The Washington herald., 1912-07-14
BY cHRIsrY MATHEwsoN.


| history making week in the National
League. with the eyes Of all followers
OF the race focused on the series be-
| tween the Giants and the Cubs.
The old wound was opened when
Johnny Evers slid into Herzog at third
base In the second game of the series
| with all his spikes showing In what
| looked like deliberate attempt to cut
the Giants third baseman down. Herzog
Is not the sort OF player who is easily
| r.led or who welcomes trouble, but he
was so sure that Evers had endeavored
to spike him purposely that he leaped
on the PROSTATE Johnny and started TO
choke him, before Tom Needham. who
| was coaching at third, Bush, the umpire.
| and could drag him Of Herzog de-
| clared later that the attempt was de-
lberate, as there was no necessity for
| Johnny sliding. He was caught by ten
feet Most Of the boys laughed the in
| c:dent away and attributed II to one of
Evers' 'brainstorms." John appears to
set very excited when in a close game,
| and he does things that he is sorry for
| later. / believe that he was heartily
renitent over the occurrence.
A Tough Series.
II was a tough series, and Chicago got
the better of II, although 1t will not have
any influence on the ultimate result In
the pennant race. Mushroom prophets
in Chicago herded us out of the city.
claiming the nag. and stating that the
New York club was all in. They cried
that Ma-quard was done and that he
would never be a winning pitcher again.
The absurdity OF these statements Is
evident when II is taken into considera-
ton that "'Rube" won nineteen games
this season without losing one. When
r.. aofo ,t,.s
rose up and cried that he was all in
While they ruined his record in Chicago,
the defeat is undoubtedly a good thing
for Marquard. As he piled up victory
after victory into a record, the strain
told on him with each contest. until the
nerve-wesring ordeal was taking weight
on the lucky twirler. and slowly driving
him stale 1t was the psychology of the
record making that finally beat him-not
the Cubs. Now he is as refreshed as the
baking ground on a hot day after a show
er. The fine lines that were beginning TO
appear IN his face. as the result OF the
strain. are fading away He looks heav-
Ter even in this short time. I expect TO
see him settle down from now on and
pitch the same brand of unbeatable bali
which he has handed out all season.
The Chicago series was no surprise TO
the Giants. II has not discouraged the
there, that the Cubs were travelling at
the top Of their speed. while our pitchers
were weak, and we played of the
games and a part OF the third without
Larry Doyle. one OF the heaviest and
most timely hitters on the club The fea-
ture of the series that hurt the New
York club most was the tearing apart
of our team through injuries The maim-
ing of Fletcher will not break up the
Giants infield- Shafer ought to fill the
gap satisfactorily until Fletcher is again
ready to take his old place. That is the
great value Of the team McGraw has
assembled. When one man is hurt. he
has a man almost exactly as good to
take his place.
Injuries No Handicap.
The injuries to Wilson and Groh will
not handicap the club badly unless the
regular men in those positions are laid
up in the meantime. Meyers and Doyle
are both fit to work now. I do not think
that any OF the injuries to the New
York players was inflicted Intentionally,
as the spiking of Groh at second base
was something that is likely to befall
any player. Groh was spiked in the
hand as Zimmerman, the Chicago third
baseman, slid for the bag, and ii was the
fault Of neither one. but just one of the |
breaks in the game. |
Chance has a great team in the Cubs |
now, and his pitching stan is especially |
to be admired. Lavender is one OF the I
most promising youngsters that / have !
seen break into the big league IN long |
time The beauty OF his work is that ii |
gets better as the situation becomes |
tighter, and he does not fade away in a |
pinch. He has lot of speed, a nice |
curve ball, and a bad splitter that he |
mixes in judiciously. He also uses his |
head. Richie seems to be as good as he /
ever was, against the Giants at any rate. |
The present arrangement of his team, |
with Leach in center field, gives Chance
a dangerous and hard-hitting infield and |
out 1t is a well-balanced. strong club,
but is handicapped in the race for the
pennant by a lead that l don't believe |
can possibly be overcome.
OF course, as / have intimated before, |
nothing is impossible in baseball, and a
protracted slump by the Giants might
result in our club dropping back within
reaching distance of the Cubs. 1t is now
only the 18th of July, with two months
and a half to play. The Chicago team
is the strongest contender in the race
next to the Giants. and one that would \
be feared by a team with less COM 1
lead. It will fatten up on the
other easy Eastern clubs now while we
are fighting the rest Of the hard hitting
Westerners. and Will gain on US con-
on this trip. Then the West
erners come East for a swing ehrough |
our part of the circuit. when the Cubs I
will again encounter the simple Eastern
diet which is so easy to digest and very
St. Louis is playing good
ball right now. and that club always
gives the Giants a stif battle, while
Pittsburg and Cincinnati are teams hard |
to down. Chicago will gain enough on
the Giants-at least that is my predic-
tion-within the next month to make the
race interesting. and the followers Of
the New York club who are grumbling
because they say that the interest has
evaporated from the penrant pursuit
will awaken to the fact that there is
still something besides the contention for
second place.
Third Place for Pirates.
Pittsburg has developed an erratic
streak lately, which is likely to conhne
it to third place in the running. That is
q peculiar team to explain. When pitted
gainst first-class club, like the Cubs
or the Giants. the Pirates play their
heads of to beat them, and usually do
as often as not But when some easy
victim arrives, such as the Philadelphia
team. for instance, the Pirates cave We
have had no difficulty with the Phillies
all season. but they gave Clarke and his
crowd a battle in the last series. Such
IS the unexplainable uncertainty Of base
ball, and on this element Of uncertainty
I base my opinion that the race Is by
no means over yet.