoff in fielding ability between them.
unheard-of plays, but when did unheard-
| of plays ever come up In worlds series?
Collins has the preference at this point
At third base, too. the Athletics have
Baker and Steinfeldt, are typical of the
growth or decay of the two teams, the
one coming and the other going. In
| fielding, batting and speed on the bases
| Baker has the call over Steinfeldt. al
though the latter may be the man of the
hour when 1t comes to breaking up
games with hard drives.
The more experienced Tinker is bet
| ter man at shortstop than Barry. Tinker
covers more ground. especially on ground
| ers back of second base, and he also
| operates more quickly as the middle man
In double plays than Barry. although the
| latter is a wonder when 1t comes to
landing fly balls hit over the infield
| batsman than Barry, judging by the
| past records of the men.
| Chicago's outfielders, Schultz, Holman
A Sleckard. II 10
| standard as Murphy, Oldring and Lord,
| considering them strictly on their merits
as fielders and batsmen. Schultz and
| Murphy are lOng-distance hitters both
| are nearly absolutely certain on fly balls
and each has a fine throwing arm. The
center fielders. Holman and Oldring, are
| the feetest runners of each trio. each
| sizing up to the mark as star both in
| the field and at the bat. Sheckard may
| outshine Lord as batsman. but not as
a fielder for the latter lis one of the best
| ground coverers in either league, while
| his ability as q thrower places him Sec
/ ond to no one, either in the speed or the
| accuracy of his throws.
| When X comes down to speed on the
| bases, though. the Chicago trio are swift
err than their Philadelphia rivals Hof-
man and Shuttle are greyhOunds COM
pared with Murphy and Lord, while
Sheckard also is fast. Mack has only
one regular outflelder who compares with
| the Cubs trio in this respect, and this
Is Oldring. but
| Don't be surprised If Connie Mack
springs surprise. which is an odd way
of saying that we Philadelphians are
looking for the White Elephants leader
| to turn a trick which will upset q lot of
| dope" There are rumors here that
| Manager Mack may make a shift in left
! field and put Amos Strunk there. If he
| does the Cubs outfield will have nothing
on the Athletics in the matter Of speed.
| No faster man on his feet was ever seen
| in base ball than Strunk. He fairly
amazed the fans in the few games he
! played last spring before he injured his
| knee. Since then he has been laid I'D
| for repairs, and he has been nursed along
/ with an idea that he might be used in
| the. big games. He batted like fiend
| last spring. although IL Is not to be eX-
1 pected for a moment that he could have
| kept up his record-beyond the 400 mark
/ He has been we'll drilled in Mack's meth
| DDS, and he looks to be ready to step
| right in the game withou, in the slight
| est Earring the machinery.
| While the Athletics have stolen more
| bases this season than the Cubs this
| has been due largely to the Individual
| work OF cns man, Collins, who leads the
| American League in this respect. Taken
| collectively, the Cubs are the more dam
gerous on the base paths. Where they
| are daring and not afraid TO take a
| chance. the White Elephants are cautious
| The Cubs are more apt to stretch their
| hits than their opponents, and, with the
| exception of Collins and Oldring Mack's
players are usually content to move I'D a
| base, whereas the Cubs will try for two