The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-04-26
DETER BASEBALL WITH
SOx SERlESi TEAMS AND
GROUNDS IN FINER SHAPE
Even Moderate Downpour of
Rain Wouldn't Hurt Navin
Field Any
MEN BETTER CONDITIONED
Both Tigers and Sox Must Be
Nearer To the
Pink
mem BETTER CONDITIONED
by RALPH y. YoNKER.

BY RALPH L. YONKER.
Better baseball for Detroit fans dur
Ing the coming Tiger-whlte sox series
Is certainty. That is, II is as much
81 d certainty as II is that the games
will be played at all,
Better baseball is scheduled for two
reasons. The Tigers will be in bet
ter shape than they were when last
seen here. and the Sox will be able
Is that up better baseball than did the
Mas. That's the main reason.
The supplementary reason is that
the I3rounds will be in great deal
& beftbr shape during the coming series
fhab they were for the Nap games.
The diamond at Navin field is great
rirli now. Every day since the I'll
xerd left. work has been done on II.
All The light sand that was put in the
skin part especially for the two open
ing Ngames with the Maps. has been
ren,bved and a sturdier soil put in its
8 place
The little gasoline mower and roller
hast been played up and down and
back and around that diamond and
the outfield ever since the Tigers de-
parted. The only times when the
madhinery has been silent has been
when some OF the stay-at-home Tigers
hayt been working out.
Mt even moderate downpour or
rail- would put the field to the bad
for this series. With the continued
GOOD weather up to Thursday. the in
fleid was dusty then. So that 1t might
Il ~. ~ mi
Thoroughly before being rolled. Some
rain wouldn't do it any harm at all;
Ia fact, IL would save sprinkling bills,
provided It came in the right amount
md at the right time.
fttis practically sure that the
gfomds will be in good shape; yes
lerdhy's game makes things look as
TX The Tigers themselves will be in an
ngroeable swatting and fielding mood.
. When the rain cut that game short
I'm the sixth inning at st. Louis yes
terday, the Tigers seemed 10 be real
Tigers. Ii looked after that game
That II they finished the series today
With the Browns at the same gait,
they had really begun to strike their
stride. II was rather a rash thing TO
take chance on predicting, but II
surely did look much that way.
And at that, 1t wasn't such terribly
joyful news that the Tigers had won.
II didn't iron out the gloom from
many undertakers' faces. Ii didn't
soothe the hearts of many rabid fans.
They remembered last years expert
ence and confided to each other that
they didn't care much IL the Tigers
were going bad now as long as ii was
due to lack OF condition and not lack
OF ability that they lost games.
Al percentage of a thousand at bat
Tor Delahanty and some great fielding,
a hit by Crawford and another by
Sfanage, and errorless ball all around
looks better than the work of thc>s
men have done in the past. Mullin
was better yesterday than week
ago, too. Cobb's homer looked natural
as we'll.
One OF the comforting parts OF the
cortest at st. Louis, (besides the fact
that Jup Pluve stopped 1t late enough
80 that il could be counted as game
8 with the Tigers in the lead), was that
III was SO great a southpaw as Earl
Hamilton, whom the Tigers got 10.
The southpaw Tiger ink that SO much
Is said about, doesn't work all the
time, at least.
The Sox (glancing at the percent
are column under How the Big
I.eaguers are Runinng'O, We find, are
not running so poorly. Three straight
from Messrs. Maps makes them look
as II they are going pretty well.
The lineup Jimmy Callahan has
been using, includes four new men.
Rath, second base and lead of; Col
lins, who is playing for Matty Nc
Intyre until the former Tiger is ready
TO get going: Weaver at shortstop and
IN he-battery-mother posi-
ton In the hitting routine. and Jimmy
Block, catcher pro TEN. until Billy
Sullivan RECEIVERS from illness-these
are. the. new corners.
Rath is the man who was such a
ccnsation with Baltimore last year.
The Tiger management got wind of
e him and Immediately began looking
him up. While he was playing a
series at Buffalo, Tiger scouting eyes
took some peeps at him and decided
that he was not fast enough. Rath
used TO be with Cleveland. He played
third base after Bill Bradley left At
fIrat he looked good--then slumped.
f1c was sent to the Orioles where
chicago got him.
Buck Weaver Is of interest TO fans
here. too. II used to play alongside
Oscar Witt, our latest Frisco find
Buck was first sighted by the Maps
down in Pennsylvania. playing indie
n>ndent ball He was picked up by
(,lcveland. and ordered 10 go to Sag
NAV. but he never reported there
+ .nter he turned up in the Tri-Statt
I>akue. where Comiskey got ahold Of
him. sending him TO the coast for ex
u<riencc. -