The Alaska daily empire., 1923-01-20
By ROBERT r. KELLEY

the past as an all-NeW- Ofk year as far as baseball is concerned, the feeling grows that the new year will come mighty close to seeing the same sort of thing gone through with when another fall comes around for the playing of a Worlds Series. Certainly the Giants and Yankees are as we'll equipped to repeat in this coming year as they were when the spring of 1922 started them off for the second consecutive pennants. It is going to take a show of im proyement on the part of the other clubs in the league to prevent New York from having another private series.
 Of course, injected into every fore cast of a baseball happening there must be some mention of the unex pected. The unexpected happens so often in baseball as to almost deny the sgSstence of any such thing. But
 ase possible to guard success
 {. Injuries, the possibility
 ae. or the possibility
 lmpfoVe8 mt in the
 aef Cldbs the Giants
 would be very clean
 But as it is impos- sibig 70 "A these things, the Giants are a fairly strong favorite Tor the honors in lhe National League and the Tanks a bit less of a one in the American.
 In the National League, it would
  somewhat better prospect than the Yankees in the younger circuit for two reasons. The Giants do not ap- pear to be faced with the strength among the opposition that the Yan- kees have facing them, and the Giants were further above the rest of their league last season than the Tanks were in the American Add to this the fact that the Giants are apt to be strengthened by the ac- quisition of O'Connell and Bentley '. two of the greatest stars in the minor league, and the Yankees are apparently going to be forced to content themselves with the material at hand at the close of the last season.
 In their league last year the Giants had their greatest opposition throughout from the Cardinals, Pi- rates, and Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs wero bothersome for goodly part of the way, but the Giants always held firm upper hand over the Chi cago team. The Giants, as it has been said, promise to be stronger in 1923, The Cardinals. on the strength of Manager Rickey's own words, will not be contenders unless they uncover more material and they have failed to date in this ef- fort That leaves the Pirates and Reds of last seasons teams. and to these, to take the place of the Car dinals, it is very probable that the name of the Chicago outfit will ba added The Cubs were young last season and apparently found them selves. Under Killifer again they are very apt to be dangerous. The Pi- rates are not. to date, improved to any visible extent. They are only a number of youngsters but no out, standing stars The Reds were late in starting last season and may get off to a good start this coming sea- son.
 But the Giants had no difficulty in defeating these outfits last sea- son, And the Giants, if those two recruits come up to big league spec ulations, will be good deal stornger
 The American League.
 In the American League the Tanks are faced with two very strong op- ponents. The St. Louis Browns came very close indeed to taking the American League pennant to the western tip of the league last sea- son, and It would be the most diffi- cult task in the world to convince a citizen Of that city that the flag is not going out there next season. Lee fohl had splendid team there and 1T he uncovers perhaps one more dependable pitcher will come close 10 making good the boat of his teams followers. Also deal of hi.