Rock Island Argus., 1914-09-30
BOSTON CINCHES
NATIONAL TITLE
Braves Take Fourth Straight
From Cubs, While Pirates
Wallop Giants.
COMPLETES A GREAT RACE
Boston Came From Bottom to Top in
Brief Period-Seantown Fans
Now Eye Worlds Title.


Braves for nearly three months offers
an easy explanation of the victory OF
Stallings' tribesmen in the National
| league race. From July 3, when they
really started their wonderful squirt,
until yesterday, when they clinched
| the National pennant, the Braves won
| 62 games and lost only 16. During
that time they travelled at a percent
age speed of .795. In marked contrast
was the discouraging start made by
the pennant winners. On May 16 Bos-
| ton had won only three of 10 games.
/ They made it four victories on May
! Is, which gave them a percentage
standing of 200.
After one of the most sensational
races, the Boston Braves are in undis
puted possession of the National
league pennant. BY iolting the sliding
Cubs yesterday in the fourth and last
game of the series the bunting went to
the Hub, and the Braves can afford the
] luxury of losing every game remaining
on the schedule and still be assured of
the flag The Giants conveniently lost
to the Pirates yesterday, which made
the verdict unanimous.
| With the National and American
| league races over. there are still a
couple of items remaining on the sea
sons bill of fare which interests the
| baseball fans of both camps. Having
waded through the National league
teams, the Braves are still without an
introduction to the Athletics, who were
fortunes favorites in the American
| league. All that now remains for the
warning Braves is TO dispose of such
gentlemen as Collins. McInnis, Strunk,
Oldring. Murphy, Schang and a few
more. After that is done it is in or
der to count up the profits of the
worlds series.
Up to Three Men.
Enumerating individual performers
of the two pennant winners gets the
chronicler dangerously near to the
dope" line, and this involves a more
or less uncertain guess as to the win
ner in this same worlds series, which
as usual threatens to cause some COM
motion in the country at large For
the first time in a post series the
dope" centers in three men-Rudolph,
Tyler and James.
In past series it has usually been the
question whether a Mathewson could
pull the Giants through or whether a
Mordecai Brown could down the heavy
stickers from Detroit In this case it
is whether that Boston trinity can cir
cumvent the concerted attack of a
bunch of players who have grown gray
in counting the winners share in past
battles. Can Rudolph. Tyler and
James keep the Athletic sluggers at
bay long enough 10 permit their team
mates to push a few runs across the
plate or will the long predicted ''crack-
ing" take place in the coming series?
Boston thinks it can be done, but not
so with the rest of the country.
Such a close student of baseball as
Frank Chance, maker of pennant win
ners, asserted his belief yesterday that
that the Braves have a slim chance in
the coming battles. Hank O'Day, man
ager of the Cubs, beaten four times in
row at Boston. is quoted as saying
that he did not believe the Braves
could win a game against the Athlet-
les. There are other good judges of
the game who are of the same opinion
as Chance and O'Day.
A few of the critics pick the Braves,
not because they have as good or a
better team than the winners in the
American league, but these simply
base their hopes on the phenomenal
race put up by the National league
winners. They figure that 2 team
which can wade through the National
cohorts as it did deserves we'll of the
"dopsters."
But here is where figures will not
agree. A base hit in the National does
not necessarily mean the same thing
in the American. The fact that Bos-
toms three great pitchers moved down
the opposition in their own league
gives no assurance that they win meet
the same kind in the American; and
the Athletics did not win by any fiuke.
The Mackmen are the strongest in
their league, and in the main they
have won the flag with tire stick; and
take it from close observers, they have
some" pitchers in the junior circuit.
Maekmen Should Win.
All things being equal the Athletics
figure as winners They are supposed |
TO be weak in pitchers, but the records
do not alarmingly make this fact ap-
parent Counting out such war horses !
as Bender and Plank. Connie Mack |
can draw on Bressler, Shawkey, Bush |
and Wyckoff, no mean quartet. Stall !
ings has Davis. Crutcher, Strand and I,
Cottrell in reserve, but no one has fg- /
ured on these. The burden of beating |
the Athletics has been placed on the !
three men who carried the Braves ,
from the cellar to the top, and should |
this trio carry the day there will be
enough noise in Boston to shake the !
sacred Goldfish off its perch.
Pirates Route Giants.
New York. Sept. 80. - New York, /
three times champions OF the National |
league. today lost its last chance OF /