The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-11-04
II Hugh Wright.D

NtJN 1IuSIl NIl6llJ
TIVE National league are
sure Of their jobs next season. three.
If the appointment Of YER as the
leader Of tho Cubs goes. and the other
five arc cropping. seeking new leaders.
1t Is not improbable tina Chicago's
cubs, now wrecked almost beyond
recognition. will ron the wrcckage of
a gallant team furnish the National
league with the leaders needed. With
Evers at the head uf the Cubs. Chance
puss.il. lca9in, st. Louis. Tinker In
charge at Cincinnati. and Sheckard
managing BROOKLYN. it would make
one of the biggest clashes of old
friends ever staged and every day al
most would he a home coming at the
west side.
George: s.tailings. who always has
Succeeded in the minors and always
failed in the majors. returns 20 the
big show as the leader of the Eraves.
vice Killing, retired. this time perhaps
for good. Stallings raises Boston to a
respectable chance to improve. for. no
matter what may be said o him
as "A man, he undoubtedly Is II good
baseball general and Il fine judge of
players and form. McCiraw. of course.
remuirs with New York. n Evers
has signed with Chicago. Fred Clarke
will stay with Pittsburgh If Barney
Dreyfuss keeps his agreement not to
butt into the affairs of the club. The
other our are all at sea.
The valuable. experienced baseball
men of the minor leagues are grow
Ing wise and declining to accept jobs
rs managers of major league clubs un-
less given written assurance that the!
will be permitted to run the clubs.
The National league owners and heads
of clubs have carried this interference
with their managers to a point where
It has affected the playing OF the
teams to a marked degree. There is
nothing. not eve dissipation and lack
Of discipline. that wrecks a club SO
quickly as for the players to become
convinced that the manager Is only q
middleman and not armed with full
power. Given the chance to appeal
from the managers decision to the
owner and the club is as good as brok-
en- up.
In part, the decline Of Chicago's
Cubs was due to this. For a long
time Frank Chance had complete IN
troll Of the men. Murphy frequently
has laughed TO ME about this and told
how Chance chased him out of tho
clubhouse when he offered sugges-
tons. He approved it. then. But
when Chances health failed Murphy
OeSdH III lUlIuuc I1OTe anu IIlOTcs uOl
so much in actual playing matters.
hut in selection of players. Two years
ago Chance told me. under pledge Of
secrecy. that Murphy had refused to
get the men he wanted and had in
formed him that he had men good
enough to win with and to go win with
Them. Last spring Chance told me the
,ame thing. He complained that the
scouts had rot found a good player In
three years. and that the team was up
against 1t.
On top Of that Murphy lost George
HUFF. who practically built up his team
for him. Inc employed two
neither Of whom know whether Hal
Chase is a good first baseman or not.
after. watching him a week. Last
spring Chance. AGAINST his. better judy
ment. followed Murphy's suggestions
in placing men. Chance knew that
his third .baseman wouldn't do. He,
told me SO. Murphy wrote me at
length about that time. telling me
how good Lenox was. I wrote telling
him what I knew Of Lenox from the
inside Of tho Louisville club. I knew.
because mon who played with him for
n year told me the facts. Murphy
preferred his own Judgment to
Chances or to the information fur
n!shed him.
sometimes ] believe Murphy Is n
victim OF his own conceit. II Ia evil
lent he thinks he knows as much