The Washington herald., 1914-03-16
lone HOLEIN
GIANTS INFIED
Matty Says Good Man Must
Be Developed for
Third Base.
SCHAEFER A GREAT STAR
Is Prince Henry" at Monte Carlop
Makes Big Hit with
Players.
SCHAEFER A GREAT STAR
BY CHRIsrY MATHEwsoN.

After having been in Marlin for
some time now, | think / am in a
position to say something about the
chances OF the Giants this season.
At this writing there is one hole in
the inheld which must be plugged.
Nobody appears to know at pres
ent whether Shafer will return to
the club, not even John McGraw,
who has arrived in camp with his
squad of worlds tourists. OF
course, Shafer has announced he
intends to retire, but he does that
every year or so.
II can't get any line Of Shafer," said
Mac" land IL he doesn't report, well
have to get another third baseman some
where, that's all
Club Is Stronger.
Outside of the possible loss of Shafer.
believe the club is stronger than IL was
last year. and l think we are going to
have a grand chance to repeat. 1t would
be a tough thing for the Giants II the
absence OF Shafer should cost the club a
championship. which II might. Satisf4c-
tory third basemen are very hard to
find, and Mac" devoted several years de-
velOping Shafer into one. This Is one of
the most important positions of the in
field. according TO my way OF thinking.
Put a man on third base who cannot
handle bunts and the opposing clubs will
bunt him to death. Should Shafer run
out on the club after signing a three
year contract last season at a good fig
ure. it would seem as II he were not dis
playing very much gratitude toward the
management
But even with the Giants minus Sha-
fer, l don see any team in the National
League TIT 'o,:s strong enough to beat
US out this year. The Phillies gave US
the race IL the way last summer, and
they have been shot to pieces by the raids
of the Federal League. The signing OF
Doolan and Knabe by the Feds has just
torn the Philadelphia infield apart. while
tie desertion of Seaton means practically
the loss of the entire pitching stsff un-
less some OF, twirler comes to the
front strong. Seaton was a hors" for
work last season and did most of the
We good ye- The Phillies don't look
II n fast division club TO me this year
Pirate. Not strong.
The pirates have fair prospects. as they
appear TO have every year at this time.
before the race starts. but / don't see
them as strong contenders. They are
too SLOW, and the pitching stan won't
shape up. The greatest strength of the
Pits IN club is in the infield. the
pitching STAFF and outfield being medi-
ocre. The infield. with Konetchy, Viox.
Wagner. and MOwrev. is the best in the
1 a fnr
of these men Is very fast. NioX who Is
a great young player. is slow Wagner
is aging. and neither Konetchy nor Now
rey would ever be mistaken for Cobb in
running the bases. That has been the
trouble with Clarke's club during the last
few seasons. His players have all been
heavy of lpOt
The players on the Giants who made
the trip around the world have done all
the talking here since their arrival. Life
for them was just one experience after
another. and they kind OF look down on
those of us who stayed at home. Larry
Doyle talks So much that he needs
glass Of water beside him to keep his
throat from getting dry. II seems that
Germany" Schaefer was the hit Of the
trip and never once fell down as a come
dian. He was known to the boys as
Prince Henry" McGraw had an anus
ing story to tell about Schaefer on his
visit to Monte Carlo.
when Germany went into the
Casino" said Mac" ''ne signed one Of
those cards that all patrons are forced
TO sign before they play. Schaefer put
down his name as Prince Henry Schae-
fer, and the news soon spread that there
was prince in the house. This made
a big impression on the management. and
So six or seven attendants were detailed
10 see that the prince received the proper
treatment deserved ny a member OF royal
ty- Germany talked bum German to
them. and then walked from one table
10 another. stalling his way around as IL
tryinE to make up his mind where to
begin. At last he threw down FIVE
franc piece. which amounts TO 81 in our
money. When the attendants got a line
1n the extent of Schaefer's play. they
all faded away. not thinking his busi-
hess worth while
Copyright. 1914. by the Wheeler Syndi-
cate.)