The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-11-24

comes from the versatile pen Of We
scribe. Gordon Mackay, baseball ex-
pert Of the Philadelphia Evening
Times:
When the worlds champions swab
the alkali off their classic maps in
San Antonio some time during the
coming January the baseball season,
SO far al this city Is concerned. will
start in on the yearly merry-go-round
again.
Almost every critic imagines that
the Mackmen r going to breeze
through the pennant next year like a
100 to l shot comes romping home in
a tout's dream. But the going is a
trifle rough at that when you look the
other teams over
However, Connie Mack only has to
do the Joe Cannon stunt and stand
pat. and he will have some team at
There Is just one thing that the
thin Hogan has to do, and h a Is to
develop a couple of twirlers and hook
on a good o%utfielder. and he has all
the material that he needs for the
coming campaign.
Take the catching corps. Some
corps. Ira Thomas, the wise old owl,
who Is good for several seasons yet,
Without FASTING any waivers on him.
will be the dean Of the staff. Second
In command will. be Jack Lapp. It
Is a cinch that Ben Egan. the new
recruit from Baltimore, will be the
third man in that department.
Paddy Livingston looks like the chap
who will have to bow to the inevitable
and pack his trunk and dust away. He
will probably go to Cleveland to help
Harry Davis. coaching the young men
who will don the wind pad for the
Naplanders. That seems to be the pro-
gram, anyway, at the present writing.
Infleld Good for Years.
The infield is going for six or sever
years. anyway. unless somebody
throws a bomb into the club house
McInnis into small and scattered frag-
ments. So is the outf1eld. although
Connie will nave to develop an extra
fielder to help out in emergencies.
Now 1t comes down to the matter Of
pitchers. 1t is known to the writer
that Mack's plan of spring training
this year will be to develop new men
In the hurting brigade. He said so
himself and he ought to know. Ben
ties. Plank. too, is good for another
year. for Eddie plans to retire at the
end of the coming season.
The rookie pitchers whom Connie
will take to the Lone Star trail include
Brown, Gipe, Bonner and Houck. The
first named is no stranger. as he Joined
the Mackmen during the dying days
of the 1911 season. and showed that he
had something. Brown is a spitball
artist. and worked in the Waterbury,
Conn.,, club for several years.
Brown OycrWorked. a.
The boy was overworked. and when
he hit the Mackn1en, he couldn't pro.
duce his best line Of stuff. because the
ginger had been squeezed from him.
However, the winters rest ought to
put Brown in shape It's a cinch that
that looks like big league stuff. he'll
be carried right along.
Gipe is,a big greenhorn, who has
heen twirling for the Vernon club
Of the Pacific coast league. He is said
to have coolies of stuff. but knows as
much about using it as a monkey
knows about the fourth dimension.
It will be up to the veterans to teach
this young idea how to shoot EN-
across.
Bonner a Bird.
Bonner. the Spokane recruit, is a
big southpaw. who is said to have as
much smoke as RUDE Waddell. Con.
ME has had his eagle optic slung on
this chap for a couple Of years. The
lear leader decided to let him stick
at Spokane during the past season in
d to get a little more experience.
Bonner is only 20 years old now, and
has a hook and steam that marks him
as a find like Vean Gregg, so the
wise mes utter.
Houck. a big college twirler, is the
other chap who is in the recruit class
that is expected to show something.
He is a right handler and has the
goods. quoth the scouts. In the league
where Houck was playing the past
year he came pretty near being the
roal kohinoor: and Manager Mack ex-
poets to polish him into a Jewel this
season with a little minor league
emery perhaDs.