The Pensacola journal., 1920-04-10
FULLERTON'S SPRING BASEBALL DOPE :.
How the National League Teams Compare.
By HUGH S. FULLERTON

Brooklyn -. 1346 1880 945x 1859 1C
Boston -. 1906 1275x 965 1152x IL
Philadelphia 12o7x 1257x 940x 1147 10
x-Gain since spring training start
LOSS since spring training start
Gentlemen and Fans: Here is where
I throw up both hands.
The Dope-the Infallible DOPlre-
fuses to tell which team will win the
National League pennant.
With six teams ranking so closely
together in the figures that it is with
in the province of luck to turn the
sixth place team into the leader, and
with the two tail enders strong enough
in individual pitching talent to upset
the leaders regularly, it is impossible to
forecast with any degree of certainty
which team will win.
The situation is unprecedented in
my time at least. 1 have seen three
strong teams some years, four in a
few once five, but never before six
that ranked so closely together.
Cincinnati leads on the dope, but L
have a horrible suspicion that the fig
ures are a trifle misleading because
some are a little high because of the
fact that some of the Reds went faster
than their normal gait last year.
Besides that, it is natural for every
team in the league to save pitchers
and beat the Champions, which makes
it harder for the title holder to win
than for some team not so favored.
Remember too that there are two
teams, Chicago and Brooklyn, with
better pitching staffs than the Reds
possess and one almost as good, and
every other team in the league has at
least one pitcher who is good enough
to make his team favorite against the
Reds, unless he is pitted against one
of Morans stars.
Also it is still a big problem as to
how the new pitching rules will affect
the work of Eller, and it is certain
that Dutch Reuther will not be as good
this year as he was last.
Altogether, while the Reds now show
the best balanced team in the circuit,
it is a parlous thing to predict pen
nant for them and even my gall is not
up to it.
1t is a tremendous surprise to me
to find Chicago second in the figures.
Mitchell has been quietly confident
this spring, and the dope shows that
he is justified in it. His great strength
of course, is in pitchers, and he fig
ures his pitchers can gather in the
Reds often enough to turn the series
and the championship in his favor.
The Cubs have had a strange expert
ence this spring, losing strength in
two positions and gaining in four
since they started training Herzog's
serious rupture is a heavy blow to the
team. Should he recover entirely the
team will figure closer to the Reds
even than they do now. Hollacher's
injured hand, which delayed him in
getting ready for the season, cuts more
points off.
nd
attacking power and some pitching
strength. rank third. The develop
ment of Frisch and STATE helps the
teams chances. 1 fully expected both
Pirates and Cards to show stronger in
the dope than they do, although both
figure well enough to be pennant pos
sibilities. If Terry returns to his team
the Pirate chances will be further in
creased. In fact, if | were depending
upon opinion rather than cold figures,
1 would move the Pirate team higher
UP in the standing. 1t is a danger
Gus and speedy ball club. Gibson, of
course, is untried as a manager, but
the team will stir up the league badly.
One expects increases in strength in
the tail end clubs during the spring
training, and both Boston and Phila-
delphia have added strength and
able showing than they did last year.
The teams are at least strong enough
to be dangerous when their pitching
aces work. With Rixey pitching for
the Phils. or Rudolph or Oeschger for
the Braves, the teams are not out
claSsed.
All that remains to do with the dope
is to figure the final standings. We
know the offensive and defensive
strengths of the teams of both leagues.
Now we must take each pitcher, fig
ure how many games he probably will
work against each other team, and
how many ne should win and lose from
each. Barnes, for instance, probably
will work in thirty-five games, six
against the Reds, probably only four
against Chicago, as Chicago will be
weak against left handlers, and Nehf
and Benton will do the bulk of the
Giant pitching against them. We must
go through the entire league that way,
add up and find the probable result
| of the season.