The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-02-16
The Major League Races
IlI.-The Philadelphia Athletics.
By HUGH 6. FULLERTON.
By HUGH 6. FULLERTON.

Here we have stumbled over the
probable American league pennant
winner right at the start. Usually it
is customary to hold back the %pennant
winners to the last, but having an
nounced the Athletics for this week
there is no way out of it. Reserve
your rooms for the next worlds series
right now for the Philadelphia end
of it.
In deciding that the Athletics viii
come back and repeat their ormer
successes, | am not in the slightest
d~iscounting the advantage the Boston
Red Sox will have in winning last sea-
son. This advantage consists in con-
idence and in the Improvement that
the pitching staff is bound to show
during the early part of the season at
least.
But admitting that Joe Wood Will be
as good as he was last year, that
Collins will improve, and that Hugh
Bedient is likely to develop into a star
OF the first dimension, still a stern
comparison of the two teams Will COM
pei any one to admit that barring a
run of luck, bad one way and good the
other. Boston has only a slight chance
of beating out the Athletics for the
championship.
T have compared the two cams so
carefully thai | do not think | ave
overlooked one possibility outside of
sheer and Unavoidable luck, n it is
an even break which way the luck will
turn. In fact, in this case l nave
figured that Philade,phia's chances of
injury are Z to s greater tina Boston's,
because the excessively speedy men
are more likely to be hurt than the
slow ones, while the chances OF the
luck favoring the faster team is s to 3
disregarding injuries.
One strictly analysing last seasons
race must admit that Boston's victory
was due more to luck than anything
else, and that | believe is the consen-
sus of opinion of the great majority OF
baseball experts. Boston went through
the season with scarcely a bad break
The Athletics were handicapped in the
beginning by injuries, and, more thah
that, by a surplus of over-confldence
and prosperity. They were too pros
porous, and it proved that some or the
players could not stand prosperity.
Men who had behaved themselves
and hustled for years weakened be-
cause they had too much money, ana
because too much praise was bestowed
upon them. The schedule, too was
against them in that they were at
their worst when they met the Boston
team. They had won the pennant
twice by beating Boston. and they
lost it during the early stages last
season because they weakened IN the
games against Boston. The truth is
thai the team as a whole never weak
ened. 1t was a better ball club at
practically every stage of the game
than Boston was, except as to battery
work. The pennant was lost by the
pitchers lacking form in the crucial
games and by a slump in the catch"
ing department. The outfield, too,
wabbled, and some of the men did not
behave themselves.
Before the end of the season Mack
had corrected practically every weak
ness in his club, had Strengthened up
his worst offending pitcher, and a
fired the others who We're weakening
the club. If he had started the sea-
son with the team that closed 1T he
would nave beaten Boston almost be-
You'd doubt.
Whether Mack's team is as good as
his teams that Won the pennant is a
| question. Personally, | think his IN