Omaha daily bee., 1914-08-30
Judgments
RESIDENT O'NEILL dug up a
live wire when he got Dan Sy-
cles as an umpire. Dan is the
best we've seen in this league

for some moons and his side
partner, Barr, has shown up very salts
factorily. But It is of Dan we would
speak here. In the first place, he is big
enough to command respect. In the next
place he umpires the game instead of
leaving 1t to be done by the players He
makes his decisions promptly and clearly
as he really believed in what he was do
ing and he makes them intelligently But
the big feature of his work, the one that
stands out in boldest relief in the West
ern league, is that he keeps the game on
the go. He has the players hustIing
from the time the gong sounds till the
last man is out. And they don't chew
the rag with him, either. As an example
of what this amounts to, Omaha and
ISncoln got away with their eleventh.
mig game Tuesday in less than two hours.
That is going some as compared with
what we've witnessed on the Omaha
grounds this year. What little playing
the Omaha team has done has often
been spoiled by loafins. Dams work
was a rare treat and went a long way
toward making up for the miserable
stuff that the home team has been pan
ming off on a long-suffering fandom.
We think our theory has been proved,
namely that an unreliable set of pitchers
will in time destroy the effectiveness of
other good players on the team. Omaha
has gone through another season with
no pitching strength. Game after game
has been lost because of this. On the
home grounds as well as abroad, the
team goes along losing seven out of eight
games. The result is in and outfielders
who earlier in the season looked like
stars now show up little better than dubs.
Take young Thomas. He is a good.
promising young ball player; no one will
deny It. But look at his work OF late,
Like every other slugger on the team.
he is slumping at the bat; he is also
playing so per cent poorer gamc than he
did at first. We are not presuming to
lay this all to the miserable work of the
pitchers. but we do lay large part Of
it to that. And the same thing is true
of nearly every other man. Schliebner
continues his marvellous work, but he
hasn't been on the team as long as some
of the others. He is, in our estimation,
the best first baseman this league ever
saw and, like Krug, Thomas, Thomson
and perhaps some OF the other Omaha
players, would shine with greater luster
if surrounded by uniformly steady play
ing, particularly pitching.
No National league manager, be he ever
50 great, has been able to cop four PEN
nants in a row. That feat belongs to
Comiskey, who performed it as manager
OF the old st. Louis Browns, THE Four
Time Winners" Ernest j. Lanigan in
the Sporting News pointed out that:
Chicago landed the championships of
1880, 1881 and 1882. and Boston finished
Boston landed the championships in
1891, 1892 and 1898, and Baltimore finished
Baltimore landed the championships Of
1894, 1895 and 1895, and Boston finished
first in 1897.
under Manager Chance. won the National
Championship again In 1906, 1907. 1908 and
New York finished first in 1909. Anson,
Selee, Hanlon, Chance failed TO do what
it remains to be seen whether McGraw
can do this year II Boston beats him,
1t will. as Lanigan says, not establish a
precedent.
The dopesters are busy trying to fix the
status of base ball next year. VIII the
Federals break up the National associa-
tion--the minors organization-and take
the Southern. Western and other leagues
under their protecting wing? Or will
some other contingency ensue that prom
ises the Western a new birth? We do
not know. This we know, some new
alignment ought to be made, and along
with II some change that will give Omaha
its rightful setting and somebody the
benefit of the base ball support that
Omaha has ready for real base ball.
The return OF Fielder Jones to major
league ball is a matter of qualification,
even though he enters through the out
laws. We cannot tell in these days OF
swift changes. who will be the outlaws
tomorrow, or whether there will be any,
st. Louis may be sure Of one thing. II
has a great master at the head Of its
Federal band.
Only about 100 points separate first and
last teams in the National league, which
makes about the best race the old or
ganization has had in many a year. And
with the Giants, Cardinals and Braves
neck and neck for first place, It prom
ises to continue a race 10 the end.
Pa Rourke has sent Charley Ward
back to Grand Island, Of course. II was
a cinch he would when he brought him
in. Ward is a hard-woTking youth, means
well and is rather fair-looking. but not
even all that makes him a class "A" bal
player.
The first time Denver goes up against
Mr.. Dan sycIes it will learn that he UNI
pires his own games.
Don't blame Gonding. He Is doing
probably as we'll as any manager could
without pitchers.
u Is base balls loss II Miner Brown
really Is all in