Evening star., 1920-04-06
CLEVELAND PICKED
ASFLAG WINNER
Speaker Has Powerful Team
and Appears to Have Edge
on All Rivals.

f; iris Speaker has an all-hred tough
| job cut out for him this summer. IL
| he wins the pennant in the American
League nobody will be surprised and
folks will just accept it as matter
| of course. but If he doesn't win II a
lot of folks along the shores of Lake
Erie are going to be greatly disap-
pointed, writes Masium in the Phila-
delphia Inquirer.
To our perspicacious eye 1t looks like
the best club in the American League.
And in making this bold statement we
are not forgetting that the Yankees
will have the use of Carl Mays the
entire season, and have ADDED the
dreadful bludgeon of Babe Ruth 10
their battle ranks.
A bit of corroborative evidence tina
the reader himself will appreciate is
the consensus of opinion thae "neil
the season closed last fall Speaker
had the best ball club in the league
away from the White SoX had the
season lasted two weeks longer. Add
ed to this is the fact that this sum.
mer Iris will have the use Oh slim
Caldwell all through the season. ana
George Uhle, the sand lot discovery
Of last season. will this season W pe
a so per cent better pitcher than ne
was last year.
Caldwell Factor.
We have talked with the efficient
but erstwhile erratic slim" Caldwell
and slim" has assured us that ne Is
going to take his work in earnest
this season.
In Caldwell, Coveleski. Uhle. Nor
ton, Bagby. Myers and Booming
strongest pitching staff in the league.
And to these he has added this season
an experienced southpaw in DICK Me
haus. once with the st. Louis Cards.
In addition to Niehaus, Boehling mas
reported with his left wing again In
good working order,
an experienced left-hander who Will
beat any ball club when he Is right;
When you consider the gallant night
| Cleveland made last year without tne
pitching of Caldwell for most OF the
distance, without the use of Boehling
and with Uhle an inexperienced debu-
tante, and Myers not out OF milltary
service until the season was halI over
| it doesn't require much OF mental
strain to figure Cleveland to nave q
whale of chance to cop duriAg the
approaching summer.
Wood Coming Back.
And on top of all this added pitching
strength is the discovery that Joe
Wood is apt to return to pitching this
season. Heretofore Joe has only been
available for use in the outfield when
the team opposed a left-hand pitcher
The line-up of the Cleveland team
| in the coming fuss is no secret. II
will be Harris and Doc Johnson alter
mating at first, Wambsganns at sec
ond, Chapman at short, Larry Gardner
| at third, and Graney, Speaker and
Smith in the outf1eld, with Steve
O'Neill, Chet Thomas and NunamakeI
the catchers, and Caldwell. Coveleskie
UhIe, Morton, Bagby, Myers, Boehline
and possibly Joe Wood as the pitch
ers. Not wonderful array of all-staI
talent, but a mighty efficient ball
club, that is evenly balanced all over
Unknown Quantities.
Along with this regular talent they
have working out with them down
here such unknown quantities as Muir
Gibson, Cykowski. Faeth, Lambeth
and Petty among the pitchers. Wood
riff in the outfield and Neu in the in
field Lambeth was formerly with the
team and looked like a coming star
when he dashed out of the Western
League to accept a big league job. Cy-
kowski was a sandlot pal of Uhles
fol. whom the st. Louis Cards put up
a hard fight to get this spring. and
Faeth was spit-ball pitcher with
Milwaukee. who was too erratic to
figure much. Otis Lambeth is the
only one who has a chance to figure
much in the approaching proceedings
If one of the regulars happens to slip
this bird may be in there winning q
lot of games for Speaker. He was in
the Army last year, where he saw a
lot of hard fighting in France