Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-03-21

When the merger OF the st. louis
Browns and the Sloufeds was an
nounced and the peerless Fielder
Jones was named as manager of the
combined organization thai Is to rep
resent the city III st. Louis this year,
fans throughout the country stated
that the Browns would be easy WIN
ners.
Since the combination was compIet-
ed the fans have still thought that the
st. Louis team would be up in the
first three, but as the former White
Sox manager took his squad South
the sentiment changed, and the
Browns+-or whatever the name the
people Of the Missouri metropolis have
wished on the squad-the fans now
state, will be among the first five.
the first five.
Long Road TO Pennant.
st. Louis hasn't got the pennant
sewed up 10 any extent, and ID would
not he Z, DaG guess to state that they
are h;Ia.y assured Of a place in the
first tliCc. elder Jones is sweet on
a number q his Federal players, but,
they will be IN different company this
year and will hardly make as good a.
showing as they did last season in a
minor league class. .#.E .-...
st. Louis had a FAIR pitching staff
last season, and of those who will be
retained for the first flight might be
mentioned Weilman, Sisler, Hamilton
and Koob. Jones states that he will
bank en- Plank. Otis Crandall and Da.
vcrESrt. OF the three pitchers, the
latter looks the best, although the
Gettysburg marvel won % and lost but
II last year, which proves that Plank
Is hardly all in. Bobby Groom is no:
counted on to do much, and Sister
will he kept on the mound. which has
displeased the. former Michigan star
Boston az First.
The addition of the Feds should
make the pitching corps stronger than
last year, but the material in the in.
field does not promise too much. Ivan
Howard has been sold to Cleveland,
and Jones will station Babe Bort0n at,
first base. Borton was never such a
star on the coast, and will hardly rank
with the leading, first baseman Of the
American league.
Pratt is the logical man for the Sec
ond base position, and this player has
been a real star for number of years.
Last year he hit over .290, leading all
the Browns in this respect. At short.
stop another coaster and last years
Fed player will be given chance.
This is Ernie johnson, who formerly
played with the Angels. Johnson hit
around $40 last year in the Fed |
-. AAf l. d.
Jones expects him to beat out Layan
for the position. Walsh has also been
signed. and may be given chance at
shortstop.
Deal Hit Well in 1918.
Deal is picked for the third position, |
since Austin has been counted out, |
and either he or McKechnie viii CA
wort around the difficult sack. When
Deal was in the National league he
was never a star at the bat, but last |
year in the Feds hit over 500 in 65 |
games. Whether or not the former |
Fed can come up to the mark in the |
American league is uncertain. 1t |
would be good bet that he does not. |
There will be hard fight for the /
outfield positions. and one or two of /
the Feds are likely to break in as reg
lilars With Shotten, Walker and /
Walsh, Marsans, Miller and Tobin, the
Browns will have a sextet of strong
fielders, but their oGtfeld will not
rank with that of Boston, Detroit and /
New York at the best.
Burt Shotten Star.
II Is hard to make comparisons be-
tween the hitters of the Federals and /
the swatsmiths of the American
league. Marsans and Tobin may make
good, but Shotten is almost sure of
place on the Browns squad. Walker
proved that he could hit, and it will be
a toss-Ip when It comes to settling
the question with the man making the
best showing at the first of the year
getting the place. Should Vincent /
Campbell join the squad he will make |
a hard fight for position
Hartley, Clemens and SEVERED /
hardly make winning combination |
behind the plate, and St Louis will /
not be overly strong in this position.
Fielder Jones may make up for the
weak spots on the team with Baum /
gartner Parks, Phillips and McCabe
showing something in the pitching