Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1914-02-11
TOUT GIANTS FOR
THEIR FOURTH TRIP
MANY BELIEVE THAT NGRAW'S
MEN WILL PLUCK NATIONAL
PENNANT THIS SEASON,
Such Feat Has Never Yet Been Ac.
cOmplished In Modern Base
ball-Team Stronger
(By FRANK G.. MENEKE)

the job of doping out the 1914
National League pennant battle.
Many fans are of the belief that
the Giants will repeat, despite the
fact that they are bucking the ancient
hoodoo, that of trying to grab the
bunting for four successive years, a |
feat that no modern team ever has
accomplished.
The Giant supporters declare that |
the New Workers are stronger,
through the addition of some likely |
looking recruits, than they were in
1913 when they grabbed the flag
without any real opposition after
mid-season.
Quite. so. The Giants, on paper.
really are stronger than last year,
but have they added as much strength
in the interim as have some of their
rivals? That's the question, as Bill
Shakespeare caused Hamlet to re-
mark.
stronger than when they finished the
1913 season. But some OF the other
National League teams seem any
where from 20 to so per cent strong
er. Which means that the Giants
aren't going to have such an easy
picking in this year 1914 A. D., as
they did last year.
The Boston, Braves for years, have
been sort of pie counter PROPOSE
ton for the Giants. Every time the
Giants needed half dozen games or
so they toured to Boston or lured
the Braves to this community, and
annexed said number of needed
games.
The same was true about the Dodg-
ers. The way those Giants used to
maltreat the boys the other side of
the Brooklyn Bridge was something
that demanded immediate action by
the Human Society.
But it looks like different story
this year. The Braves stack up
strong this year. Stallings has the
making of mighty good ball team.
He showed what his athletes could
do when once the pitchers got to
working right and the team work
was perfected, by sending them along
toward the end of the 1913 season
a dip that was thrilling to watch.
1t Stallings can get his charges
breeding along at like speed at the
beginning of the 1914 season, his club
will bear watching.
IWilbert Robinson fell heir to a
charge of the Dodgers. Robinson is
a shrewd baseball man, and a great
developer of young pitchers. He
has some good pitching material
among his recruits, and if he can
bring their talent to the fore, his
team ought to furnish lot OF
trouble for the first division crowd.
The Cubs just now don't look any
better than fourth, and nightly
battle to land there. The pitching
staff is none too good, the outfield
isn't overly strong and the only real
strength the club seems to have both
extensively and defensively, seems to
he in the infield.
The Phillies and Pirates are looked
to furnish New York the real fight
for the bunting. The Phillies have
been weakened somewhat by the de-
sertion of Knabe, but Doom has a
few recuits that seem ripe enough to
fill in at second base.
The Phillies' pitching strength is
something that the other clubs must
reckon with. Alexander and Seaton
constitute brace of real pitchers.
This pair aided and allotted by half
dozen less seasoned Fingers, ought ito
put the Phillies in the race all the
way.
The trade with the Cardinals has
strengthened the Pirates greatly by
giving them a rafting good infield.
If one or two Of the new Pirate
twirlers live up to expectations, and
Honus Wagner, the well known
basketball player, doesn't break a
few legs the Pirates may be counted
in the race from, April until October.
The Cardinals and Reds stack up as
uncertain quantities, the uncertainty
being as to whether the Reds, or the
Cardinals will finish in last place.
Higgins, the st. Louis manager, be-
lieved that the swap with the Pirates
which gave him five good players, has
strengthened his team. Herog, the
new Red manager, doesn't know just
what to think of his gang flor publ
cation purposes.) But that's all right
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