The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-07-01
Harry Says He's Going to Hand
the Nap the Ball and Let
Him Fungo-Hit
COLLINS AND BAKER
EASY COMPARED TO LARRY
When You Have Two Strikes and
No Ball on Him He's Likely
To Pickle The Ball
Ry RALPH 4 YoNKER

~ hdLFH II. IONh ~ ~
vVTHEN larry Lajoie come 10 town
Wv and Harry Coveleskie has TO
face him. he's going to refuse
10 pitch TO the big Frenchman. He's
going to walk out OF the box, hand
the bali 70 Napoleon. tell him 10 toss
IL up for himself and fungo-hit II any
place he wants TO.
Coyie has tried pitching TO Lajoie
this spring and he has found ii doesn't
work, He has put on all the speed he
has. Has cut the corners of the plate
With sharp-breaking curves. He has
put the ball high and low, on the out
side and on the inside. lie has sue
ceeded in getting Two strikes on Lar
~ and has been flushed with what he
thought was victory over the Nap only
10 have him step into a ball and whale
II a mile
The only success that Covie has had
with Iajoie at all Is with his slow ball.
He fed him a slow ball once that Lar
~ tried to hit and he popped up foul
on II. Outside of that COVE doesn't
consider that he ever had Lajoie at
his mercy. Even when Lajoie failed
To get a hit of the Pole, he slammed
the ball so hard that il would have
been good for base or two IL IL hadn't
happened that some Tiger with gap
ing jaws had been planted right in
the way Of the ball
"Lajoie Is the hardest man In base
Eall TO pitch to-" says Coyeleskie. Ed
die Collins ard Frank Baker and iris
Speaker are easy in comparison to
hat big fellow. There's no use work
Ing on him. You might as well take
all the stuff you have and throw IL
away when you're pitching TO laioie
Just lob him up something and he
Otherwise the best thing to do is to
throw the ball at him and duck.
'Lajoie hits them anywhere you put
them lot of these big league bat
lers have certain weaknesses that
pitchers in time get wise to and they
play upon them But you can't do
that with Lajoie. He'll hit anything
any place You throw"
~ OVELESKIE SAYS that he used
TO have a great deal more speed
- when he was with the Phillies
than he has now. He must have had
a wonderful fast ball at that time then,
for Oscar Stanage says that he has
the best in the American league right
now.
Coyeleskie blames mismanagement
for his failure 20 stick In the National
league He had all the stuff In the
world then, great speed and a fine
curve, but he was young and inexper-
fenced and didn't know how TO handle
himself and Charlie Doom failed to
use him wisely
Coming back north after a spring
training trip Covie was sent in 20 pitch
q whole nine inning game now and
then when IL was actually showing
This had it's effect on his arm later
on in the season and caused him TO
fail under pressure.
A lack OF ambition to get out Of the
Southern league, he believes, IS one
Zig reason why he didn't get back in
10 the majors quicker When he was
sent from Cincinnati TO the Southern
league he was perfectly contented to
stay there. HIe was happy and didn't
think much about ever getting back
into the big show. When he got TO
Chattanooga however, he picked up
some inspiration from Charley Street.
whose ambition still Is to get back
into the big leagues, and he worked
harder than ever TO be comeback.
Covie has made good thus far with
the Tigers. in spite OF the fact that
nearly every one OF the baseball ex.
perts outside OF Detroit picked him as
lemon. They are generally very
skeptical about minor leaguers who
have once failed to stick in the majors
after thorough trial and then try
tc come back.