New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-07-13
Comment and Gossip
on Sports of the Day

which will lead up 10 the midsummer
meeting at Saratoga Springs, IN AG-
gust Time was when the lonEcr5
track was not particularly popular DNt
Judging from the crowd on Saturday
James T. Buffers Stanch and unwaVer-
in- support of the turf IN IT'S darkest
hour is now to get its merlted reward.
Il is hoped that such Will be the case
Surely no question can be raised as 10
the quality of the sport Enough good
horses are stabbed at the track TO III.
sure well filed programmes and good
racing.
What two-ycar-old in your opinion
is the best shown so far this season
is al query that came TO my desk last
week. As an opinion is only an OPln-
ion. il is safe to answer that John J..
Madden's Vanitic and Polish and
James Buffers Comcly have impressed
nc most favorably TO date. The Last
named unQuestionably is the best Ally
shown. her defeat at Aqueduct be'GS
due entirely to bad racing luck. There
is no telling which youngster event
uallv will be crowned. but other lead
ing candidates include Phosphor, owned
by Schuyler /. Parsons; Lampoon,
which runs in the colors of c. X. 9.
Billings. and Harry Payne Whitney's
Prince Henry. Ed Crump and The
Finn must not be overlooked, either.
Both have shown high quality.
Mike Donlin, once captain of the
Giants and now pinch hitter, remarked
on arriving IN st. Louis last week:
"What our team needs is to have some
club bump us into second place and
wake US up" The Cardinals took him
at his word, and while they did not
bump the Giants into second place they
did enough humping to wake the fans
at home to a realization that the team
must be playing pretty bad baseball to
lose five games I'M row the longest
run of defeats this season, in spite Of
much Giraffe playing.
The only reason the Giants are not IN
second place Is because the Chicago
Cubs. after climbing up 10 reaching
distance, took a little slump of their
own II now remains 10 be seen whether
the prescription written by Dr. Donlln
and administered by the Cardinals Will
have the much desired effect Of waking
up the Giants. Perhaps history will re-
peat itself. McGraw and his men
checked the flying Pirates early in the
season and later turned back the GIN
cinnati Reds when they threatened
danger. Now is the time to discourage
the Cubs i'm a series which somebody Is
sure to call crucial and which, in truth,
is really quite important
When five out Of eight teams change
places a. the result Of one days games
some idea can be had of the closencs5
of the struggle i'm the American League.
This actually happened last Wednosd day.
Only the N@ps and the Yankees seem
out of the running. The other
teams have pennant hopes and, what Is
more, pcnnant possibilities.
Frank Chance is looking ahead to
1915. and wisely BY fitting i'm new cogs
now il is possible he may get truer
running machine before another season
looms up. while no amount of expert
menting can put the team much deeper
in the mire than 1T is at present
Poor old Mattyl Poor old Plank,
The former is leading the National
League pitchers. with fifteen victories
and four defeats. while the latter is
leading the American League pitchers,
with nine victories and two defeats.
How silly in their cases sounds that old
adage, Youth must be servcd'i
Just a little prediction: Willie
Richie will regain the lGhtwelght
championship of the world from Fred
die Welsh when they meet in that re-
turn match some day next winter.