The Washington times., 1920-10-02
Gdron Season Opens Shapes Up Strong For Big
CLEVELAND INDIANS STAGGER ACROSS
LINE, WHILE ROBINS PERK UP AT END
BY FREDERICK G. LIEB.

BY FREDERICK G. LIEB.
All season long the Cleveland In
| dams have maintained the highest
team batting average in either
league. Consistently since the early
weeks of the season, Speakers tribe
has maintained a clip better than
800, and when these averages were
closed Cleveland was hitting an
even 300.
/ In 800 hitters Cleveland is much
better fortified than brooklyn.
Eleven OF the Indians, including six
regulars. two, extra catchers, two
pitchers and one utility man. are
| curing the ball for 800 or better
/ When "Duster' Mails faces Brooklyn
| the Dodgers twirler will be opposed
| by seven 800 hitters, the entire line
up with the exception OF Wambs-
ganss and Lunte. II Joe Evans or
| Joe Sewell plays short 1t Will give
iris nine players who hit better than
800.
| THEY LOOKED STALE.
| Going into the last week OF the
season, the Cleveland team looked
stale and it's pitchers overworked and
II
| September series 10 both the Yankees
and White Sox, both played in the
| Cleveland park, ample proof that the
club Is not playing it's best ball and
is staggering across the wire. Brook
| Ign on the other hand played Its best
ball In September
Cleveland's strong aces are iris
Speaker, Steve O'Neill and t'srry
| Gardner. The unfortunate Ray Che p
Il An a. n NhfF .af hi "a
quartet
| Speakers leadership and fighting
qualities enabled the Indians TO come
| through despite some sore obstacles.
He rallied the club through the de-
| pressed period after the Chapman
| disaster, when Cleveland spirit Ind
| sunk 10 a low ebb. Hitting .3SS and
playing his usual superb game in the
| neld. the wonderful Iris will be the
1 outstanding light OF the series. Any
I club that can enter into World Sc
ries with Speaker has a wonderful
ace in the hole. iris played on two
world champions and is used to the
excitement of these games.
O'NEILL WAY AHEAD.
One of Cleyeland's strong positions
Is behind the bat, where Brooklyn is
weakest. Steve O'Nenl stands head
and shoulders above any of the
| Dodger catchers. He Is a high-class
! workman, has more than his share of
baseball brains, has one OF the grand
| est arms in baseball and is a more
| reliable hitter than either Miller or
Kruger.
Gardner helps to steady the Cleve-
land team. Not only is he a grand
defensive infelder. but he is the most
dangerous Indian in the pinch.
| Gardner, however, is the strong man
OF the Indian infield. That shortstop
hole left vacant by the death of Chap
| man has been a yawning abyss and
Speaker has lost a lot OF sleep try
| ing to fill it.. Lunte, who succeeded
Ray, developed a charley horse soon
after he was appointed Chapman's
successor. Evans. former third base
man OF the team, then tried to stop
up the hole. but he couldn't and
Speaker has been finishing the sea-
son with Sewell, a New Orleans re-
cruit. at short. He Joined the team
too late to be eligible for the series.
Now that President Ebbets and
Manager Robinson OF the Brooklyn
| Club have consented to waive their
right to prohibit Joe Sewell from
playing in the worlds series, Cleve-
lands chances will be far superior.
Sewell jumped into the hole in Cleve-
lands shortstop position, after Harry
Lunte sprung a charley horse and
| proved far more capable workman
than Lunte.
Is A BIT NERVOUS.
The New Orleans rookie started hit
ting at .377 clip as soon as he broke
into Speakers lineup, while his nu-
merous errors afield can be charged
to a rockies usual nervousness.
| Sewell has the natural advantage of
being a much faster man than Lunte,
and has proved a splendid run getter
| for the Indians.
Wambsganss has not had very
/ good season, though he is playing
better ball now than early in the sea :
son. Doc Johnson on first is showing
1.-THE effects of a hard seasons grind,
and isn't finishing as strong as Ko-
netchy of Brooklyn.
Speaker has an all 300 outfield. as
Jameson. Evans, Smith and himself
are listed at .314 or better.
When 1t comes to pitchers, C1eve-
land doesn't loom up so formidable.
At ono time in the season when Bag
tby. Coveleskie and Caldwell were
winning an occasional game here and
there. Speakers stan was considered
| a pretty good one.
WORKED LIKE BEAVERS.
| But IL has been taxed hard. Bsgby
and Coveleskie, the two top-liners.
have worked like beavers to keep the
Indians on top. and both of them are
showing TIE effects of overwork.
Neither have the effectiveness that
featured their work earlier in the
| season.
Caldwell has gone to pieces, and in
the last two weeks of the season he
has been mauled numerically every
1 time that Speaker sends him to the
mound.
In fact, withou the services OF Dus-
ter Mails, the young southpaw. It is
doubted IL Cleveland could have re-
matned in front. Mails came as
| gift from heaven, and by winning FIVE
| straight games after joining the
| team Buster took some of the bur
den of the shoulders OF Coyelesltie
and Bsgby and also furnished some
valuable victories to the Cleveland
cause.
Cleveland's reserve pitchers, Morton
Clark and Uhle arc fair men. Morton