Evening star., 1926-05-26


squirt Of the Yankees, | have raised
the Yankees pennant percentage fg-
ures to 500, so points above Washing
ton. The Athletics are rated points
behind the Senators.
Washington's Vets Wobbling.
Washington experienced more diff
Guilty in downing the Western clubs
than the two other contenders of the
East. New York and Philadelphia" The
veteran Washington pitching stan Is
giving signs of getting creaky In
the Joints. Joe Bush has been of little
use to "Bucky" Harris and recently
Coveleskie and Ruether have been get
ting theirs. "Covel' will have no sea
son such as he had in 1925. Bank on
that.
For a spell, Roger Peckinpaugh
braced the Senator intield. and two
weeks of prosperity followed his res
toratiou to the regular Washington
lineup. But his batting fell off to
.o15 and now Harris again is expert
menting with Young Buddy" Myer
at short. The kid is hitting below .2oo.
The Athletics still are playing Win
ming ball, though when the work OF
the individual players is anaiizen II
Is difficult to understand how Phli-
adelphia wins 50 many games. Last
VI.
the 4l-year-old Jack Quinn. l92o
waiver pickup. have been holding up
the pitching staff The team is hitting
better. hut Hauser remains down
around .2l5 and Mack placed the vet
eran Wambsganss, at short, after Cfal.
loway, his regular shortstop, dropped
below 200.
Cobb Deserving of Credit.
he hos
showing of the Western American
League teams in the East. They were
the only ones to make q presentable
showing against the Yankees. hold
ing New York to an even break in
stubbornly contested series. Cobb de-
serves a lot of credit for the fight he
is waging with his material. His pitch
ing weakness is pronounced, and Ty
was further handica pped by He'll
mann's failure to hit up to his former
standards. Harry is just emerging
from the worst batting slump since he
became a star.
Cleveland got quite a setback, when
the Indians dropped three straight at
Yankee Stadium, but the Tribe con-
tinued fighting, and is making brave
bid for a first division berth. But
sooner or later they are bound to fall
ter, just as they did in 1925.
Inc w nlle SOE nave uGNelopeu
sturdy attack. which. with good pitch
ing by Blankenship. Lyons and Thur
ston. should keep this club somewhere
In the running.
The Browns made a dismal showing
IN the East and show little sign of
improvement. Even the lowly Red Sox
are winning with a little greater fire.
ouency.
Reds Are No Spring Flash.
The Cincinnati Reds continue to run
out in front in the National League.
and their strong play is no Spring
flash. 1 still favor Pittsburgh. but
only by a shade. This week l have
advanced the Reds to .575 in the pen
nant chances percentage, only 10
points below the rating given the fa-
, vorite Pirates.
The Reds are fighting stubbornly,
and there is a new confidence in their
play. Even with a batting weakling,
Emmer, at short, the club has been
showing a stronger and stronger Of
fense. Luque Is not yet in his best
form, but Donohue and Rixey are do
ing great work. Cincinnati turned
back the Giants three out of four and
took quite a little wind out of the
Dodger pennant bubble.
Pittsburgh has fought it's way past
the 500 mark. but the competition has
been much sitter than a year ago.
The hitting of Cuyler, Traynor and
Wright has been carrying the club
McInnis also has been hitting, but he
has slowed up to walk in his fielding.
The failure Of Carey and Barnhart to
hit with their usual vigor has been the
big handicap of the club. Max. weak
ened by his Winter illness. was hitting
only 1873 at the end of last week.
Barnhart, who hit 1925 last season and
drove in ia runs. had to be benched
after he hit only ia in 20 games. 1t
Ia one Of those slumps for which there
Is no explanation.
McGraw Continuing Shifts.
McGraw has been making additional
shifts to his Giants within the past
week. Players are. coming and going.
One thing Is certain: McGraw Will not
sit on his hands watching club break
up without trying some moves to rem
edy the condition Hartley, one Of
the catching veterans, has been passed
to the minors. Snyder still is hanging
on. but he, too. is well on the way.
Once a robust hitter. he now is not
hitting his weight, and Frank is a 200
FOUNDER.
Brooklyn is beginning to fall back,
and do not think we again will see
the Dodgers in first place, or any
where near the top. Inc inherent
strength simply was not there. and
good pitching could not keep the club
up indefinitely. With Vance and
Grimes in their 1924 form. there would
be a chance for Uncle Robby, but the
star of the great ''Dazzy" apparently
Is waning.
The Cardinals have started to hit
again, and will battle Brooklyn for
first division berth before the month is
(t7,hc rlya n1xy
we'll, and are pulling out many games
by sheer determination. 1t is amazing
what a new manager frequently can