Omaha daily bee., 1917-05-20
Internal SCRAP
LOOMS AHEAD IN
WESTERN LEAGUE
Magnates Getting Warm Under
Collar Over Rookie Rule, /
Freedom Of Umpires and Z
Personal Feuds. 1,

Unrestricted warfare that threatens
to surpass in violence all previous dis
cords and ruptures looms ahead for
the Western league, unless signs
cropping out here and there fail to
carry any significance.
Several preliminaries skirmishes
have already been started by some OF
the magnates. and, unless the flayed
and frayed dove of peace manifests
symptoms of new lease on life,
free-for-all battle royal with "an
eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth" as its keynote is due to get
away to flying start before many
more weeks.
The "youngster" rule is bound to
start lot of trouble il affairs con-
tinue in their present state.
The "youngster" rule DEGREES that
each club shall carry at least six
players who have not played base ball
of Class A or better, previous to the
current year. The law reads thirty
games for inhelders or outhelders,
fifteen games for catchers and ten
games for pitchers. All clubs were to
have been cut down May 8.
Judging from the manner with
which the rule is. observed one club
will win the pennant and another
club will claim it because the first
club didn't observe the rookie rule.
Protest Omaha Games.
Oman, has already had victories
,rotestsd IN The Grounds that Rourke
KS les than civ rerrr;ts on h;s nav
roiI a Scb;cI Rrntsw cnrr;e W,ter.
~, ~ oS en- .o,aa ,,J.r ~. uorns.
'.s s.sr aia oisss;saa,;on na % pa % aisa az csrt;Ssd
~, psa,.sn, ~. zehr,nr dsci,r.d Rrnt-
nSia ~. st.aas o,,ss u,;.h ~.
G. ss'h I p1au n,;;s cn-ds md s ths-sfor. was @
~ Louis u' anu INV '' "a'
hot iook'e, Z. -.
Jop,,n Is saiu 70 ps shS on :ooT'.s'
u al ieas' was oh Say o. sssS Ill. Ill
com. II !" saia 2iouS lily. whie
CARVING SIX KIDS Iahea 70 Gu, Gown
70 nl!een i''e, py Nay O. Des sa,..n mo,'.s %
u i, sa,a 70 nave ,sliea 10 feuuee y
the iequlreu hu.iipel. e .a.;..
ouen 9e,ng .ne eonui,lon oi ahsiS; .i;i;
erexie Lenrung quIe i!esu.slly Sa w,a
nnu pfu.ests IN 'he h'o'Iiik i'iah' snu
Wnen the ume comes 20 nake oeG,i :,,
sions tqs inusie any nIewofks WI
Starr. Inc prexie' OF COURSE VIII DC
tne Storm center.
| Nl umpires TOO Free.
| Another thing that promises to pro-
woke grand and glorious scrap is the
freedom of the umpires. Zehrung ap-
parently has given them a free hand
and the arbitcrs are having one gay
time. Up to date they have stopped
at nothing short of mayhem and mur-
Ger. The kaiser has nothing on
Zehrung's ,umping crew.
This, too, with an umpiring staff
| that is nothing to brag about. Omaha
has played at home nineteen days,
and in those nineteen days Omaha
has seen some umping that was moth
ing short OF marvellous. Pitchers have
to groove ball to have a strike
called. Decisions on the bases time
and time again have been called well
ahead OF tie play;
In an Omaha-Denverr game. Shag
| thompson mt a grounder to the IN
held. NILS dropped the throw ar
hrst anu o''is, o, eouns %, sho hod .siisd nasJ
rhe NAV before hall or runner reached,
the hag and turned his back and
failed 10 see Mills tumble. He called
| Thomson out. '".1f
In The came game Brottem laid
down bunt. He was thrown. out at
| first a couple of feet, but was called
safe BY the jumps. ..,.
Omaha hasn't played a game at
home without an unusually large
number OF obviously bad decisions. No
charge that the umpires are unfair
can be made, for they call them wrong
on both teams on about a fifty-hfty
basis.
The games, even though many have
been closely contested, have been
about as exciting as a game of uuoits.
| The minute a PLAYER opens his mouth
it costs him money. The umpires
seem to be waiting for a chance to
fine somebody, AS wartime salaries
are no more the players can't afford
the fines and they shut up. There has
been little or no aggressiveness as a
result.
Idea ia Wrong
-. a..
At,enaance hasn oeen up 70 ~
usual stdhudru this SEASON anu here .,