The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-02

Stock-Byrne. .666 7l3 .716 II
 More cold comfort for Philadelphia When the final figures showing the rela tive values of the third basemen who arr rivals in this worlds series are compile, and reduced to the concrete, we find Bos tons Red Sox again have the advantage
 The advantage this time is a bit large than we have found elsewhere save il center field.
 Stock, in fact. compares so badly witt Larry Gardner for the purposes of worlds series that, even allowing for al claims of improvement made for him by the Philadelphians, still he is beaten fal and away. AS Moran knows these thing: perhaps better than any of us outsiders do, I expect that Bobby Byrne will bt in there helping out with his rich ex perience, his gameness and fighting abil ity during at least part of the series and I have figured Philadelphia thirc basemen on the basis of five parts Stock and two parts Byrne.
 This combination is rather unfortunate for the showing it makes, while good as compared with the average third base men, looks bad when it is laid up in cold figures alongside the value of Larry Gardner. For this fellow Gardner is to- day the ra hiking third baseman of the country in all-round value to the team.
 An odd case is that of Gardner. He was a second baseman of some merit, but held the job mainly because he could hit as he was an unpublished gem and jarred the harmony of the field, One day John l. Taylor got one Of those bug notions that seize magnates at times and ordered his manager to put Gardner over at third. He had seen Larry prGc- tice there for a few minutes.
 Gardner didn't like the thought great deal but he is one of those smart, quiet. Intelligent Yankees and he went over there because third passing is a pudding compared with playing second. And in- stead of just gra bbing a sinecure, he be- came. almost overnight, the sensation of the league, the best and ceanest field ing third baseman of them all, an in- stinctive third baseman, a great thrower a fellow who got the jump on bunts, who blocked down the hard ones who tagged runners and blocked them off In fact. he looked as if he had played third base all his life.
 Now, oddly enough Gardner has not been fielding the base as well this sea- son as he has done in preceding years, but he has been doing it well enough to hang right on at the top of the third ba semen of the league.
 He is grand worker with the other infielders, helps Scott out by cutting across toward the pitcher for the slow, high bounders. and he travels long way after fouls.
 His chief strength, however, Is at bat Again, he is a bit off his hitting stride this season and he hasn't been piling up as many stolen bases as usual. Still he holds enough of lead to earn him figures well above those of Stock
 Stock is a very fair ball player. He is much improved this season over last, not so much by added experience as by escaping from the McGraw ken mel It is evident now that McGraws tactics fused Stock so that he could not do himself justice. McGraw want ed another Herzog or another Shafer land was disappointed. Stock is spry land quick, cat-like in his actions around third and he covers along the line well.
 Even so, Stock scarcely is strong enough for regular job on the Phil lies while Bobby Byrne is on the list. Byrne, a grand little veteran, slipped Ia lot in his hitting this season, being lb0 points below his normal average, and Stock got the job because he was nicking the marble a lot harder, al though even then he wasn't a Laioie.
 So Byrne. the veteran. took the un-
 
 going along we'll Moran, like other managers, would be foolish to make a change while the team is winning.
 However, the figures plainly reveal the fact that Pat probably would strengthen his team by sending Byrne ito third for the series, especially as Byrne was through one worlds series when with Pittsburg and the exper- Hence is valuable.
 Byrne has played around the circuit nine seasons now and always has been a capable and fighting ball player with a lot of punch and ginger in him. Stock has not shown much evidence of the fighting spirit.
 Probably, for regular season and under the present conditions, Stock is the better man for Morans use, but when we come to examine what they are likely to do against Boston's great pitching corps it is a different story Not that either one of them is liable to drive Ruth, Wood. Shore. Leonard or Foster off the clab. but the chance. are better for Byrne to do some hit ting than for Stock.
 { If Carrigans pitchers go into this series on edge. which they undoubtedly will, as he has more good ones than is