Evening star., 1916-04-09
CUBS LACK PEPPER
Need More AIertneSS on Paths
and Better Teamwork.
CL LIB NOT WELL BALANCED
First and Third Strongly Fortified,
But Second and Short Are
Problematical.
CLUB NOT WELL BALANCED
BY JAMES CRUsINBERRY.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
MEMPHIS, Tenn, April s.-After de-
voting five weeks to preparedness. Chi
cago's New Cubs will go into battle
Wednesday at Cincinnati. where they
will open the 1916 war for the National
League pennant. Before gun has been
fred it looks as if it Will be one of the
most exciting wars in the history oil
the great American game. and lndica-
tions are that Chicago will be in the
thick of the fight all the way.
The Cubs probably will line up against
the Reds in the opening game Wednes-
day as follows: Mulligan. shortstop;
Flack, right field Williams, center field;
Zimmerm n, third base; Safer. first
base; Zwilling. left field; Yerkes. second
base; Archer. catcher. and Hendrix,
pitcher.
The Chicago force under the command
of Joe Tinker, is like stranger in the
old league Besides Tinker. there are
several men on the club who wear the
scars of other wars. and there also are
recruits, with the enthusiasm of youth,
making altogether a great combination
for long siege.
Judging from the showing made In
practice battles, the Cubs either are not
great or else they are not ready. Man
ager Tinker thinks it is the latter con-
dition. He is convinced that this squad
is a fighting one. and one possessing
ability to stand up under the most
strenuous firing. 1t certainly is much
better ball team than represented chi
cago in the National League last year,
and it shouldn't require much great
er team to accomplish stirring results.
Lineup Is Uncertain.
So much building up and tearing
down were necessary that even at this
writing, four days before the opening.
there is doubt as to the exact lineup
of the Cubs for the first combat. \
lack of speed has marked the Cubs
since the first day they began training
in the Florida camp. Two or three in
dividuals possess it to a marked de-
gree, but on the whole the Cubs of to-
day are not fast.
Tinker needs more pepper around the
middle bag in the defensive play; he
needS more dleTtHeSS III pdoC .
and better teamwork at all times.
There are three of the Cubs most
swarthy pitchers ready to go to the
slab against the Reds in the opening
game Perhaps Manager Tinker will
not decide which one shall be chosen
until ten minutes before the Dell rings:
Jim Vaughn. trio whose combined
weight would be about SIS pounds and
whose combined length would be more
than 1S1. feet, are the ones who Will
warm up in front of the bench 1t looks
as if Hendrix is the most likely man to
be picked depending largely on the
antics of his spitball on that particu-
lar day.
ers in Flack. Williams. Zwilling. Schultz
and Mann All of them are likely to be
carried and it looks as If the first three
mentioned will be the trio on duty when
the season opens.
Half of Infield Strong.
The infield is strong at first and third,
with Safer and Zimmerman, respective
ly, holding those positions.
Jimmy Archer looks more active behind
the bat than he has in three years and
should have a great season with such
reliable helper as Bill Fischer. Besides
Mcconnell. Hendrix and Vaughn. there
are a couple of more pitchers in good
shane. and still two or three more who
should come when hot weather arrives.
Pierce looks better than ever before and
is strong against st. Louis. Boston and
Brooklyn Packard and Seaton may not
he used much before June, but should
take up the burden when hot weather
comes Bailey is liable to be pleasant
nd frnf1