The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-09
LOOKOUTS LINEUP FOR OPENING CAME
 ISST|LL UNDECIDED
Infield Berths Are Settled. Pitching Staff Strong. Outfield and Catching
 Departments in Doubt

Chattanooga, April S.-(SpeciaI.) Other Southern league clubs are an- nouncing these days tke teams they will send into action in the first game of the season next Friday, with their batting orders. but Chattanooea is far ther from having a definite lineup in view today than two weeks ago. There's a reason. Every one of the infield berths is settled; the pitching staff is selected as it will be marshaled until May Is. and three-cornered argument in the catching department is near to being decided; but Kid Elberfeld will carry six outfielders with him to Nashville next Friday unless he applies the ak to some one of the sextet he has cor raled between now and the opening contest.
 NEEDS SOME OUTFIELDERS
 The Lookout manager burned his bridges" it seemed. in releasing Will son Collins and Ed Kippert, but the club has "planked down" handsomely for outfield talent. The managers worries are practically over in every other department and he expects to turn his attention for the first two or three weeks of the campaign en- tirely to the outfielding argument. The | the vicinity of s3o00 and Elberfeld be- l lieves he'll develop an outfieId from the sextet to equal in driving power any other in the circuit not even eX- cepting Little Rocks boasted trio of Walker, Kirby and Jacobson.
 Fred Nicholson and Jud Daley are | the only two fielders left of the bunch ! who reported March 20. Ovid Nichol- l son, once of Nashville and for whom l Rudy Somers was traded to the St. ! Joseph team of the Western league, l reported Friday. Chancey, who topped 1 the South Atlantic league in hitting last year an average of 1850 with Ma l con was bought Friday from the Bos l ton Braves.
 Unless two deals which the manager says he has completed fall through, | however, between the present and Mon | day, these four players are likely toI contend for a single job. Elberfeld | says he has purchased a great hitter | from a major league club who should lead the Southern in hitting and has another star under cover These two should be in camp by Monday and the Kid can than busy himself with his outfield problem.
 The return of Poston to Detroit this week cut the pitching staff to five men, all of whom will be kept until cutting down time. The quartet are Joe Martina, Lefty" Herbert, Jim AL len, Gene Krapp and Benn Karr. With the exception of Krapp, whose veter- an arm seems to come round slowly, the staff is in splendid shape, and whoever the Kid selects to twirl the opening bill at Nashville next Friday will be ready for the gong. Rube Mar shall, last years local standby. has failed to make good with Detroit and was offered to Chattanooga as trading | lv,,ok kar fo1 I,fIt find anyone who was willing to turn loose another star outfielder for first
 class Class pitcher, as is the Rube
 VETERAN INFIELD
 Smykal won the shortstop job from
 Weidell in a canter and the latter will
 be sent to some club in the Georgia Alabama league with string to him. The rest of the infield is composed of last years players. namely, Harris at first, Pitler at second and Graff at third. Behind the bat Powers, the Canadian leaguer, is still battling bravely to beat Peters out for the job of understudy to Frank Kitchens.
 The Lookouts wound up their exhi- bition season Wednesday with a tre- mendous hitting exhibition against the New York Giants, showing the club to be much stronger than it seemed against the Yankees and Athletics. The latter failures were due partly to the fact that the locals had not been in training so long as the visitors.
 The dash and speed shown against the Giants was a revelation to the fans, who fairly gasped In amazement at the smoothness of team play that was exhibited. It was expected that the pitchers. who have been going strong all along. would continue to come through, but even their perform ance of holding McGraws team to four scattered hits was something note- worthy.
 The game was sufficient to indicate to the fans that the team possessed latent hitting strength of which they were unaware and to encourage them in the belief that the Kid has a win ner, especially with the added hitting l that the new outfielders will bring.