Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-03-22
MACK is CONFIDENT HE WILL
: RTJILD ANOTHER GREAT TEAM
athletics Manager Starts Wedding Out Play
ers for His 1916 Machine-Rooxies Lack
Ginger in Practice
Bv CHANDLER d. RICHTER

three powerful cogs in the infeld when
two raw recruits have developed.
Mclnnis is likely to be even better IN
i9lo ana 1917 as he has more enthusiasm
than ne has shown in two years Ma.
lone Is greatly improved PLAYER. The
youngster may not hit for n while. as he
has a marked weakness for a right.handed
pltchers curve BALL but he gradually is
overcoming this fault
Witt. the Goddard Seminary lad who
made his first appearance yesterday. made
a wonderful impression and we believe he
eventually VIII be the third baseman. He
is but boy and probably will have his
troubles this season. but II ever there wa :
a natural ball player, Witt is the young.
ster. He still feels rather strange and
lacks pepper, but that will come after
he has come TO realize that he is really
OF major league caliber A leap from,
scholastic ranks to the major league foil,
is quite jump and he Is naturally back.
ward.
Jack Barry's old position will be looked
after by Sam Crane. This younEster Is n
wonderful fielder, but last fall appeared
to be woefully weak at the bat Manager
Mack declares that Crane will hit we'll in
time, but we hardly agree with him, He
might improve his average by keeping
his feet solidly planted on the ground
instead of swinging his forward foot in
NiN al Wllil al DtCullHT IWlfl 1uSt as the
ball is leaving the pitchers hand, but he
does not look or act like a player who
ever will hit Amos Strunk had the same
habit Of being overbalanced and recovered
from 1t, but Amos had the natural club.
bing ability
Mack has n most promising outfeld re-
cruit In Stellbauer. He is one of the ha rd-
est fast ball hitters Mack has ever seen.
and his stick work Monday and yesterday
was wonderful He hits the ball with a
long, awkward-looking swing much on the
order of Crava.h, and his drives have the
height so noticeable in the Phlly slug
gers wallop.
This youngster. however, displayed his
weakness yesterday afternoon during the
fielding practice. On Monday Ira Thomas
declared that he could not see how maj jor
league clubs of the West had overlooked
Stellbauer, but yesterday the reason was
apparent He appears to be a weak
fielder and Is not as fast as reputed. The
youngster has a wonderful throwing arm,
but that about let's him out as fielder,
unless he is slow finding n.,.lself
An attempt was made to cure Eddie
Murphy of his fielding defects and 1t
failed but Mack feels certain that Stell-
bauer will improve wonderfully. He is
willing to stand for a lot of fielding
blunders II Stellbauer can hit at regular
games as we'll as he has In practice.
Starting tomorrow. the pitching prob
lem will solve itself. Manager Mack said
some time ago that, while his young
hurlers all had their good points and ap-
parently were almost evenly matched, the
weakness of some and the strength of
others would assert itself when they were
put to a test against the National
Leaguers
BY this Mack did not mean that
pitcher who happened to be knocked out
of the box a few times would be hopeless
or that a hurler who went we'll during
the exhibition season would be assured of
his position, but he meant that each man
would show early his possibilities.
The most important point in Mack's re-
construction work has been reached. From
now on 1t will not be speculation or pos
sibilties. 1t is the results which count
from now on. He has not a ball team
which will permit him to worry the lead
ers, but we believe thar toward the mid
die of summer 1t will prove a better COM
bination than the fans throughout the
country expect