The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-07

their documents with them when they report next week and sign on arrival
 Five of the Crackers have already re- ported. But they have been wintering in Atlanta They are Outfelder Moran. lnfielders Eibel and Coffey and Pitchers Browning and Williams.
 Of the % men on the roster 1s of them are southern born and reared boys. Of the l6 five are native Georgians So 1t will be seen that the Crackers will in q measure be d representative southern team.
 The prospects of the Crackers at the present writing is doubtful quality. They should be better than last season. however, when one looks at the men on the roster.
 The catching staff, the real bugaboo. will be well taken care of. Tn fact. 1t will be as strong as it has been in years. with the three men signed up.
 The pitching staff. with the three vet erans and the new men so highly touted. from whom two good men should be se- cured, will also be stronger than last sea son.
 If good second baseman Is secured the iniield ought to be as strong as last season in fielding with very little de- crease in offensive ability
 Rowden and Moran are sure of their berths in the outheld. Moran Is no new comer to this league, having played with the Crackers before. He was swapped Tor Comedian George Kircher, the latter going to the Pacific Coast league in ex- change.
 Bowden a Slugger
 Bowden, in left, will hit as well as Iommy Long, and will prove better fielder and base runner the Rabbit, despite his wonderful speed, not knowing now to use 1t on the bases, while he was weak on ground balls in the out field and did not know how to throw
 Moran, whom Southern league fans will remember as great fielder, will surpass k1rcher in that capacity, his throwing Will be more deadly; he will steal more bases, and at the bat should prove Kirch- CTS equal.
 But the effectiveness of the outfield as whole depends on the man that is picked to take Captain Wefchonce's place Harry is slated to umpire the exhibition games for the Crackers this spring, but Is through with active play, the advice Of his physicians being that it would prove disastrous for him to attempt 10 play.
 No matter who the man is that at- tempts to fill Welchonces shoes he'll never prove as effective at the bat And as fielder he'll have to be another Mo- ran to equal the ailing ex-captain. In only one capacity will he probably excel Cap Harry and that fs in throwing. Had Welchonce had a good throwing arm he would never have stayed in the minors.
 Short and first. with Bfsland and Eibel on the job. will be well taken care of. Potts is touted as a find for third Hank Cow dy, the great catcher of the Boston Braves, touts Tullos as a man that will make good for the Crackers. If Bill Smith is able to get a good second baseman he'll probably let Potts Tulos and Wal dron fight it out for third base
 With Dent and Browning assured of regular berths on the 1915 pitching staff. and Thompson practical certainty, two more twirlers will be chosen from the other seven
 It is useless to endeavor to name the two at this time, when none of them have been seen in action but Manning Haiti and Williams have received the most 1attering advance notices
 Altogether, the Crackers of 1915 look promising and after a week or two of training stunts, it will develop really how formidable an aggregation they will