The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1914-02-15
CONNIE MACK AGAIN
LIKELY FLAG WINNER
American League Pennant
Appears Once More Safe
for Athletics.
Ry tribune special Sport Service.

BY Tribune Special Sport Service
NEW YORK. Feb. 14.-One of the.
toughest little tasks that confront
sporting scribbers just now is the
..doping' out OF the 1914 battles in
tho American and National leagues.
In years gone by it was something
Of cinch. All that was necessary was
to find the combined batting average
of team. its combined fielding and
pitching average, make allowances for
one or two recruits to bolster up the
tenn. and then, award the penpant to
the team that looked strongest on
paper. Second place WIS given to the
team that looked second best, third
place 10 the third best, etc.
But there is n difference this year.
Those Federal leaguers constitute the
difference. Every so often they grab
off one OF two PLAYERS from the major
leagues, and their grabbing business TO
date has been of such nature as TO
make doping bit hazardous,
We're il not for the Federals one
might say, in discussing the American
league affairs, that the Athletics look
healthy enough To repeat the winning
of the flag, with Washington and
the Federals have horned their way in
and dealt the Maps an awful wallop
by grabbing off Falkenberg, Blnnding
ard Kahler, three seasoned and de-
pendable Fingers,
Evil Days for Maps.
Such happening seems to dim
whatever pennaDt chances the Maps
had. unless Que or two of their young |
Fingers come to the fore with rush |
anil perform stunts that will make |
trio.
1t is unlikely that the Federals will
be able to snare any OF Connie S stars,
and such being the case, il is unlikely |
that any team will stop Connie from
grabbing the bunting once again. His
team this season should be better than
last. He bad some young twirlers' on
whether they would 'tpau.' But they /
did, and panned almost pure. Bush,
Shawkey, Brown and one or two of his
other Youthful moundmen, aided and /
abetted by Bender, Plank and possibly |
Coombs, will give Connie big edge I
in pitching. AS to what his batting
and fielding strength is-well ask
fonu McGraW, new ork person.
Washington may furnish the Ath-
leties merry little battle, but it
doesn't look. from this distance, as if
the Senators carry a. heavy enough |
wallop to beat Connie's crowd to the
tape line.
The Rex Sox'can be figured as OZARK
horses. Carrigan may be able to
send them breezing along at the gait |
that landed them at the top of the
nI, ho IN, rb.,h ho
White Sox Chances.
Chicago doesn t look overly strong
but may spring surprise by making
fight for nesting place in first di-
vision. The White Soy harpooned a !
few good looking recruits. and these
bushers may. develop into real ball |
players, and give the Comiskeyitcs
enough driving power to furnish lot
of trouble.
The Yankees didn I loom up any too
strong at the end OF the 1913 season,
and the fact that several of their
best men have gone over to the Fed
erals makes them look much weaker
The New Workers May show un
expected strength. but it seems that |
the best they'll have happen to them
this season is q merry little battle with |
the Browns for last place.
III doesn LOOK rs II 1y SopD VIII |
finish better than sixth. OF course, |
Ty will have the grand mace support
of Old Sam Crawford. and he is as |
sured that Bush and a few others in |
his infield will catch most of the balls |
swatted or thrown In their direction, !
but IT, is a bit shy on pitchers-and |
tbs said that team is Just as strong |
IS its pitching staff.
Of course later events may change |
an%, oil I,,f H. L. '
lust now points thusly for the 1914 |
American leagne season:
Philadelphia first Washington see
ond, Cleveland, Boston and Chicago in
battle for third place, Detroit sixth. !
New York and st. Louis struggling
TO stay out of the cellar.
Outlook in National.
A large number of things must be
considered, both fore and aft, in crap
pliua with the job of doping" out
the 1914 National league pennant bat
tic.
Many fans are of the belief that the
Giants will repeat, despite the fact
that they are bucking the ancient
hoodoo-that of trying to grab the
bunting for four successive years, a
feat flint no modern team ever has
accomplished
iHe pidnt supporters uecidre tuat
the New Workers are stronger. through
the addition of some likely looking re-
cruits, than they were in 1913, when
they grabbed the flag without any real
opposition after mid-season.
Quite so. The Giants, on paper
really are stronger than last wear, hut
have they added as much strength in
the interim as have some of their
rivals? That's the question, as
Shakespeare caused Hamlet TO remark
The Giants seem about 10 per cent
stronger than when they finished the
1919 season But some Of the other
National league teams seem anywhere
from 20 TO so per cent stronger. Which
means that the Giants aren't going to
have such easv picking in this year
1914 A. u. as they did last year.