The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-09-27
PHILLLES HAVE GOOD
CHANCE FOR HONORS
1t Is Believed That Red Sox Will Be Favortes in Betting
This Year But the Phrolcking Phils Will Have to
Be WatchedWorld's Series Drawing Near.

The Phrolicking Pills are now just
a little more than a week away from
a worlds series and the possible title
of monarchs of the baseball world
But two series remain to be played
before the blithesome events of the
October classic not counting barn
storming lay-oVer of one day, in
Brooklyn. where Pats Pets pause on
Tuesday long enough to take q smack
al the presumptuous Dodgers before
proceeding to Boston to tackle the real
enemy. After a four-game series
there it viii be home again for the
the home lot 70 prepare for the big
show
While no one wants to come out
bare-faced and say so. most of the
players on Pats roster are as sereneiy
confident they will win the big ser'es
as they were that they would be the
National League champions And they
have grounds for thinking so, too.
Phil Plans who were accustomed
to seeing the future champs in action
around Broad and Huntingdon Streets
have no idea Of how much the club
has improved There is a machine
like precision about the defense that
moves like clockwork Every man
goes after a ball with the confidence
that presages success. In the outfieid
they go after balls that are almost inn
possible To he caught, bat Whitfield,
. Faskert and Cravath hustle after
| them just the same. knowing they can
afford to let the pill roll through
them IL they miss II because some side
tpa. viii tJe -f7aCkirE UT the ptay and
will hold the hit Ia one base any
way.
on the offense the club is showing
more and more the effects Of the con-
slant drifting of Pat Moran. Such OF
the players-snd they were quite a
lnumher--who had faults in hitting
We're corrected by the most modern
of miracle men, until now any old time
is liable to see rally staged at either
end of the batting order.
There is no denying that the Red
Sox will GO into the big fuss heavy
favorites. But in the past the favorite
has seldom won ii worlds series. Wha,
sane man would have picked the
Braves TO trim the Athletics in four
straight games in yesteryear? What
baseball man was there who did not
think the famous old Cub machine
would grind the Mackmen to pieces
back in 1907
But the Pills have more than super
stition to hack them up. Any club
that has a phenomenal pitcher like
Grover Cleveland Alexander included
In its strength must be reckoned with
G.. {. is better than Joe Wood ever
was or ever will be, and anyway
it is not likely that Smoky Joe viii cut
much Of swath in the series
Alexander and Mayer are q hear
stronger combination that Leonard
and Shore. Demaree. Rixey. McQnil.
} TO- - a..
tive secret quartet of hurlefs than
Bill Carrigan can boast of. There IL
no doubt but that Pats Pets will get
the best pitching.
/ If killefer gets into the series, and
the chances are he and Burns win al
ternatc. the receiving depa rtment viii
be just as strong as that of the Red
Sex. The Fhils have 3 little the edge
on the first base end OF the nfield
as Captain Luderus has something on
HoblitzeIi when IL comes to all
around effectiveness Captain Luds
is there with the cleanup waliop when
il Is badly needed quite often, and hi.
long smashing drives are aptto count
quite heavily.
| The Sox have little the better OF i
when IT comes to the second base pc
7 siton. Nehoff s playing a strong game
/ and one that is a marked improvement
to what ne showed at the beginninl
| of the season. but he is hardly a Jack
( Barry. Few chaps are. But Niehof
can be depended upon to acquit him
| self creditably.
| There is no comparison between
| Davy Bancroft at short and Scott the
| Sox shortfieIder The honors all GO Il
| Morans sensational youngster. hotF
! in fielding and hitting. There is not &
| shortstop in either league who couie
/ be passed on to Pat Moran in an ever
/ swap for young Bancroft. There Is Nc
/ better player in the position now
and Banny is bound to improve fol
some time to come
II IS about TOSS up AT third base be-
tween Stock and Gardner, Mill will
! hold down the hot corner for the Phils
F, II he continues to show as much stun
as he has since he got the Job through
| Bobby Byrne's injury. Gardner may
mark the may. have little on Stockie
when it comes to fielding, but the al
around value of the Pills THIRD sacker
| in hitting and scoring runs. is lkel,
/ to offset that advantage
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