Evening star., 1924-09-12

During the June tour the Bucks
played through to a record of eight
victories and seven defeats, saving
their mutton by gallant stands
against the Tigers and Browns. The
indians at that time gave Harris CO.
horts a fearful drubbing and the
White Sox held them to an even
break.
If pennant is to be garnered,
there can be no repetition of that
second Western jaunt conducted in
July and August. Only seven of sew
enteen games were grabbed by the
Bucks then. They again found the
Indians quite ferocious and suffered
a severe setback in st. Louis at the
hands of the Browns. Substantial
gains in the series with Tigers and
the White SoX prevented the utter
rout of the Nationals
Oddly their greatest rivals, the
Yankees, kept the Bucks in the cham
pionship running during those trips
Hhe hosts of Higgins took grand
walloplng their first time West and
curing their next invasion sustained
a similar trimming But the Bucks
muSt not count upon another Yankee
disaster. The New Workers.. although
gorged with pennants, still smell
blood and slices of world series coin
would be as welcome to them as ever
Bucks Must Help Themselves
No one is going to help the Bucks
this time but themselves, and they
must step out in fine fashion during
the next two weeks especially. If
they can clinch the flag during their
Western visit. SO much the better, but
to, get that flag they ought at least
TO carry from that section of the cir
cult into Boston the latter part of
this month lead, however slim, over
their -plastered rivals.
1t is possible the outcome of the
race will depend upon the final series
OF the Year in the East, that of the
Nationals with the Red Sox and of
the Yankees with the Athletics, but
right now it seems the Western tour
will make or break one of the two
leading contenders
Past performances against the
Western clubs favor neither Nationals
nor Yankees. Both have pounded the
life out of the White Sox and both
have been pounded by the Browns.
The Bucks have trounced the Tigers,
club that has subdued the Yanks,
but the Yanks have had a fairly easy
time with the Indians, who have made
life miserable for the Harrismen in
Cleveland.
Anyway one considers former series,
the impending one figures to be a
sta and-off between the main rivals.
But base ball is too uncertain a propo-
slt1on to base forecasts upon past
work. The personal equation must
be considered as we'll as mechanical
efficiency.
/ In some mechanical respects, the
Yanks are far superior to the Harris
men; in others the Bucks have a de-
c1ded edge over the Gothamites. But
throughout the season the club rep
fesenting Washington seems to have
been controlled by a much finer spirit
shan that revealed by the three-time
champions of the American League
Fate VIII Prove a Factor.
Mechanical excellence, of course,
will play a big part in the Western
drive. So will fate, for injuries to
regulars of either club can upset all
calculations. But the psychic attitude
of the players toward the struggle,
the morale of the clubs, probably will
have more bearing upon the outcome
of the two weeks of battling than any
other factor.
There was plenty Of fight in the
club yesterday when it downed the
Athletics. There had to be, for with
Ed Rommel pitching against them
and the Macks refusing to be dis
turbed by the slight early lead gained
by the Bucks. pecking away at Fred
Marberry's offerings, only coura-
geo1s club could cling to its task