The Alaska citizen. (Fairbanks, Alaska) 1910-1917, 1911-08-07
W. n. Nauchton.

NEW YORK June Il. - Ii sure
is merry fight for the gonfalon in
the National league this year. with
the giants. Cubs. phillies and Pr
rates i'm the lead While il is a fore
gone conclusion that one of these
teams will win out. the man who
can pick the leader among the quar-
let deserves a leather medal
The Giants were picked as sure
winners all over the country last
winter. but the Cubs new material
has shown up most promisingly and
80 have Fred Clarke's men. The
great squirt Of the Quakers al first
looked like just a fash in the pan.
but Charley Doom has injected lot
OF pepper into their veins and. II
the pitching sta1 can stand the bur
den. Philadelphia fans may not have
to leave their own town TO witness
the worlds championship series next
fall
As is only natural local fans are
predicting that the pennant will sure
ly come TO this city But ! am going
to tell you something about the Giants
without McGraw at the helm they
rudderless They play inside base
ball from start to finish take adj
vantage OF every bit of percentage
and are as spry as Futurity candl-
date, when he is on the bench or
coaching lines to guide them. But,
when he is absent, they are not the
same team by long shot.
This was clearly demonstrated in
the series OF fortnight ago between
the Giants and Cubs in Chicago
While New York broke even with
the Windy City aggregation, they
should have won all four of the
games. Chicago scTibes will probably
say differently. but il is the cold
fact just the same.
Pitchers were left in too long on
two occasions and when they were
plainly waving the flag OF distress.
and the Giants threw away at least
six runs in the TWO contests by poor
base running and slow thinking. Nc
Graw is one,half the strength of the
Giants - on the defense and oftense.
He has a hardhitting outfit and an
infleld and outfield that rank high
IN the defense. but with two or three
exceptions the players are purely me-
,hanical; their brains do not work
without McGraw to guide them.
There is no getting away from the
fact that McGraw is the greatest
manager that ever handled a ball
team He knows the game from A
TO and back again. He is always
taking advantage of an opponent S
weakness and il doesn't take him
long to find that spot, either. FOR
wears he has been leading an in
ferior team one that belonged IN
the second division - right up near
the top Of the pennant ladder
McGraW is a graduate OF the old
Baltimore team, the one that reVo-
lutionized batting from the hard ana
wild smuggling to scientific batting.
And he has instructed all of his
PLAYERS in the same art But, when
he isn't on the job. they forget all
their lessons and play the same
style that characterized the work oil
teams twenty years ago when all d
batter knew was to go to the piate
and pound the ball his hardest.
McGraw is reported TO be drawing
a salary OF Sl0,0oo year, having
signed a tve-year contract Tor mat
amount at the finish of the National
league race last fall. And he sure
" deserves it, He took up the man
aeerial reins of the New York club
in July, 1902, and. in eight seasons,
his team has never finished worse
than fourth and that only once.
Twice he won the flag, four times he
was second. once third ana once
fourth.
Lara 10 Iha Eian1s recOid under