Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-07-15


fire. With their pitching staff shot to
pieces, disparaging reports on the
character of individual members of
the team being circulated, and every
- manager in the International League
praying with fiendish fervor for the
Bengals to slump, the Tigers are still
- riding on the top as buoyantly as a
cork floating on the crest of wave.
The past fortnight has been a trying
one and a real test for the mettle
of the baseball machine Harry Smith
has constructed out of the material
handed to him by Charley Ebbets
and the performers Joe McGinnity
left.
The critics who aver that the New
ark pitching staff is the whole works
should glance over the box scores of
the games Newark has played since
July 4. Without the services of John
ny Enzmann, one of their best box
artists, and with one or two other
fingers displaying erratic and incon-
sistent form. the Smithies have held
their advantage nobly. They have
proven they possess the real cham
pionship punch by producing enough
runs to win in many games where
the pitching was not up to the STAN
dard.
It must be admitted that the Tigers
had an easy victim in Bill Taft, the
Oriole pitcher yesterday and they
would have rolled up a much larger
score if it had not been for Neal Ball.
Ball spoiled two hit-and-run plays,
and when the enemy is outguessing
the Tigers, it is difficult to pull the
inside stuff. The Bengals won, how
ever, because Harry Swacina came
through with the timely wallop in
the pinch. Harry made some mistakes
for which he was rebuked by the
bleacherites and the grandstandees
when he refused to wait out Bill
Taft. 1t looked like bad baseball. 1t
was bad baseball because the Tigers
were behind. Once with Swacina up
a sacrifice hit would have put Newark
in the way of two runs for they had
two on bases and none out. Swats
popped up. Had he sacrificed, none
are surer on the bunt than Swacina,
both men would have advanced and
Neal Ball could never have made two
stops he pulled on Collins and Eddie
Zimmerman, for the Oriole infield
would have been playing in Swacina,
however has his own ideas of hitting
He received fewer bases on balls than
any player in the league last year.
but 1t will also be noticed that Harry
made more hits. He does not believe
in waiting for "groover" all the
time, but gets many of his bingles off
balls that are wide of the plate and
out of range. Harry's logic is that
. cleanup man should wallop the
. Dill and his philosophy is, "a base
on balls does not drive in run"
-.
Mixing them up has been the secret
OF the Tigers successful attack. They
have not been getting away with as
many bunts or late as in the past,
but the old hit and run is working
as successfully as ever. Swacina
came up yesterday in the third in
ming with three on bases. Taft had
hit w. Zimmerman after passing
Dalton and Collins. Taft could not
get the ball near the plate, but
Swacina was too eager to hit and
fouled out. Collins was then hit by
q pitched ball, forcing in a run. Harry
made amends for his failures by
Singing a clean line bingle to right
field in the sixth inning. sending in
the tieing run and the winning
tally. Harry has won many games
for Newark both batting and fielding,
but had the Tigers been beaten yes
: terday II would be heard to convince
the fans that Swacina would not
have been to blame for the defeat.
/. As it turned out Harry won the
game.
&s
George Bell had his chance to show
the stuff he is made out of, and he
came through with flying colors. Only
two of the five runs made off him
r were earned. Errors were directly re-
sponsible for the other three TALES.
Early in the game everything broke
dead wrong for George. He was up
against it, but he never quits. Once
a relief pitcher was sent down to
e warm up. If there is anything more
discouraging to a pitcher it has not
yet been discovered. Some pitchers
{ would have let things take their
course and lobbed the ball over, but
George stuck to his guns and there
was general satisfaction among the
+ real fans, who knew what a strain
Bell was working under when New
ark came through with those four
runs. George was out to uphold his
reputation and he succeeded in ac-
complishing the difficult task i'm
posed upon him. He famed Neal Ball
!. twice with his squirming, tantalizing,
paralyzing curve ball, and they could
not touch him after the fourth in
ming. when three runs were regis
tered against him.
Some managers would have yanked
4. Bell at the very first opportunity to
put in a pinch hitter, but Harry
Smith allowed Bell to stick and
George showed his gratitude and APP
probation by pitching better ball
in every inning.
Baltimore got one run in the first
inning on Capron's fiuKe hit. Gag
nier's tumble on Balls grounder. a
passed ball and a fielders choice.
Newark evened it up in the second
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