Evening star., 1911-05-29
By J. ED aRu1o.

Though nearly every grounds In the two
major leagues has witnessed a slugg1ng
match this spring resulting from the use
of the new lively ball. the hitting here in
Washington has been about the same as 1t
was last season. and thereby hangs q
tale. It develops that the local club.
which used eighteen dozen less balls than
any other club in the league last year.
still has a large assortment Of last years
spheres on hand. and only in the last few
games that have been played here was
the new ball used. This undoubtedly ac-
counts for the lack Of long hits in the
games that have been played here.
President Johnson has issued an edict to
the effect that the ball will not be chang
ed. that It is satisfactory and all that. but
1t is clearly evident that the lively ball has
League. where the scores have again as
sumed normal proportions. The trouble
with the new ball appears to be that 1t
varies greatly. Some are lively and others
are not. This seems to have been proven
in New York recently. where number OF
the balls were cut open and the difference
in the amount Of rubber and cork noted.
To date the new ball has been RESPONSE
BILE for some Of the on-colored fielding
that has characterised many Of the
games in the American League. The
players are not yet able to accurately
Judge the new ball when It is hit hard.
Milan. for instance. one of the best field
ers in the league, has dropped no less
than seven or eight flies this spring., and
he blames 1t on his inability to perfectly
judge the lively ball when it leaves the
bat.
a team with weak pitching, regardless of
its offensive strength, does not stand much
Of q chance In pennant race, It would
be most remarkable II Detroit retained
It's lead in the present campaign. To date
Jennings twirlers have not shown the
form that one would expect from a team
which hopes to win the championship.
In nearly every game they have been
pounded. yet won because Of the wonder
full run-geting proclivities Of the team
behind them. But how long can this
state of affairs last. Eventually the other
pitchers will begin to hold the Tigers
down. and then, unless Jennings can pro-
dude pitchers to fool his opponents, there
place. 1t is true enough that the De-
froit team has great lead at the present
time, but it's a long route to October, and
its friends feel that without improved
pitching the team is going TO have hard
fine OF It before the wire Is reached.
McAleer believes that his team will i'm
prove it's position in the race. and he
bases this hope on tn0 TACT tnat ne ex-
meets his pitchers to do much better work
from this out than they have to date.
The locals need high class pitching. and.
harr.ns few exhibitions. they have not
had II this spring. But during the past week
most every pitcher who got q chance to
work showed to better advantage. and it
does look as IL the turning point had
come for them. With good pitching the
Nationals stand an excellent chance to
move up in the race. Though 1t had
a disastrous western trip. the team is by
no means out Of the running. and little
winning streak at this time may soon put
II up near the top OF the second divi-
own grounds, and this should give Il