The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-11
By WILLIAM sLAvENs M'NUTT


 NEW YORK, Oct. 1O.-The New York Tanks have the sleeping sick, ness. It Is incurable. They demon started that in their first game against the New York Giants who do their sleeping in & normal and healthly manner in hotels and homes and other properly appointed places.
 The Yankees demonstrated further that it is impossible for team stricken with the dread disease to compete successfully against the feat McGraw in a world series, but no team with the sleeping sickness is going to do it. The Yanks' effort to do this in the first game of the series resulted in their defeat 4 to 5.
 The defeat was directly attribut- able to the sleeping aiclness from which the American league team sui fers so horribly. Some may assert that it was Casey Strengers homer in the ninth with the SCOT tied and two out and the count was two and three. But those who make this as sertion are wrong. The Giants didn't win a ball game. The Tanks lost one and they lost because the sleeping sickness broke out on them twice at crucial moments. Once in the eighth inning when Pipp, on second by the grace of good fortune with none out was caught flatfooted off the bag by a throw from the plate and again in the fourth, when "Whitey" Witt was caught going to second while Schang was being run down between third and home. Both were pitiful exhibitions of the dread disease. Both plays would have humbled the bride of the most anna teurish sand lotter. If either Pipp or Witt had been awake the ultimate result might have been much diff ferent.
 With the Giants reading four to three in the fourth inning Schang got his base on balls, Scott sacrificed to him to second and Bush doubled to left, Schang taking third on the play, Then came the sleeping beauty, "Whitey' Witt, who dribbled 8 wee one to the Giant pitcher. Schang, off third, made a bluff for the plate and found himself trapped between third and home. While he did his stuff back and forth on the base path Witt went safe to first and Bush advanced to occupy third. To the lay eye 1t seemed that Witt had most of the afternoon to get down to second while Schang was being run down, but he managed to be late. The sleeping sickness gives people un- canny efficiency in such matters. AIteE SCndnR MdS ulllIldbOiJ ta6 D SN out some one tossed the ball to sec ond base and it was there and wait ing when Witt, the famous world series somnambulist, ambled up. He seemed surprised Some one rose in the stand and explained that the great sleepwalker's name was spelled with two ITS. Some one else remarked that it wouldn't mean anything If it was spelled with one.
 sf, a eighth with the score tied. He was inc first man up and made first on a freak bunt. He went to second on a passed ball. Then he went 60 sleep. Snyder tossed one to the second baseman who woke Pipp up and explained to him that he had reached his station and must stop off and wait for another train that probably was not coming. It never did come.
 Ripp went to sleep hero and woke up bum. The nap was brief but sufficient. After MT. Pipp was awakened and shooed off the da- mond to finish his siesta where he would not interfere with ball game, Ward pasted a single to center on wEich Mr. Pipp could have come home had he been safe on second and awake. That would have put the Tanks one run to the merry and what might have happened after that is something silly to think about.
 And then came the dime novel ninth. The score tied. Two out. And who is this who strides from the Giant dug out with determination written on his strained face and a baby telephone pole gripped grimly, in both knuckled fists? Who but our handsome hero, Casey Stengel, the outfielder with the nice eyes and a courageous disposition.
 T will hit a hit for the dear old team and the difference between the losers and the winners end of this large dough-" quoth our hero, grit ting his teeth and figuring out to a centime how much he could put in the bank and still have a nice winter if the Giants won.
 He sWore vow missed a couple and waited out three that the um- pire said were bad ones. Ninth in- ming, score tied, hero at bat, count three balls and two strikes-What' the use? No one will believe it. Our hero hit a home run and won the ball game.
 The situation is so improbable that the fiction writers don't even dare Use 1t any more. But the thing that can't happen in the magazines hap pened on the ball field. Stengel hit oHe to the renee Tn center field and came home standing up when the tl-row-in went wide and drew Schang away from the plate. Some Tanks batted in the Yankee half of the ninth but it didn't mean anything ana the Giants romped off the field one ball game to the good.
 frior to the tirne when the dread sleeping sickness broke out on the Tanks they looked like American