Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-13

When the Chicago Cubs trimmed
McGraw's Giants four times out of
hve in Gotham, recently, that prob
ably settled the pennant, and so far
as the most careful observers can
see the post-season contest will be
between Cubs and Red Sox.
About the only remaining posi-
bility of an upset before the finish is
contained in the long series which
the Pirates and Cubs opened yester-
day. The forces of BeZdek and
Mitchell are to play nine straight
games within a period of five days,
and the New York clubs last fight
ing chance will hinge on what the
Buccaneers manage to accomplish
in that time.
If the Corsairs should happen to
strike one of their best streaks and
turing the big end of the series, and
the McGrawites should meanwhile
pull themselves together and fatten
up at the expense of the Boston
Braves, to whom they have not lost
a game this season, there might be
an opportunity for the 1917 cham
pions to get back in the running and
put up a fight for the pennant in
the homestretch.
If that doesn't happen, however,
the race will be as good as over in
another week. True, the Giants still
have another series of their own to
play with the Cubs, but there is very
little nourishment in that for New
York rooters, in view of what the
Bruins have done to the Gotham
crowd in previous meetings this wear.
AS a matter of fact. New York's
games with Chicago have had more
to do with putting the McGrawites
out of the race than any other fac
tor. When opposed to the one club
that they had to beat in order to bag
the championship the Giants have
made a wretched showing,
If they had come close to holding
their own in their interclub contests
with their only pefinant rivals. Nc
Graw's men would now be on prac-
ticalIy even terms with the Mitchell
machine, and if they had won nine
of the seventeen games, they would
be in possession of first place.
But, far from accomplishing any
thing of that sort, last years flag
winners have won only five games of
the seventeen played with the
Bruins, and therein is the real ex-
planation of Chicago's present ad-
vantage and its prospective pennant
victory.
New York has not won a single
series out of the four played with
the Cubs this season and in only
one of them did the Fasteners get
an even break. When the Giants
first appeared in Chicago the Bruins
cleaned up three games in a row.
Four meetings at the Polo grounds
later resulted in a fifty-fifty split.
the Cubs next took three out of five
battles on their home grounds, and
during their recent invasion of
Gotham they snatched four out of
five.
1t follows that the McGrawites
cannot attribute their pennant fail
ure to any soft picking enjoyed by
the Cubs in games with other teams.
Their own inability to cope with
their rivals has been the cause of it
all.
When it came down to a hand-to-
hand test between the two contend
ers the Giants failed to stand up un-
der fire. while Mitchelfs team was
there forty ways. The superiority of
the Illionis ballers was evident in
every series, and the manner in
which they mauled the only oppo-
sftion they had to fear at the be-
ginning of the race will leave no
room at the finish for any assertions
that they did not win the pennant
on their merits.
The Cubs have been lucky, it must
be admitted. in that while other
clubs continued to lose good players
right along Chicago was permitted