Norwich bulletin., 1911-02-22
TEAMS ALREADY PICKED
 TO WIN PENNAlaT. Lies Between Philadelphia and High ianders in American, and Giants, Cubs and Pirates in sN ationai League

Remnants are not won in the Winter time or while the clubs are going through the conditioning process in the south in the spring months. Nevertheless, at this lime the fans of several cities ara practically assert Ing that their major league represent allVes are likely to land the champion snip honors. There Is a spirit of con ndence among the enthusiasts of Greater New York that both their teams the Highland and Lowland comaInations-will be right up at the top when all the returns are in. In Cnlcago supporters of the Chesty Cubs think they will be able to come back ana annex their fifth championship in SIX years, while in Detroit the bugs nave the hunch that Tyrus Raymond CoDb and his associates will bring to that city another flag
 The inhabitants of the keystone state count on two of their teams ffn- ienlllg on the top rungs of the cham plonship ladders, Philadelphia being positive that there is no combination in the country the equal of the White Elephants, and the Pittsburgers feeling certain that the Pirates will do what Jim Jeffries was unable to do-that is, come back.
 The highly paid experts who are members of the Baseball Writers as-l
 sociation of America. and who devote
 most of their time to thinking about pennant races of the future and of the past. agree that in the National league the fight for the gonfalon will be a . three-cOrnered one, and that in the American league the scrap for the hon. ors will be between two clubs. The teams that the majority of the scrfbes fancy are the Giants, Cubs and Pirates in the National and the White Elephants and Highlanders in the American. The baseball writers. like the managers, are making no rash pre- dictions and have thus far agreed on only the teams that are to be cellar champions
 There isn't a dissenting opinion among the scribes that the teams which will finish at the wrong end will be the Boston Doves and the St. Louis Browns.
 The Giants at present are the favor ites for the National league banner. for the team came strongly at the fin ish of the 1910 campaign and played an article of ball that was practically unbeatable. Should anything happen to MathewSon. however. the experts who are now picking the New Yorks to finish at the top would immediately select fourth place as the teams prob able position in the race at the wind up.
 The reason the Giants are picked as
  are these:
 The club has a great manager in John McGraw, who always insists that he be the sole boss of athletics, and invariably sees to it that the players are satisfied with their salaries. The club has one of the greatest pitchers in the country in Mathew son, one of the fastest and craftiest base runners in Devore, one of the best hit ting backstops in Myers one of the best fighting type of ball tossers in Captain Doyle and whole raft of good seasoned material and lots of promis- ing youngsters.
 The Giants undoubtedly can hit. and if their pitchers do what is expected of them and get better support than they got last year it will be a hard matter for the Cubs and the Pirates to keep up to the whirlwind pace that will be set by McGraw's men.
 The Cubs cannot be tagged as Hhas 1 beens" simply because in the world s series last fall they fell before Crafty 1 ter behaved White Elephants. The P. Us charges ought always to be feared and often have shown remarkable re- cuperative abilities.
 The Teddy Bears, thinking more about cuff buttons than Sox (of the | in the worlds series Of 1908. They came back next year and set g, record in vie 1 tories for the National league. Appar- ently down and out in September. 1908 1 the Chicagoane. nevertheless, fought l on and through blunder had chance
 off the tie game of Sept. 23. On hos
 tile territory. surrounded by few
 !, friends. they won the game that gave them another championship.
 l In 1909 without King, the Cook
 county athletes finished second in the National league pennant pursuit and
 with Fifteen Ball Johnny" last sea
 son they won the championship.
 1 AS in 1906, the Peerless Leaders em- ployes won the tishest honors of ths
 ba asebalI world before the series wa.
 played, the conseduence being tha1
 1 they got a trimming that removed
 much of t1rair .cflestiness and pro'asblS
 1 will do them a world of eeod. Ware
 of the Cubs, They four flushed alons
 last season with 8 set of pitchers wht
 did not do nearly as goed work as 1T
 1 former years. but after July-4 the team
 twas able to take things easily.
 1 The Pirates have a eeed chance O
 being right in the thick of the scrar
 for the pennant. last season Hpnu.
 1 Wagner and Jccl<o Miller did not play
 ID to their 1909 form, and Howard
 Can77itz wasn't at ftnose1f
 1 Fred Clarke is an able leader. wag
 ner and Miller are In active training tt