Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-04-17
Line SPORTS NeDs and Comment
Nv Norman =. Brown.

The Cleveland Indians have the In
side track on the American league
pennant. I'm strinslng with them.
At the start OF this series on the
big league clubs said that the In
dams will fight It out with the Tigers
and Yankees for the bunting since
that time circumstances on the
Yankee team have practically put
that club out Of the running Inc
Tigers can be counted on to give the
Indians a battle royal. but i believe
the Ohio team has the edge.
Leaving comparison OF the two
clubs aside for minute, consider
this:
The Indians have been set to
win the pennant several times
since Nap Lajoie led then, to
within kaIf q game Of the top in
1908. They have had pitching,
batting and fielding. But they
slipper at crucial periods. Games
badly needed were allowed to
slim away. Summed up,> the
teams main weakness in all
those seasons was in the man
aeerisl end.
Mcclure, Stovall, Harry Davis
Birmingham and Lee Foil were gooo
men and knew baseball. but they
lacked the qualifications to lead big
league club with the going tough.
Birmingham was the best leader OF
the lot as far as fight was concerned.
but allowed personal feeling and ais
sension to set in.
To my mind Speaker Is the man the
team needed.
He's Born Leader.
He has shown. since he took over
the reins last summer. that lie Is Il
born leader. He has !nst;.lcd tiaht in
to the club by his own personality
the minute Jim Dunn signed MIN as
a private TO play center icld. He was
the real leader OF the team on the
field under Fohl. buzz Of course didn't
have 1.-THE right to carry cut his own
lunches in handling the team.
The players are for him to
man. partly because he Is
FIGHTER. He has shown the hunoh
that they must fight. 1:'he fans.
who had realized all along that
tho Cleveland managers aeked =
the nseessary punch, took I"
Spoke, which means much t. tho
team. When Speaker knocked
Chick Gandil fiat on his baseball
shirt in Chicago last summer AZ
ter Gandil hurled soms .profane
language at him, tho big Texan
made himself more solid than
ever with tho fans and players.
Il was the first bit Of fire they
had seen In the managers uni
form In years.
Besides his lighting spirit Spoke Is
one of the smartest baseball men In
any angle of the game today. He is
a real student of the game. He knows
the customs and weaknesses OF the
old players and the pilots IN the A. L.
He can handle available pitchers to-
get the most effective work out OF
them. He is a keen Judge Of their
daily form.
He looks like the man.
Now, as to the teams strength.
The Tigefs, with their powerful
batting combination Of Cobb. Veach,
Flagstead, Shorten and Heilman
ranked only Ave points above the
Tribe in team batting last year. The
Tiger outfield had 1t on Spoke and
his partners in batting, but the In
dian infield almost made up the Diff
ference. Graney. Speaker and Wood
or Smith give the Indians an out
field as sweet as Hughes in fielding.
InfieId Stars in Attack.
The infield, in addition to playing
good defensive, ball., was powerful
unit in the Indians attack last year.
Johnston, at rst, hitT.3o5. Wambs-
ganss, at second. hit .27s. Ray
Chapman hit at even 800, topping all
other shortstops, and led the league
in sacrifice hits with fifty. Gardner
led the third basemen in batting with
a 800 average.
Steve O'Neill ,outhit all the other
regular catchers in the. league. bat
ting .2s9 and making many of his
hits count.
As to the pitchers.
; Well, last fall the Indians lost out
to the White Sox in the final squirt
by three and d half sames-mainiy
because the pitching staff weakened.
Speaker lacked. most of all, a south
paw. Fritz Coumbe hzzled. iris
said to Dunn: "Give me q good south
paw and we're set for next season"
Dunn sent Bert Niehaus. star Of
the American Association, and Tim
Murchison, sensation Of the Three
Eye league to Spoke at~New Orleans
and said: "They are the best can
get"
Both men look good. They are At
and have been effective in spring
training. Niehaus won twenty three
games and lost thirteen for st. Paul
last season and was called the cream
of the league. Murchison, with Pc
oria, hurled two no-hit games in a
row last year and also pitched and
won three double headers. He wound
up with st. Joseph last season by
winning four out Of five games.
that man in tho aIontrin chair He'e