The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-07
BASEBALL HONORS ALMOST ASSURED NEW YORK AGAIN
Giants Tighten Up In "Cru- Cial" Series While Tanks
 Are Far Ahead
BY HARLAN s. MILLER heased Wife to The Age-HeraId)

NEW YORK, August 6.-Perhaps the cocksure patron of baseball who sent in requests to the Giant and 1ank counting houses for reserved seats at all nine games of the next world series, after McGraw's artil- lerymen had routed the peerless Luque at Cincinnati Saturday, was guilty of little Broadway bombast. And yet this Monday night it seems not entirely impossible that next Oc- tober will see Mayor Hylan pinning another feather in his we'll lldecorated d cap to signalize another triumph for the Hylan regime, another all-Man- haitian diamond classic.
 Baseballs we'll wishers would like to believe that in the National league at least there is still a chance for one of those fractional, last day of-the- season finishes, with the winner in doubt until the official statistician n has carried out the long division to five places. Doubtless there Is still a chance for the melodramatic finale, for Monday night the Giants are, after all, only near the half dozen mark in games ahead of the Pirates most sentimental we'll wishers don [ really believe either team can now overtake McGraw's coterie of experts. Expectations See Chance.
 Of course, for the superstitious, there still exists the diverting possi- bility that the Yankees, a mere IS, more or less, notches atop the grim athletes of Mir Speaker, will falter and drop within sight of their en- vlous colleagues. Ruth might develop a case of acute anaemia or partici- pate in stylish weekend auto crash; or Huggins' corps of stingy pitchers might be ruined In sub way accident. But these things, as Roger Babson might point out, are no more likely to happen than any thing else.
 So it seems to many cynical New Workers a good wager that any of the peasantry who want to taste the flavor of world series vaudeville will have to pay railway fares and New York hotel rates. For this talk of webbing Giant pitchers staff does not deceive the elect, who have all ways regarded McGraw's collection of moundsmen as more or less wobbly. Webbing is permi ssible luxury when ones teammates are liable as not to wrap out dozen or twenty hits, or knock a pitcher like Luque from the box.
 This Manhattan monopoly of the world series Is but little more to the liking of the New York magnates, II the truth were told, than it is popu- lar out in Ohio and Illinois and Mis- souri where men are men and harbor grudges against the effete eastern athletes. It hurts the gate receipts out in the provinces. MT. Stoneham would clap his hands with glee if western team were to do the impos- sible once more and nose out the Yankees, and Colonel Ruppert would shed no tears If his boys had to tra- verse the Appalachians to fight Il out for the gonfalon. Even the judicial and unprejudiced heart of Kenesaw Mountain Landis must con tain a soft spot for the hopelessly unpennanted west.
 But baseball is as good an exam pie as any of the sad but possibly wholesome truth that a great many powerful men, desiring ever so much to mold things nearer the hearts de- sire, can often produce no cards in the holders union. Which explains as Joe Cook would phrase it, why many well known taxpayers say "l told you so" If the next world serl' is played in the desolate land tween Spuyten Duyvil and Hell Gate And if some of 1t Is played elsewhere they will doubtless say T told you so' anyway.