Norwich bulletin., 1916-04-22
, EASTERN LEAGUE WILL
 BE FAST CIRCUIT.
Says Burkett, Manager of Lawrence Team-Gene McCann Has Start.

Jesse Burkett, who will guilde the
 dcStinies of the Lawrence club this
 season, ventured the opinion that the
 Eastern league vii be a pretty fast
 circuit. lie says there are six teams
 right now ir shape to go after that
 pennant. This is where MT. Eur
 kett always a clear student o1 base
 ball conditions, as evidenced by his
 successful career as a ball player
 and later as owner and u~aaSer of
 the Worcester club of the Nev Eng
 far3 league, shows that he is sti1
 working his brain on the baseball
 prospects and is not one little bit on to
 of the way in making this prediction.
 He is Pcr<cctly right when he says
 that it is going to be a fast Circ,Iit. as
 has been snUvn ~ 'He IT: se+ son ac-
 tIvitIes of the 1.neIe1s CI bs and
 just as Eat when he av that there are ..l cube aH primed Cp to go
 after the pennant from the drop of
 the hat.
 The six clubs that are well SUD- piled with players, and who are not feeling many i'll effects because of the bad weather now prevailing for prac- tice, are Burkett's own Lawrence az
 gregation, Hugh Duffys Portland Louis Pieper'S Lynn combination, Billy Hamilton's Worcester crew and Gene McCann's New London bunch. All of these six clubs are in fine shape as regards players at the present moment, and in this respect they have clubs in the league, Hartford, New
 Haven, Bridgeport and Sprinfeld. However, the race is not to the club
 that wins the first few games of the
 season, though it is no little advan-
 tage for the clubs that get away to a
 good start.
 The clubs up in the old New Eng land league circuit have the edge on
 those in the southern end of the Eastern league by virtue of the fact that all of them retained enough players on their reserve lists to make to open On the other hand, the clubs in this section. not playing ball last year, had to release all of the men they had in 1914 and when they started to get ready for the season, they began to do business with a | clean slate and nothing to fall back upon.
 Has Good Team.
 Huge Duffy, the Portland owner. l has left to him the best part of this l champion team of last season. Lowell 1 has secured not only it's own players, 1 but also those that were reserved by l the Manchester club while Lynn also l that came along with Joe Burns of i Lewiston, when he was taken in by | Lynn in order to effect the consoIi- | dation. Lawrence has good reserve 1 list that is coming through with | signed contracts daily, and Worcester also is as fortunate. while Lawrence 1 Portland and Worcester shared in the l distribution of the Fitchburg players 1 when that club received $2,OOO and 1 forfeited it's franchise at the time of 1 the consolidation.
 i Gene NcCann has secured a. flying l start. He has the edge on all the 1 other clubs in the southern end, in l that he has recruited his team mostly l from tie rockies let out by the major 1 league clubs, and all of these men l come to him with month of spring | seasoning ir the southern camps, and 1 consequently will be right at the top ! of their form when the Eastern league orenS. Friday April 2S. Hartford Springfield, New Haven and Bridge 1 port at the present time are working 1 away with 8, lot of raw recruits, semi professionals, for the most part.