Omaha daily bee., 1914-12-27
Judgments

W with the practice in some
other minor leagues. that af-
fords no excuse for poorer
teams than some of the
brethren have had for the last two or
three years. Already we hear of plans
for increasing strength In Denver, Lincoln
and Sioux City. McGin is quoted as
saying that he is determined to restore
the flag 10 the Colorado city and is scout
ing around for the strongest team he can
get He expects to have Jack Coffey
back as short and as manager Pitts
burgh, as might be expected. having de
cided not to deter Jack. Coffey is a good
player and good fighter and this must
be said In Justice to him. that he was
sverse to going to Pittsburgh in the first
place, expressing a preference for the
managerial berth at Denver. Lincoln
has laid hands on Matty Mcintyre to
guide its ship for 1915 and II experience
and skill count for aught, lincoln should
have no complaint to make OF its new
manager Sioux City wisely retains old
Josh Clarke at the helm and Josh is
beating around for the best bunch Of
players he can get. President Rourke,
we take It, win do his best to pull Omaha
out OF the rut in 1915. The task, he as
we'll as his critics realizes, is a big one,
calling Tor almost a brand new team.
What has been done in this direction we
cannot say at present. except that Mr..
Rourike is saidA to be diligently on the
lookout for the right material. II T1pple
does not return to uS-and there Is small
chance Of tive are left with the neces-
slty Of getting an entirely new staff OF
pitchers. Krueger and seabsugh were
hAE, "a - ~ 49,. al
Kruger filling In at right field with a
faithful effort at doing his best. The
teams success. Of course, demands a
new catcher. With Schliebner sold to
Pittsburgh-a secret that finally leaked
out--first is vacated and so, we might
say. Is every other infield position. Marty
Krug. Joe Bell and Artie Thompson are
on hand for the outfield, albeit Krug
may be returned to second base. Chase
and wallace, both OF whom have had
chances and failed, are still retained as
first and second basemen, but fans hop
Krug. Joe Bell ana Artie Thomson are
class for those positions.
While Comiskey upset precedents I'm go
ing to the minors-class b at that for
his new manager, let no one suppose that
the Old Roman acted entirely on impulse
or without knowing his man. He has
been watching Clarence II. Rowland pro-
duce winning teams and major league
stars for several seasons. His employ
nent of him 10 lead the White Sox,
therefore, seems to be the result OF long
elaboration and by no means plunge
In the dark just for luck. Rowland Is
IS years of age. a very heady, likewise
handsome, man, who has turned into
fast company such men as Vim Campbell,
Veach, Doyle and others Conllskey fig
ures that a man who can mould the
corner lot boys into major league ma
terial ought to be able to handle that
material after it is rounded off into fin
ished form. The novelty Of putting a
class B man over such stars as Eddie
Collins and a few others Commy will
have in 1915 loses none of its attraction,
however, because the new manager Is a
live one. There is this to it, South Side
fans will be the first to discover the
worth of Rowland and If he makes good
with them, the rest is safe. for Comiskey
is deferring to those loyal old supporters.
who have followed him through so many
losing battles, in disposing Of Callahan
and Kid Gleason and overturning almost
his entire team.
Batting averages in the Western league
go TO show the uniformly inferior class
of pitching more than the natural hitting
for 1914. we believe. Thirty men closed
the season hitting 800 and more. Thirty
others batted from .2s0 to Dos. That is "a
larger percentage than any other league
can muster. The team averages run
from .253 by Lincoln, last, up to .296 by
Denver, first The idea of a team aver
aging virtually 800 at the bat is amaz-
ing. Omaha came in fourth with a bat
ting average Of .273 The league, indeed,
had some hard and consistent hitters
but In had on the whole the weakest line
OF pitching We have known for fifteen
years. This is not our observation
alone. II is the view of all who gave close
attention to the progress OF events last
season. Omaha, to be sure, contributed
its share and more to the sum total, or
rather, the net remainder, OF poor pitch
ing and yet It was not a vast amount
worse than the rest of them, with one or
two exceptions.
Somebody suggested that the distance
Of the bleachers from the diamond Is a
big factor In the diminished crowds at
tending Rourke park for the last few
seasons. Possibly but we viii lay to
this. that a live. winning home team
could be spied with the naked eye at a
much greater distance and would be
without much thought OF the proximity
OF seats and playerA
BOston's hopes for continued supremacy
rest. just now. on Johnny Bvers' recOv-
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