New-York tribune., 1922-11-14

aisA III THAT sSctlOH ei tHe country h
quarter mile. measured vertically
County of New York, and that ths
the Giant training camp TO answer
This, in substance, is the message
that John J. McGraw waited By radio
from the Giant headquarters, in Forty
fourth Street, yesterday in the hope
that the one and only Casey might
have mis- ear glued to receiving set in
far of Nippon. where he is at present
playing ball and welding a pa:r OF
wicked chop sticks with Herbert Hunt
eg's major league wanderers in the
Land of the Rising Sun. TIE leader OF
the Giant clan thinks that If the New
York owners have paid $4,000 foG
young Jimmy o'Conneil and schooled
him for year on the Coast as a center
fielder without being able to count on
him rs regular for the coming sea-
son of 1928, then the boasted purchas-
ing power Of the almighty dollar is a
deiusion and q srare, and all national,
state and city banks should forthwith
be turned into pretze factories or
Chinese laundries.
Ia few thousand words Jimmie
O'Conneil ss slated to cover the area
vacated by George Burns in 1921 and
divided more or less equally between
Casey Stengel, the ancient mariner,
aud Wild Willie Cunningham, the Sc
attic sea serpent, during the season
just past. Not that John McGraw loves
Casey and Willie less. but that he cx-
poets to love Jimmie more. Like
Brutus and Cassius, they are both hon
orable men, bat they didn't cost S75,-
900, even in Mexican money Finan-
ciers agree that it's criminal offense
to let money lie idle.
Mitcheli's Soft Job
Adding the per cent interest on
OConnells purchase price to whatever
stipend he may draw it would probably
cost the Giants something like $4,000
year to let young James sit or the
southerly end of the New York bench
and look wise. This would he 9 terri
Bile waste of money, as John McGraw
realizes Lots of young fellows can be
found to sit on a bench not for year,
but permanently, il necessary, at a
much lower rate Of exchange than that.
johnnie Mitchell did it for the Yankees
until he was cut off untimely from the
sottest JOB major league athlete ever
had, that of being substitute for Dea-
con Scott, who hadn't missed a game in
over nine hundred tries
One Of the few men around the mr-
tropois who have seen O'Connell in ac-
tion is Phil Lynch, the "fdus Achates"
Of Colonel Tillinghast L'Hommedieu
Huston. The portly contractor, whose
various projects take him to all parts
of this broad and admittedly glorious
country, c1anped his optics on the
youthful Jar1es IS he disported himself
on the Coast iast ear III Phifs opiD-
len the noor bus irish youngster from
San Francisco is G Hornsby and Sisler
rol!so into one and sprinkled with
pepper. Hes so fast ayers Sir
Philip, that he beats out foul tips and
usually steals two bases at time"
Nothing more need be said. That ex-
plains not only Jimmie O'Connell, but
also Phil Lynch and his friendship for
Cap Huston.
However, John McGraw doesn't count
entirely on the San Francisco phenom
10 nail the 1923 pennant to the Polo
Grounds fiagpole. The little Napoleon
WI provide strong supporting cast.
In his opinion, he is better off by far
than he was last year at this time. "I
nave Scott and McQuilian on my pitch
ing staff now, and | regard them as
distinct additions. It's true I've lost
foney and Douglas. but ToMey was not
reliable finger, and you never knew
what Douglas was going to do next or
where 1t was going to happen, Then
think highly of the three young pitch
ers we picked up--Cvengros, Johnson
and Blume. These boys look as though
1aes might develop into real pitchers"
Pitching Staff Strengthened
The Giant leader did not speak of
"Ieke' Barnes or Claude Jonnard, as
he regards them almost in the light of
regulars. Undoubtedly the pitching
4 staff is strengthened, and with the
million dollar infeld ready to func
ilon again with the threatened i'm
provement to the out6eld it looks as
though the worlds champions would
not be the ones to displace the Boston
Braves from the National League cell
lar in 1928.
McGraw said that even if O'Connell
was looked upon as the logical choice
for center field, both Stengel and Gun
ningham would be given an even chance
10 land the berth "Doesn't Casey de-
serve it?" queried McGraw. The ''ayes"
had it.
NoHlluE-OuG part2eS are Just ordinary
affairs. G. Herman Ruth gave ego
ing-in" party last night at the Elks
Club. The Bambino is about to 20
into winter quarters on his farm at
Sudbury, Mass, and he gathered some
of the Scribes and Pharisces about him
last night, where he was host at the
farewell party,
The old story that Eddie Roush
would be with the Giants next season
is dying hard. McGraw said yesterday
that it was practically dead issue.
Rumors that Jack Bentley had been
bought from Baltimore to be used in a
trade for Rousli have been current for
some time, but the Giant skipper re-
fuses to confirm them.
George Burns, by the way, dropped
into town for few days last week and
said the place hadn't changed q bit.
George is q fight fan and promised to
make his next visit eoincident with the
date OF some good fight at the Garden.
On or about December l Christy
Mathewson, the daddy OF them all on
the pitching mound, will journey down
from the Adirondacks for two weeks
stay in New York or its environs. He
will probably visit John McGraw at
Pelham. and he and his wife will also
spend some time at Plainheld, N. J.,
where Mrs. Mathewson's sister has her
ree;danee