The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-12
Cardinals Are Playing Good
 Ball This Year

for sticking out his chest and whiting merry tunes these days.
 The reason can be found in the stand you'll notice the erstwhile lowly Cardi- uals are cutting quite bold figure Tn years gone by Cardinal teams have come to the fore spasmodically and played brilliant ball for periods vary l ing from two weeks to two months, only to fall back into the ruck with a loud crash, carrying the feeble hopes of Mound City fans with them. But the Cardinals of 1920 compose regular ball club They are playing the kind of base ball tht wins and it is due to their great playing that the National League race up to this writing has been such a nip | and tuck affair
 The Cardinals have met and taken the measure of every strong team in the old | league. They have been beaten by the strong teams, too, and the habit of the stronger teams in walloping each other 1 has made the race the most sensational the Heydler circuit has seen in many a season.
 But to return to the Cardnals-Branch Hickey has built up wen-balanced, smoothly running baseball machine that l today stands just as good chance of winning the 1920 pennant as any club in | the league, and may forge to. the front during the month of July and build up | a lead that will be hard for rival teams I to tear down.
 CARDS HAVE GOOD CHANGE | |, .44. lc aside from the fact that they are play | ing grand baseball. may be found in the l schedule, which shows that they will play on their own sand lot throughout 1 two-thirds of July. The Cards-both St. ! Louis teams, in fact-haVe peculiar ad- Vantage over rival clubs when playing at home during the hottest part of the summer season. It is because the St. Louis players are used to the torrid weather that prevails in the Mound city 1 in July and August and can stand the 1 gaf better than visiting teams, Many time the visiting players literally 1 render out in their tracks when play ing in St. Louis While the Cards |f Browns travel along at fast pace anc do not seem to mind the heat in the i least.
 But while Hickey and his boys will | have a pretty capable ally in the hot weather while playing at home they 1 will have far more valuable asset l in their fine team work and wonder full fighting spirit 1 was amazed a. | the fine spirit and smooth, speedy playing when l first saw the Cardlnals 1 perform this season. They looked no
 more like Cardinals teams of other
 days than | resemble my old friend
 Tim Jeffries.
 Hickey has his players on their toes
 They are full of ginger from the mo
 ment they don their uniforms unu
 they run for the the showers after-the lgame is ended and their pepper is all the more noticeable because the men or
 the bench keep up a continuous bar rage of encouragement for the men who are in the field.
 l Whenever a member of the Cardinal
 makes timely hit or q fine play in
 the field he is showered with praise
 by his own team mates. The men on
 the bench are also quick to call our
 warnings to the catcher or the fielderi
 whenever foul ball Is hit that canno:
 be caught. hey help each other out al
 every turn and they never quit fightins
 no matter how the score stands.
 GOOD OUTFIELD TRIO
 In Shotten, Heathcote and Schultz
 Manager Hickey has d trio of fast
 strong throwing, sure fielding gard
 ners who are playing as fine a brand l or DaSeDdtl as any OuIIlelQ lTlO III
 either major league. And they are all
 dangerous hltters against the best pit
 ching. In Fournier, who is staging 3 wonderful come eback; the peerless Rog-
 CT Hornsby the veteran Johnny La
 van and the agile Milton Stock, the
 Cardinals have an infield combination
 that is putting up one of the greates:
 day in and -day-out exhibitions of real
 baseball that the old league has seen in, a Tho n tr Q m.
 ems and Dilhoefef-are holding the pitchers in great shape and both have
 been hitting and begging well. The pitchers-Doak, Sherdell. Jacobs,
 Schupp. Goodwin and Haines-have all
 been going great guns for Hickey and if they can hold out the Cardinals will
 be in the race all the way
 Hickey has, in addition to the talent
 mentioned above two fine players ih
 McHenry and Janvrin, who are used
 largely when opposing clubs are jit.
 ching left handlers.