The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-02
From the Angle of the Bug
ny ASA pourNTREE. JR.

form in practice and appears to be a certainty In order to accom- modate him in the outfield Johnny Dobbs has switched Hub Northern from left to center instead of Tim HendryX, and placed Burns in the sun garden. lawn Cochran is now holding forth in right field for the Pels and he is giving promise of becoming a dependable player this year. Dobbs has taught him how to get d quick start with the ball and this has improved his fielding considerably. Cochran was given tryouts by Moley in 1912 and 1913. but each time hefailed to measure up to the standard in fielding and the Baron manager was forced to send him back to the bushes each time.
 After bravely fighting for several months trying to forestall the ravages of the l"great white plague Rube Waddell, one of the greatest and most eccentric players who ever worked on the firing line, yesterday succumbed to the dreaded disease. For years the genial Rube was one of the central figures in major league baseball, but his decline from stardom was rapid and three seasons ago he bid farewell to the majors for good
 About six months ago he became a victim of consumption and since then he has gradually declined in health. Several times he made gritty attempts to rally and prolong life, but on each occasion he suffered relapses and grew no better.
 Despite Waddelfs emphatic protesta- tions that all hope of recovery were not gone, his mother admitted not many weeks ago that there was no chance for recovery and since then his death has been daily expected.
 When in his prime Rube was one of the best pitchers in the game. Un- der the tutelage of the great Connie Mack, Waddell reached the zenith of his career and some of the feats he accomplished for the tacturn Irishman remain today unequaled Along with Bugs Raymond, now dead, Wad- dell was one of the most peculiar and eccentric players in the history of the national pastime, and his many es- capades and amusing performances will long be remembered.
 
 Joy reigns supreme in the camp of the Detroit Tigers. This spring Hughie Jennings proteges have regained their lost batting eye and the way they have been slugging the, pellet has dis pelled gloom from the Tiger strong hold and Jennings is now hopeful of leading his team back into the thick of the pennant fight this year. Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford have not been suffering a relapse lately and are con tinuing along at their same old gait. But things have been different among the remaining members of the Tiger squad. During the past season or so the Tigers have not been hitting as they were wont and were not as effective as when they captured three American league gonfalons in a row Now the pendulum has swung around again and the Detroit team is wallop- ing the ball as they did formerly. Jennings considers this lucky omen and is busy laying plans for being near the top this year.
 A fortune is at the hand of any en- ergetic baseball promoter if he will take advantage of the opportunity. The tip is: introduce baseball in London professionally. According to Jimmy Callahan. of the White Sox the great English metropolis is ripe for the in- troduction of the box score and a rich harvest awaits those who have the patience to educate the English into the mysteries of baseball. Tn or der to reveal how tempting Callahan's suggestion is the population of London need only be given. It is claimed that Greater London shelters over 100000 people, nearly equal to the comltned population of our major league cities, and the White Sox leader is of the opinion that now is the time to sepa- rate those "blooming englishmen" from their loose change.
 But oh, the difference in laying plans for the rea2ng a golden harvest and bringing about its realization.