Evening star., 1922-08-21
CARDS. SLUMP PARALLELS
THAT OF PIRATES in 1921
ST. Louis Club Fumbles Three Chances to Take Lead
and Hold It-Browns Face Same Weakness as
- Fellow Townsmen, Indispensable Pitchers.
BY JOHN B. FOSTER.

BY JOHN
VIIsTORY is repeating itself,
than it did in 1921. The
4 Pittsburgh. That's another
right out of the championship as
rect will let them.
The Pirates seemed to have
p2l until after a certain trip ca!
fumbied very excellent champion
St: Louis Cardinals have had thre,
the National League race, and stick
championship quality. They have
sliding down an incline that is gre
sand the track. It's the story of
fact that the St. Louis team is not
By waiver hickey has managed
TO get Toney, who was New York
pitcher and who was sent to Boston
The latter team found that he would
not report and in trying to get him
out of the league paved the way
to keep him in. because st. Louis,
which is deplorably weak in pitchers,
grabbed at Toney as If he were the
rescuing straw.
TOO Late IOF SArUS NO"s
It's too late. AS things go in base
ball, the St. Louis team will have to
come back over a rocker road than
u has travelled or than 1t would have
rad to travel II it had been strong
enough to take advantage of its op-
-,ortunities, and the material for the
-enovation, resurrection or whatever
'rhe team, in addition to its lack
ot good pitching. is fielding very
:,adly and missing out in its games
bacause Of general combination OF
unsteadiness.
Branch Hickey may rally his forces.
Tie did it once this year, but the
-Eeak spots of the team are so high
. - developed now that it doesn't ap-
pear possible for him to do 1t again.
IT looks very much as If the an,
ticipated crack in the National
League race had appeared in the
highway to "Pennantville."
Cubs Prove Big Surprise.
So far as the future is concerned,
the Chicago National League base
hall club is on as good a footing as
St. Louis. The Cubs have surprised
every one. They seemed no better
,han a scond division team when
they were put together and If you
look over their batting order now
you can't figure them as master
pieces of base ball architecture. but
they have been getting there.
There are no hard hitters among
them. like some of the swatters
of the American League. An out
berg and STATE sounds like schop-
pen of Rhine wine, but the Cubs
worry victories from other teams
with that outfield and with an intield
made up of minor league players and
a fash. of ST. Louis lightning in the
81 Hon r.
Louis.
Cards Weak Against Cubs.
The Cubs must be reckoned with
because they fought their way to an
even plane with st. Louis. To date
yifey have won eleven OF sixteen
games that they have played with the
Cards. There's part of the story OF
ers. They can't win over killefer's
imported bushers. Imagine five VIC
,ories out of sixteen games for ST.
Louis against Chicago and that team
cherishing championship aspirations
Six more games are to be played be-
1T Chicago. If the Cards can do no
better than they have been doing
they could lose the championship
right there if the race narrowed down
that close.
Another fact which has helped the
cubs has been their ability to defeat
Boston. The simple minded Beam
eaters did not win a game in Chicago
this year They don't go back again
and are blissfully happy to think
that they don't. Their collapse on
the field of Cubville upset more than
one calculation on the possibilities
Of the race. Boston was expected TO
help out the east this year in the
National. but it has helped about as
much as a lead sinker could heip
ffoat kite. The Giants got no west
ern assistance by helping hand from
that source. For that matter, Brook
lyn has been little better.
Ty Cobb, after finishing with the
Tanks. figures that Detroit can surely
hold third place to the end. That Is
of him. II either New York or st.
Louis. or both Of them. stumble, COBB
is~ready to move into the lead and
make an awful fight to stay there.
hut, privately. Ty doesn't think tnat
both of them are going to come
ssinr a decided opinion. but one
may take 1t from what he says gen
orally that he expects the New York
1,itehinR staff to last through the
face. although he knows that the
BROWNS will keep up the fight until
they collapse.
Browns Pitchers Errnt1c.
The Browns are faced by Weak
-:ess similar to that OF their 1elioW
,.ttIz.ns OF the National League. They
Eannot depend upon their pitchers;
collectively, they do not get as good
results out of them as they snouio
FOR a team which Is pennant hign.
For instance. they figured Kolp as a
safe winner in his first eastern start
and he was not. That throws tnem haHe
cons in very handy. in view OF the
fart that the Yanks dropped a game
,oI Detroit. Could the Browns have
w$n one Of the washington double.
headers intact they would be mucn
bakter for the club-to-club fight
which will face them when they get
I'd New York and must meet the
dnks on their own field.
The west isn't sticking to the job
4Cleyeland did when they were In
rIA race for a championship. The
cabt looks better now than ever.
T. Copyright. 1927