The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1918-03-15

In military service ................
Liable to call .....................
Pittsburg is an everything to gain, moth
ing to lose club. Its owner is beyond
doubt the shrewdest student and the
closest watcher of young players In the
country, not excepting Connie Mack. or
recent years the owner, Mr.. Dreyfuss,
has become peevish and has quarrelled
with managers quarreled with otner
owners and helped in the demolition OF
a once strong club by his methods.
Dreyfuss had heavy burdens He has
taken a heroic and wonderful step to re-
build a club. He is revolutionary. In
stead of buying stars, hiring miracle
men and such things, he has built up
club Of young fellows who are expected
to work and has cleansed out all others.
He has had that theory for sometime
and could not get managers to agree
with him, SO he hired manager VINO
would.
He hired a fellow who never managed
ball clubs who played very little ball
even at college, who never was even in
a minor league, but he got man who
is with him in his theories.
Dreyfuss went entirely out of baseball
and hired a big fellow named Nugo
Bezdek to manage his ball club. Bezdek
is a back of the yards fellow from Chi
cago. who worked his way through the
University of Chicago, who boxed,
wrestled and roughed it. who became a
star football player, a bull dog line
plunger, and a fair ball player. He has
the fighting spirit. He can lick half the
team if he has to do it and he has the
cries.
The more one sees OF Bezdek the bet
ter one likes him. He is a free fighting.
free thinking fellow, good fellow, a
rough one and a square one. He has
studied baseball He can make a cork
ing speech, he can fight (and wild, AMI
for anyone who is square with him and
doing his best Bezdek will go the limit
He is the kind of man ball players ad-
mire.
but he is glutton for work and insists
upon his men working (which will help.
He has material. Just how he will
shape UP the team is uncertain, but we
are going to have a club playing the
highest type of aggressive college base
ball this summer.
The team escaped easily in the war
thus far, and is not liable to lose much
even if every man liable to be called
is summoned to the colors.
The team, as it now lines up, has a
fast and clever outfield a much
strengthened infield, an interrogation
mark for a catching staff and one whale
nj a nj cd NV, cl-i RI
hurlers.
The anchor OF the defensive team will
be, of course, Wilbur Cooper, who with
last seasons hopeless club, won II and
lost 10 games. Bob Steele and Earl
Hamilton furnish the rest of the left
handedness. The acquisition of Hamil-
ton Is an experiment of the highest or
der, gamble. He was great pitcher
who went back. 1t is said he came back
last season in the as
ne has. PitIsburg has the strongest left
handed combination in the league: q
combination that would especially trouble
Chicago New York and Cincinnati.
tremendous effort has been made
20 strengthen the weak catching star
and there are six men on the list.
The outfield will be Carey, Stengle and
King, with Jackson, Bigbee and old Bus
ten Bill Htnchman as reserves, Hinch-
man serving largely as pinch hitter
The infield is tremendously strength
cned by the acquisition of George Cut
shaw from Brooklyn, Safer or Mollwitz
1t first: Pitler Bill Stumpf and Boeckel
to fill the other two jobs. There also is
Cation, and whoever WORKS hardest gets
the jobs.
Not bad club on paper at all; al
though vastly lacking in hitting power:
much stronger than one would imagine,
provided Bezdek gets it to working to-
ysv~I
Will be In the final figures, but I'll
chance hat right now that it beats
some club out.
WASHINGTON
In military service .........,...
Liable to CAN Northumberland.
Washington sure is ball club more
70 be pitied than censured. It has been
hit harder by war conditions, finan-
cially. than any other club. it has been
Jolted terrifically by enlistments and
tho draft, after most OF the fans had
been drafted away from it, and 1t stands
for more heavy jolts.
The team has been gradually LOSING
strength for three years and all the
efforts Of the owners seem useless I,
4 Is developing few men and the old ones
I are wearing down under the strain Hi,
hard in the treasury through lack oil
interest in baseball in Washington due
IN purchases and salaries, and cannot
afford to buy strong players in competi
fion with the rich clubs. nor can it af.
ford salaries. This has caused dissatis.
faction among the veterans, and gloon
among all fans.
The team. already sadly lacking in
hitting power, and dependent largely or
defensive work and pitching, has los
much of the strength that it strove t.
add through trades
With Johnson dissatisfied because Of
= cut in pay, with Leonard, Horace Mi
laN, Mike Menosly and Johnny Lavar
IN service, with Rice either in service OF
about to enter. the pospect is gloomy
enough for Griffith
~ johnson. the mainstay of the team Ii
not satisfied. lie does not like reduced
salary after the service he has giver
the club Last year Johnson lost a big.
9er per centage Of his games than he ha.
done for many years. Some critics sale
he was slipping. The fact is he was
- - - = -