Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-30

Not only would the Baltimore promot-
ers have to pay $560.006 for the Cleve-
land franchise and players. but they
would have to build a new modern
ma jor league plant before they could
open their gates. Not many of the en-
thusiastic fans of the Monumental city
would dig up that kind of coin to
foster base ball proposition in Bal
timore.
Furthermore sthere is absolutely no
comparison between Cleveland and Bal
timore when it comes to being ball
towns. Cleveland, of course. needs
winner, but Baltimore had pennant
winners and could not support them
If. the team remains in Cleveland un-
der Charley somers, as is likely. Grif-
fifth alone will turn over enough bail
players to Somers to make his team
more Of a factor in the race than 1t has
been recently. while the players Bal
timore has retained from its Fed team
would not be of any aid to the Indians
If the two teams were merged.
Rather than sacrifice a major league
franchise for the benefit Of having the
Baltimore Fed club sanction the with
drawal of the suit which Is still pend
ing before Judge Lands, leave 1t there.
While it always is annoying to have
base ball decision involving
player which a club has tried to de-
that nothing much was lost when Ban
Johnson ruled that Gedeon must play
with the Yankees. 1t would not be at
all surprising if the joke proved to be
on Donovan and Huston. for Gedeon
will have to show remarkable improve
ment over the form he displayed here
in order to help the Yankees to high
er position in the race; There Is no
way, SO 1t is to be hoped that Sawyer
or some one else develops into classy
second baseman, or that Ray Morgan
gets back in harness and hits $50. II
Gedeon is star 1t will help 70 make
New York a good ball town for the
American League and it also will help
to keep that smile on Bill Donovan's
classic visage, and 1T can't add many
more gray hairs to Grin's head.
Wonder how long it Is going to take
Benny Kauff to awaken to the fact
that he is standing in his own light.
Doesn't he realize that under existing
conditions there is not chance LOT
him to gain single point that ne
is contending for: McGraw has been
| in base ball much too long to fall Tor
any of Benny's bluffs, and he may lose
| his temper and cut little OF the
money he has offered off Bennys CON
tract Just to show the young man mat
| he must not be fooled with.
Incidentally Benny is making II
harder for himself by making all
sorts of predictions as to what he Is
expect more from him than he 10 likely
| to deliver. and II there IL one player
who has a hard row to hoe 1t is the
| fellow who thinks well Of himself and
tells everybody about 1t, and then fails
short.
Benny would loNk better to himself
and everybody else II he would quietly
sign his contract and. without hiring
| a band, go to the training camp and 90
| the best he can.
1t would seem that Frank Baker
Macks regime. for he seems not to
| have learned the least bit concerning
Mack's character or disposition. or ne
wouId not demand to hfty-hfty with
| Mack on the purchase price that ms
| former manager may receive from
| either the New York or Chicago CLUB,
whichever he ma may h ssii ni faaurs ON per-
suading the purchasing club to pay
him a healthy salary and let Uncle
| Connie put away in his coners wnat-
ever Of the long green ne may oe aole
For annoying Connie about such mat
| ters might cause him to determine TO
leave Baker whiting down on the
farm at Trappe.
| There may be something in the the
ory that the abolition of the present
| national commission would automst-
ically kill the suit which now Is pend
! ing before Judge Lands, for this meas
nre. TO an extent, was against the COM
| missions authority. II this body were
~ he changed or abolished for the
time being the consent Of all the Fed
erai League club: 70 I mnKs v snS nat
With the ebslitisn 81 Che commis.