The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-03-23

/ llCIS Ga IlAAS "SAS n y IA
last time, Frank Farrell, by a master
half New York Is cheering.
Two years ago the Cardinals seemed
to be. developing into a championship
team and now bad management and
a clash of the owners has wrecked the
team and made it an almost seventh
or eighth place club.
It seems strange that a whole on
tinent should center it's interest upon
a club that finished eighth last sea-
son, yet there is much speculation
this spring as to what Frank Chance,
the peerless leader Of the Cubs, will
do with the tail end club of the rival
league.
I believe Chance will land fifth, with
a chance to reach fourth and an out
side chance at third place. His team
should not, even with bad luck, fin
ish lower than sixth.
/ The truth is that last spring I fig
ured the Highlanders a sixth place
club, with a chance to reach fourth.
On paper the team figured sixth place
and within II points of fifth and %
points Of fourth. But because l knew
Wolverton I arbitrarily cut 4S points
off the total OF team strength and
rated the Highlanders seventh, only a
few points ahead of the Browns. They
did even worse than I expected.
On individual strength the High
landers rated sixth last year, and
Chances task does not appear so hard
49, T. ~-f-lA = ~ -o-Az-o~ A..
club to normal ever without improv-
ing it, he will show a face improve
ment to the public. In spite of the
winter of knocking I still believe
Chance to be one of the. greatest
handlers of men 1 ever knew and l am
calculatin that he will gat s per
cent more out OF his men than they
figure on ability.
Look Chances team over. He in
tends to return to first himself. not
So much to strengthen the position as
to he in touch with his pitchers.
Chances great strength for Chicago
was his ability to get work out Of
pitchers and to see when they were.
not going well when to tax them out.
and when to steady them. The High
lander pitching staff needs just such
coaching and direction.
Chase is to go to second. a rather
strange position for him, yet they say
ne is wild to play there and that he
is eating them alive. He is a great
ball player who for several years has
been dissatisfied when not on terms
Of actual conflict with other players.
Chase is devoted to Chance-they are
both Native Sons-and have been to-
gether on teams on the coast.
In studying the New York team one
thing will strike you, and that Is the
wonderfully even distribution OF the
hitting strength of the regulars.
There will be seven of them clouting
about the same gait, with two, pos
sibly three, in or close to the 800
class. The team is last in fielding,
or was last season, but no wonder,
since every man played two or three
positions and no n tried after the
first flash.
Chance certainly will put Hartzell
regularly on the infield. where he be-
longs and probably at third, although
they say that Priest and Midkiff both
are making a great bid for the place,
which would move Hartzell along to
short. There Is a swarm of candi-
dates trying for the infield, and Del
Paddock, secured from the Dubuque
last fall, is being touted as a conner.
reports indicating he is much i'm
proved.
It looks as if. Chance has material to
make up a cracking infield that can
hit n hnXvn tho nc 1a Sn
mental of course, but if Chase really
can play second it will present a for
midable front and give the High
landers four 800 hitters and a quartet
Of corking base
The outfield probably will be Cree,
linn and Lelivelt. Cree is still a
corking good ball player, who has been
discounted because he. hasn't been
spurred to work assshe is capable OF
working. Jack Lelivelt Is a ball
PLAYER, a hitter who is dangerous at
all times, and in the 800 class. He
was a good ball player with Wash
ington. but for two years was SO
crippled with rheumatism that he was
counted out of it mi chased back to
the minors. He got rid of the rheu-
matics and came Jack strong last fall.
Hoff, they say, is coming along strong.
Fol once Chance. starts without pref
udice again against youngsters, and I
think he'll give some of them a
chance He will keep Sterre.tt and
Stump probably and he has a call on
a bunch of others.
Sweeney will do the bulk of the
b~ackstopping. This big fellow is a
whole lot better catcher thar he. has
been rated in the last two years since
things commenced to go wrong with
the Hillstoppers, and l am figuring on
a good year for him. He has not
jibed well with the club nor has he
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