The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-02
Veteran Manager of Athlet- ics Must Build Entirely
 New Team for 1916
MACK WORKS HARD
 TO DEVELOP ROCKIES
Winner of Six Remnants and Three Championships Is Working Hard With Recruits to Develop
 Strong Team

Not great deal of news has come
 out of Jacksonville where Connie
 Mack is drilling new team of Ath-
 .etics and starting practically all over
 again to get a place in the sun of
 baseball. With the Kauffs and the
 Me gees, the Johnstons and the other
 newly discovered stars filling the
 columns of the sporting pages, Mack
 is all but overlooked. Last week his
 team played a series with the Boston
 Braves and was soundly trounced, and
 fandom laughed derisively. They can
 laugh at his rockies now, and he ad-
 mits his new team does look bad, par
 ticularly the pitchers. But Connie
 promises to have the last laugh and
 those who believe in him rather think
 he will have 1t, too. That he knows
 what is before him is indicated by
 the following interesting story from a
 Jacksonville correspondent of the new
 energy he is putting forth to again
 ascend the hill to his old place in the
 game
 Jacksonville, Fla, April 1.-(Special. It's an easy road down, but it's a hard pull up. This truth is impressing itself on Connie Mack, who is down here in training camp working as he never worked before in an effort to do a come back. Changed conditions with the Ath- letlcs have meant a marked departure in Mack's methods and the railbirds who have watched the Tall Tactician in pre- v1ous springs hardly recognize him as the CD L = not in appearance, but in manner
 Never before has Manager Mack driven a squad as hard as he is working his men this year. In other seasons when there were plenty of veterans in the lineup the work consisted mainly in conditionins the talent. Little was said about tactics. The tall manager would stroll up and down and study the form of young pitch- CTS, but he bothered little with the vet erans, being content to let them shape up in their own way.
 This year, with the problem of build ing new team before him, the leader seems to be different man. He is talk ing charge of everything himself. Thomas and Davis naturally give some help, but the bulk of the direction is being as- sumed by Mr. Mack and he is almost as much of martinet as McGraw himself in his manner of driving the men.
 GET EARLY START
 An early start is made. Each player is called at o'clock: By he is due on the field. Practice is under way at 9:3O. All of the pitchers have to take systematic warm-up with the catchers. Then they work in the box, so as to get the distance right. Each man must pitch in the man. ner that the leader specifies His form must be right
 After each pitcher finishes his work in the box he has to go to short or second feet his fielding. No slovenly work will be pardoned to pitchers at Shibe Park this year.
 Even then the work is not done. There Is batting practice and those not at bat have to chase grounders in the outfield to perfect their wind.
 When all this done, those players who are overweis... are sent for 15- minute jog around the outfield, kind of drudgery not hitherto much favored by Manager Mack.
 the afternoon, though by way of relief a. taking part in this game. and Manager Mack has always liked to study players in a contest as measure for getting a line on what man will do when in action.
 NO TIME FOR AMUSEMENT
 In other years there was considerable liberality in the matter of letting the men get away for little golf and other simi- lar amusements. But this year there will be leave of absence for none. Even Manager Mack is giving up his golf in spite of the fact that he is very fond of the game.
 The whole impression carried by the work is one of great earnestness. It is as though the famous winner of six pen- nants had felt that he must get from his material it's ultimate
 He is determined to produce an eff fectiye pitching staff and is sincere in the belief that he has the men. Whoever might be moved to raise the objection that these candidates have no special class is met by the reply that the great est products of the Mack system were the men who came to Philadelphia un- known and were developed under the lean Cornelius.
 The winner of six pennants and three worlds championships keenly recognizes that 1t is on the pitchers the success of his team must depend.
 In the old days of the great teams, the Mackmen always had wonderful pitching It is true that they had goodly propor- tion of hitting also, but in the various successful seasons Waddell, Plank, Ben der. Coombs Morgan, Henley, Coakley, Dygert, Krause and one or two others were largely responsible for the tri- umphs registered.
 COLLAPSE DUE TO HURLERS
 Last year the collapse of the team was -zxs NE kA2 v,{k krt