Evening star., 1915-12-05
STRENGTH OF
LOCAL TEAM IN, 1916
DEPENDS ON TRADES
Continued from First Page.)
but what he may find himself in a 3al

but what he may find himself in Jam
before the season is very old.
For instance, 1t Is going to- make a
whole lot of difference il Joe Wood
should continue to go back. His arm
gave evidence of being about through
last season, yet by giving him long
the Sox. without which they could not
have landed first. So far as known, the
champions have added nothing to the
pitching strength worth while, and if
there should be a slump in this de-
time getting up in the race When a
championship team starts to falter 1t
can go all to pieces very quickly. One
has but to recall the upset which the
Athletics suffered the year they hooked
up with the Braves. which caused Mack
to break up his combination and resort
to system Of breaking in youngsters,
which to date has not yielded anything
to speak of. The Chicago Cubs, three
time pennant winners. went all to
pieces in single year, and it must not
be forgotten thanthe principal strength
Of the Red Sox is furnished by players
who are not going to improve, but are
apt to start slipping most any time.
Henry Edwards Of the Cleveland Plain
Dealer, and a most conservative picker
OF winners in base ball, thinks that the
Grfnmen, White Sox and Yankees will
son, in which event, he insists. the Red
Sox will have tough sailing.
It Is noticed that the Tigers are not
picked to show more class. for the rea-
son that neither James nor Loudermilk,
the two pitchers added from the st.
Louis Browns, have shown much, nor
are apt to be of sufficient help next
year to give the Jennings team the
strength it needs in this department.
But Detroit is sure to be contender,
for 1t has the batting strength and hus-
tie, which counts for SO much.
If, as is expected, Manager Griffith
again trains his team at Charlottes-
Vile, the Nationals will have the dis
tinction of being the only team in
either major league which is not going to
the extreme south to prepare itself for
the next campaign.
This is evidence that Grifith's theory
OF ball players being able to get them
selves in good condition in a cold cli-
mate Is not accepted by other man
ayers, who insist that it requires a
warm climate, where ball players can per-
spire freely, to get them into playing
shape. The argument that it is a detri-
ment to the players to work them in
warm climate and then have to bring
them north to open the season has not
caused any change in the training plans
of the other major league ball clubs.
The fact is that pennant-winning
teams as far back as you care to go
always have done their spring work
in the south, and If Griffith ever leads
a pennant winner after training in the
cold breezes Of Charlottesville he may
bring about a general change from the
warm to the cold regions for training
ball teams.
What have the Feds accomplished in
the two years that they have been in
existence?
At the recent Indianapolis meeting
the owners of the clubs of the new
league admitted that all of their clubs,
with one exception, had lost money
during the 1915 season. The franchises
of the Buffalo and Kansas City clubs
were declared forfeited because the
stockholders had failed to raise money
to pay back debts. A year ago the
franchise of the Indianapolis Feds was
though the Hoosiers had won the pen
nant. Base ball men frequently have
estimated that the Feds IN Brooklyn
lost 100000 The hackers of the
Newark Feds admitted last summer
that they would be forced to make
good large deficit.
The owner of the St. Louis Feds re-
Gently volunteered the lnformation
that in two seasons he had dropped
$1S0,O0O. The Baltimore Feds have
never made both ends meet, and few
weeks ago foated loan for $4,000
to carry the club over until next year.
The owner of the Pittsburgh Feds did
not deny the report that his gross re-
ceipts at home during the past season
did not reach the $4,000 mark. Ihe
Chicago Feds insist that they hnisned
the season with small balance on the
right side of their ledger. The Kansas
City Feds showed a loss OF $35,OOO, IN
spite OF the fact that their team drew
larger gate receipts at home and
abroad than any of the other teams in
the circuit. The losses of the BunaIo
Feds amount to $4,000. In view OF
these facts the question may be asked:
'What have the Feds accomplished
The feeling between the Feds and
organized base ball over the New YORK
situation has become real Ditter' SO
much SO that the big league magnates
are beginning to talk right out IN
meeting. They insist that during the
recent peace conferences the Feds
expressed desire to get rid OF long
term contracts with their players, also
to reduce salaries all along the line
In other words the big leaguers charge
that the Feds, who were eager TO
"emancipate the base ball slaves" Two
years ago are the players most dan
gerous enemies at the present time
The o. B. leaders also charge the Feds
with attempting to wreck the govern
ment of the sport by asking Judge
Landis to knock out the option clause
and the r-elease notice in the players
contract It also fs asserted by the pig
magnates that the Feds by promot-
ing contra et thinning. DESTROYED the