Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-03
Callahan's Team Has Been
Hard for Mack'S Men
to Beat.
AWAIT WALSH'S RETURN
Showing of Spit Ball King Will
Mean Much TO His
Team.
By EDDIE COLLINS
(star Second Basemsn of the Philadel-
phia Athletics.)

phia Athletics.)
AS long as / can remember at least
since I have been in the American
League, the Chicago White Sox have
been a thorn in the side Of the Ath-
letics. i am sure that If every club
in the league had played against us
like the Windy City representatives
did, or if we had been, obliged to
stack up against them in more than
twenty-five games each seasons there
would have been a different cham
pion than the Athletics in 10, II
and Is.
Quite the reverse of the Washin-
ton Senators, all the good baseball
that is in the White Sox asserts itself
when they vie with us on the dia-
mond. If any one of them happens
to be in hitting slump, all he needs
Is the Athletics to come along, and he
proceeds to unload. II Ping Bodie
could play all his games on the road
at Shibe Park, in Philadelphia, he
would made Home-run Baker look
bad by comparison. l recall one four
game series the Sox played in our
town during which Ping did not fail
one game to land one in the left-field
bleachers. which was good for the
circuit Talk about the White Sox
being the "hitless wonders they
must save up all their base hits
for us.
But at home with them it is little
different proposition. The fact that
there has not been a White SoX
player who has hit 300 or better for
years gone by must have some sig
nificance, There seems to be some
thing about the playing field and the
surroundings in Chicago which handi
cap a batter. For one thing. the
ground is always wet too much, and
many balls that would go for hits
past the infielderS on almost any
other ground are slowed up by the
soft turf and result in outs. Then,
an abundance of advertisements in
centre field makes bad background;
and the wind generally is blowing
contrarywise to the hitting, and adds
to the effectiveness of the pitching.
White sox Like Senators.
Generally speaking, however, the
Sox are somewhat like the Washing
ton team they are splendidly
equipped in the battery department,
but are sorely lacking In hitting
strength. Boston's p tchers went bad
last year, but their hitting was sec
ond only to that of the Athletics.
One reason the SoX always played
us so hard is that they play more
inside baseball than any other club
we go up against. Weaver, Lord,
Chase and Schalk are always pulling
off the unexpected at the bat, and we
never know just how to combat them
The last three named like to play the
hit and run game, attempting to hit
through the space left vacant by
Barry or myself as we go to cover
second base, and they succeed too
frequently to suit us. Then on the de-
fensive young Schalk has been partic-
: ularly prom nent in offsetting some
seeming advantage on our part by
turning back an ambitious base run
nef OF picking off q sleeper some
where on the bases. We always know
him as the whistling catcher, because
he has a habit of emitting a shrill
blast as he talks to the pitcher.
Come on, 'Reb' shoot 'em through.
WI" he is wont to yell, and let's out
a loud whistle to ind cate to the
twirler how he wants the ball whizzed
to him.
Strong Pitching Trio Last Year.
Cicotte, Russell and Scott did truly
wonderful work on the mound for
their club last season. According to
the new method of ranking the pitch
ers, whereby the efficiency in pre-
venting earned runs is measured
rather Than Just games won and lost,
head of the list. This fact in itself
only goes to show up the offensive
weakness of the rest of the team. If,
with such stellar slabmanship, it can
not win, the only conclusion is that
there must be something lacking on
the run-making end.
| will bet there was many game
lost last year by each of these pitch
ers in which the opposing team got
only four or five hits, and still it won,
maybe by / to or ? to l score,
simply because the SoX made fewer
hits and less runs. ! remember that
the first game Reb Russell pitched
against us Bender beat him to o.,
and we only made three hits off him.
That is the sort of defeat that hurts
most It's not such hard pill to
swallow when you are handed good
beating occasionally, when your OPP
ponents make lot of hits ana runs,
because then there are no alibis or
butts" and offs to hash over in the
club house afterwards; but the l to 0
packages that frequently go the
POUNDS are tough ones, because or
what might have been.
Much Depends on Ed Walsh.
In spite of the apparent strength
of the Sox pitching staff as discussed
so far there is yet another SoX per-
former whose return to form or his
failure to do this, means much to the
team I refer of course, to the spit
nan king. Ed Walsh Whether his
arm, is Welding to treatment, or
whether overworll has put 1t beyond
repair the present training trip VIII
probably tell. With this master of