The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-20
JACK COOMBS FACES :
DIFFICULT PROBLEM
New Manager Of Phillies Has
Nine Pitchers, but Not
One Real Star.
MIKE PRENDERGAST BEST
Is Only Reliable Hurler In
Outfit-Casazza Will Be
Earned TO Minors.
MIKE PRENDERGAST BEST

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. April 19.-FiEur-
ing out the Phill,es' pitching star this
year is about as easy n Job as doping
out why a woman wears furs in sum
, mer.
Coombs has a stan OF nine hurlers
Town here, yet he is handicapped by tho
absence of any one real star around whom
he can build and vino can always serve
as a dependable when the team is get
ting the old bumps
A dependable hurler means lot 10
any team and the Pills re probably the
only team in either leaprue without ono
at present, although several members OF
the stan ought to come through in that
class. Tho Pills have more near stars
on the team than any other club In tho
National League and Coombs may get
one or two OF them to deliver the good.
As II is Mike Prendergast Is about tho
most reliable finger of the bunch but
Jacobs, Oeschger and Watson ought 70
be real pitchers and may be this year.
II any hurler ever had everything
necessary to make him a star It is Joe
Oeschger. He has one Of the greatest
fast balls in the game, a world OF stun
and knows how to pitch, but III the past
lie has always been la cking and 1t looked
like confidence In his own ability or
a case of having too much, for many
pitcher has fallen short Of the marx
simply through an overabundance Of
curves. The case of Lowdarnik 10 d
good example.
Mule Watson the Big PrOb1cm.
Mule Watson Is the problem among
tho regulars this year. In the past tire
Mule would have been a first rank
pitcher II he had steadiei UP and taken
his work more seriously. Since his ar
rival here Watson has shown de-
cided change OF heart, Coombs has n
hold on Watson and the Mule announces
that he is going TO pitch his head OF
for Jack this year
So far as southpaw pitching goes there
Is only Packard to depcad upon ut pres-
ent and OF Necessity Gene will be re-
lief hurler. for with only one left handler
on the staff Coombs will have to hold
him In reserve in case the enemy start
batting the heads off the right handlers
Tho young fingers are the hope OF
the team and Coombs has actually per
formed miracles with them in the past
Two weeks. There are four OF them.
Woodward. Casazza, Faircloth and
Stringer The first three are about the
best looking trio OF rookie pitchers n
manager could ask for. but none of them
showed any promise during the frst
week excepting Woodward.
CoOmbs Accom- li.hcs Wonders.
The incessant work OF Coombs in
teaching and training them during the
past three weeks has accomplished Won
ders. Woodward will in all probability
be hNed addition 30 the regular staff
He is rather small but husky and has n
fast ball that is as good a. any on tho
club except Oeschger's
Faircloth didn't appear TO have a
thing when he first began loosening up
but now he Is showing some real ab!l-
ity. He is lacking in experience al
though he pitched in the Western As
ISOLATION two years ago, and was n
member OF the Great Lakes NavoI
Training Station team with Red F'aber
and lot of other big leaguers.
Casazza has the markings of a star
left handler. He is nephew OF Gait
Casazza. the Metropolitan Opera i'm
presario. and is six feet one inch tall
with 175 pounds Of beef to back UP hl5
fast one.
Coombs saw him working out IN
Brooklyn while he vas n member OF
the st. Johns Academy team and
grabbed him this year out OF Il bank IA
New York. II is only absence of expert
ence that prevents CaSazza From becor,-
ing the star left handler OF the staff and.
AS he Is only 2O years old Coombs may
buy him round trip ticket TO some
minor league club for season or two
and then recall him.
Lieut.. Lyle Stringer is the other new
acquisition to the staff lie has not
shown much SO far. but he is a curve
ball performer and rather slow rounding
Into shape. SO II IL useless to try and
figure him out until the old hook starts
20 break right