Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-09-24
GIANTS HAVE A
BETTER CHANCE
THAN MACKMEN
"Rube" Marquard Favors His
Team to Beat Athletics in
Worlds Series.
By "Rube" Marouard.

ONbC Nal Y udIu.
champion SouthpaU of the Major
League and Holder of the Worlds
Record for Consecutive Victories al
Nineteen StrGi0ht.)
LOOK for the greatest worlds Sc
ries Of history this fall. It's all
most a dead certainty that the
Giants and the Athletics will figure
as principals. I could not conceive
two better matched contenders. I
am confident that my team will win.
We are about due, 1 think. We
certainly are due for one triumph
out Of three starts. Anybody VINO
saw US in action against the Athletics
in 1911 and against the Red Sox in
1913, must admit that the luck broke
against US.
With any OF the favors Of fortune
we would have won both those Sc
ries. Home Run" Frank Baker took
the wind out OF our sails in 1911. Two
pinch" home runs decided the issue
against US The Trappe slugger
nieked me for one and Matty for the
other. Followers of baseball will
realize the huky nature OF such wal
Tops, AMI that Is not said in a spirit
TO detract in the least from the class
OF Connie Mack's aggregation.
We were not outplayed last fall
by the Red Sox. Everything broke
Just right for Jake Stahls Speed
Boys. Do you recollect that five out
Of the eight games were billed al
Fenway Park in the Hub? Despite
that. after the count was three to
one against us. we carried such a
plucRy fight that we should have wor
out in the eighth game had some Of
our players thought less OF the swaR
and more OF the pastime when we
had the argument bagsed.
Luck Against Matty.
Christy Mathewson never pitched
more sensational ball in all his life
than he showed the Hub last October.
Three winning games were all booted
away. I didn't have near the stuff
that the old veteran showed, but /
got away without extending myself.
Somehow the boys stood up well be-
hind me. They slugged the Boston
pitchers and clinched the battle be-
fore they had been fairly started
assuming ludl the ALUleIlCS anQ
Giants meet again in a couple of
weeks for the highest honors in base
ball l wish to state right here that
We will have q much better chance Of
winning than we had two years ago.
That goes for me. even IL Connie
Mack could boast the same strength
now as then. He was lucky to trim
Ia IN 1911.
Every contest was a battle from
start to finish. save the last one We
cracked wide open then. I think be-
cause the Athletics-which was that
year a numbering bunch Of swatters
enjoyed one of those rare days on
which all pitching looked easy to
them. Nobody could have held them
in check once they got started.
intimated above that the Athletics
had some luck to beat us. Eliminat-
ing Bakers home runs. we would
have taken their measure a great
deal easier than Boston stopped US
last fall. Though we won only two
out Of six games we gave a much
better account of ourselves than we
did against the Boston boys
We should be able to play much
better this fall than we played last
for, believe me, We were so terribly
off form that we would not have
finished in the first division had we
shown no better speed all year.
George Burns has added great
strength to our outfield. What applies
TO Strunk in worlds series experience
goes also for Burns. But Murray and
Snodgrass are both seasoned men who
have had the benefit of two former
trials. Snodgrass had a lot OF tough
luck last year. Murray was the SEN
sation Of the 1912 classic after falling
down badly against the Athletics.
MeGraw's Batteries Best.
I think our greatest strength lies
in the batteries at McGraw's com
mand. In this department we over
shadow Connie Mack. We outrank
him both IN force of numbers and in
quality. Chief Meyers and Larry Nc
Lean form catching team that for
all-round merit will at least match
the very best pair Of backstops that
Mack can start. I mean in handling
pitchers, throwing, holding up run
ners and hitting. our pitchers lay 1t
all over those of the Athletics.
We have four experienced tossers
to two for Connie Mack. Mathewson,
Tesreau. F'romme and myself will all
be in shape when the big blow-ofi
arrives. | eliminate Demaree-one Of
the very best pitchers that ever
rasped a baseball-from these calcu-
lationk. | stand ready to stack him
up against Shawkey, Bush or Brown
any day.
Demaree is one of the wisest and
coolest boxmen l ever saw. He may
cut a big figure in the post-season
games I give the veterans prefer
ence simply because it is the custom
fnr managers TO hank on tried men in
such important engagements.
Bender and Plank have been away
off form throughout the past two
months Mack has mad to work them
to death cljnchins the lvnnant. In
1911 they had the pennant cinched
weeks before the end Of the season
and were able TO rest up.
Granting that Bender and Plank
should he as effective now as in the
fall Of I'm I still would contend that
we had an edge on the Athletics for