The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-12-07
Connie Mack Has
 Many New Boxmen.

w OrlQ CudmQlOLIS SWdD. the alkaIl of their classic maps in San Antonio some time during the coming January the baseball season, so far as this city is concerned, will start in on the year ly merry-g0-rOund again. Almost ev- cry critic imagines that the Mackmen are going to breeze through the pen- nant next year like a 100 to 1 shot comes romping home in a tout's dream But the going is triae rough at that when you look the oNer teams over. However, Connie Mack on.y has to do the Joe Cannon stunt and stand pat, and he will have some team at that. There Is just one thing that the thin Hogan has to do, and that is to develop a couple of twirlers and 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 pasting any waivers on him in command will be Jack Lapp. It is a cinch that Ben Egan, the new re- cruit from Baltimore, will be the third man in that department. Paddy Liv- ingston 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 liar
 
 who will don the wind pad for the Naplanders. That seems to be the program anyway, at the present writ ing.
 The infield is good for six or seven years, anyway, unless somebody throws a bomb into the club house and blows Baker, Barry, Collins and McInnes in- to small and scattered fragments. So is the outfield, although Connie will have to develop an extra fielder to help out in emergencies.
 Now it comes down to the matter of pitchers. It is known to the writer. that Mack's plan of Spring training in the hurling brigade. He said so himself and he ought to know. Ben der, Coombs and Morgan are certain to stay. Plank, too, is good for an- other 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 in- cfude Brown, Gipe, Bonner and Houck The first named is no stranger, as he sPfafl 4cbestm-berowag: joined the Mackmen during the dying days of the 1911 season, and showed that he had something. Brown is a spit-ban artist, and worked in the Wa Conn.,. Club. The boy was and when he hit the Mackmen he couldn't produce his best line of stuff, because the ginger had been squeezed from him. However, the Winters rest ought to put Brown Tn shape. It's a cinch that if he shows Manager Mack anything that looks ike big league stuff he'll be carried right along. Gfpe is a big greenhorn, who has been twerling for the Vernon Club, of the Pacific Coast League. He Is said to have oddles of stuff, but knows about as much about using 1t as a monkey knows about the fourth It will be up to the vet erans to teach this young idea how to shoot 'em across. Bonner, the Spo- kane recruit, is big southpaw, who Is said to have as much smoke as Waddell. Connie has had his eagle op- tic slung on this chap for couple of years. The lean leader decided to let him stick at Spokane during the past season in order to get 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 ones 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-hander and has the goods, quoth the scouts. Tn the lea que where Houck was playing the past year he came pretty near being the real Kohinoor, and Manager Mack ex- poets to polish him into a jewel this season with a little minor league em- cry perhaps. e,