The sun., 1915-10-03

lovers al tnlS HOIfleill Is piCkiIs tnc
worlds series winner. Every fan is
A manager at heart. He expresses his
opinion on the merit or fault Of every
nay Of every game he sees iuring the
paying season. In the blue ribbon of
the year his fancy knows no bounds.
Followers Of the game will 40 on
pcking winners so long as this be.
loved institution 1ourishes. The very
uncertainty Of the sport has made base
ball the red blooded game that II is.
The element of fate-or luck-taat has
upset the finest calculations, has not
dimmed for one moment the faith in his
judgmen, OF any rooter.
A few plain truths have been re-
peated time after time by the wises men
OF baseball one of these axioms Is that
no team ~ "A single game Is much bet
ter than an even money shot another
that the element of luck. which Is prac-
tlcally eliminated through n run OF l5A
games. IL a most important factor in
any series so limited as that for the
championship OF the world. Further. the
cages OF the game maintain that in an
event Of this kind the first blow may
not necessarily prove fatal. but that
in the vast ma jority of cases II gives
the winning edge. Further, a slip or
two is as likely to ruin the work OF a
master pitcher as readily as that OF
the veriest dub. In conclusion. real
class IL more likely to assert itself the
longer the stretch of contests played
In this particular series public senti-
ment favors tho Red Sox That is
proved by the betting Boston rules
savprite at odds of 6 to ) and to
s. Time alone will prove IL this
price is false. 1t is admitted generally
that Carrigan's team should beat the
Philies handily over "A run of 154
games. carrigan has a stronger bat
ting combination than Moran. The fig
ures on past performances prove his
men the faster on the bases. His out :
field is the greatest in the game to-day
Defensively there is little TO choose be-
tween the candidates in "A general sum-
ming up.
The most important element in n
short series is battery strength Boston
10 by far the better fortified in the
catching department. The Red Sox have
three experienced men, any one OF
which has had the experience neCes-
sary 10 equip him thoroughly for this
pivotal position Thomas and Cady have
done the heavy work behind the bat for
Boston this year. though Manager Bill
Carrigan has proved In forty-fve ap-
pearances that he is still to be reck-
oned as one of the American League
'sad!ng backstops. Each of the three
i finished workman and deadly
thrower Thomas is rated the best OF
the lot. Many American League play
,rs figure him as the equal of Ray
Schak of the White Sox. and that
means as good as is to he found in the
American League. Cady. with PSI. is
the best hitter Thomas has batted
only 2i0 and Carrigan .209.
Moran has In killifer the best catcher
10 the National League. But unfortu-
nateiy klllfer may not he able 10 take
nart in this series. He will not unless
NoraI's press agents have been sending
out hear stories from Boston. killifeI
injured his shoulder several weeks ago
/, was reported from Boston severa
days ago that he tried out the arm and
'ound II so weak that he despaired oi
taking 4 hand against the SoN, KILL
Ter caught 100 games for the Quakers
this year, hitting al meanwhile. His
loss would not necessarily be fatal but
would put the whole catching problem
M 10 Eddie Burns. Burns has per
formed wonderfully well since killifel
was injured but he is "A comparativel.
green man compared to any one OF th'
Boston trio and therefore more likely 4
he unnerved In the pinch. Burns ha.
taken part tn slXty-four games so fai
and ha. nr OA1
Philadelphia has the greatest pitche
~ the year in Grover Cleveland Alex
ander lie has won thirty. one games
'welVe Of them shutouts. and has los
only ten times. This performance !:
All The more striking when one remem
hers the fine balance OF the Nationa
League field this year Most OF th'
way L was race among fve, and "A
one time six clubs, The records Of th'
other Philadelphia pitchers seem some
what mediocre by comparison, for nom
mas done much better than to breaI
even. bemaree has won fourteen ant
ost eleven. Mayer has shown nineteei
victories against fifteen defeats. Nc
Quillan and Rixey have split even OF
he year. IL 10 II. and IL to IL re
speotvely.
The new American League champion
an b'dSl no SuCn DoN WlHdTu 90 MIC"
ander the Great. But what they lacl
n quality is Offset in quantity. Ever,
one Of Carrgans FIVE pitchers has bet
fer record to show for this years cam
nalgn than the great Walter Johnson
Yet In this connection II must be re
menbered that the Red Sox won owe
field that was pitifully weak in com
par.Son 10 the leaders with the one not
able exception Of Detroit. Also it mus
he remembered that the Boston pitcher
werc aided to victory by the best tear
N the league Walter Johnson was con
nec'ed with club that did not win hal
lts games until the last six weeks OF tn
campaign.
Even with a champion the fine bal
arce of Carrigan's pitching stan mus
strike the student forcefully. Smok
Joe Wood won fourteen and lost fou
Ruth has scored seventeen vicories an
suffered six reverses. Shore has nine
teen wins, against seven defeats. Foste
was Victorious twenty times ana wa
beaten on eight occasions. Leonard wo
fourteen battles and lost six. There II
bevy Of five consistent pitchers. anon
whom there is little choice, who haV
won altogether eighty-four games an
lost only thirty-one for collective pei
ceutagc Of .730. The club behind tn
corps won only $50 percentage OF II
scheduled games.
'Hteresting indeed Is a comparison {
>'e nfields man for man. Luderus, mr.
baseman OF the Phillies, leads the Ma
tlonal League in batting with .Slb III
blitzell his rival. has hit only .27S. Fac
has stolen nine bases. or the two HI
blltzell Is the better fielder. for he covel
moro ground and has the natural a.
vantages OF a left handed thrower. ID
Gamer, who will relieve Hoblitxell
Moran pitches a southpaw against 30
ton, has hit .295 and stolen thirtet
lases hui hlA moor arm and SlOWne