Norwich bulletin., 1915-10-06
FIRING LINE WELL STOCKED
Red Sox and Phes Have Eight Twirlers Who Can be Call ed the Mound in Big Tilt Alexander the Great is Moran. Big Resource Boston Boxmen Rated Very Hish-aBabe Ruth Good Sticker. @v.

and shoulder above his pitching team mates and, is Manager Pat Moran's trump card. to be played at every pos sfble opportunity, and some clever baseball politics and diplomacy has centered about the extraordinary abil- ity of the Philhes' star
 Alexander's pitching average for the season is more than 200 points higher, than any of the other Philadelphia club twirlers. Taking the six named and averaging their records for the season, gives a team pitching average of .541. These figures do not repre- sent the strength of the Phillies, how ever, if Alexander Is used in, say three of a possible six games. Under such a schedule the average would be in creased more than 100 per cent. and Moran is too shrewd manager to overlook any such increase in strength. Following Alexander, Mayer and De- maree have proved the most success ful twirlers for the National league pennant winners. McQuillan has won and lost an equal number of games, while Rixey and Chalmers are slightly below the ..500 mark.
 Red Sox Have Strong String.
 Against this pitching staff of one star and five twirlers of moderate abil- ity, the Red Sox are able to muster six moundmen none of whom can quite equal Alexander's record but all show ing averages ranging from TOO to fig ures 50 points higher. It is due to this high class average that the Boston stair, considered as a whole, OutrankS the Phillies by more than 175 points. Many factors must enter into consid- eration when an effort is made to com pare the strength of pitching staffs in worlds series. Assuming. however, that the pitchers of a pennant win
 ming club would be just as effective against the batters of the rival com-
 bination as they were against the bat terS of their own league, the averages show that Alexander outranks all the Red Sox boxmen except Wood, and it | is not at all certain that the latter will be called upon to work in the coming series.
 On the other hand, the American | league hurlers will have a decided ad- vantage in every game in which they are not opposed by Alexander. Foster Leonard. Ruth and Shore have a grand
 pitching average of TIP according to the latest unofficial figures, which l aided by the hitting and airtight field | ing of the Red Sox, should be sufficient | to overcome the performances of the Phillies' second string pitchers l Against Alexander, however, their suc- cess remains to be demonstrated. As | batters. all these boxmen far surpasS their Philadelphia rivals, but the field ing figures show that the Phillies have
 a slight advantage in this respect. l Whatever Alexander may be called | upon to do. it appears almost certain that Foster. Leonard, Ruth and Shore | as first string men who have takeT
 their regular turn in the box during | the season, will bear the brunt of the
 boxwork, since Wood, Gregg and Col l lins have been used but occasionally l this year, and Mays almost entirely al l a. relief pitcher. It is thought in the
 Boston baseball circles that the frs four will be the only pitchers to star games in the coming series for the
 Red Sox and that they will be called upon to pitch in the order named. Al
 are comparatively young men, devel. l oped by Boston within the past two ol three seasons. Each has been brough to a high state of pitching efficiency by Manager Carrigan. a wise pitching coach, while Wood, Collins and Gregg names formerly redoubtable in Ameri can league circles, and the two frs named heroes of a previous world SC
 ries, will take part in the big games O
 this year only as relief pitchers, if a