The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1928-05-05
NEXT WEEK
DECIDES
STORY
BY Babe Ruth

Z
real dope on the pennant race
will be out by the. end of next
week. By that time the East
and West of both leagues will
have met, and you IL be able to
get a real line on just what s
what. By that time you'll
know, for instance, whether
the Giants are as good as the
powerful Cubs, Pirates, and
Cardinals in the Western cir
cult.
You'll know whether the Cleveland
Indians have Al real ball club or were
merely looking good because they
had weak opposition. So far I've
not been greatly surprised at what
happened. The teams are running
pretty much to form as / picked
them with one or two surprises IN
each league.
The most surprising team of the
lot thus far has been the st. Louis
Browns. / picked the Browns Tor
the cellar. post in our league, and
here they are fighting neck and neck
for the first division. The answer
is that they've had good pitching
all spring, and they're rolling along
on the kick that comes OF a good
start.
You hear a lot Of baseball peo-
pie laugh off the early season
games, saying that the games
won in the spring don't mean
much. That's bunk. A game
won is a game won, and the
games that are slowed away IN
April are games that you don't
have to worry about in October.
But it isn't the game won in it.
self that is the big thing. The big
thing about a good start is that 1t
pSps up the players and keeps them
going like a snow ball rolling down
hill.
The Browns are a good example
of that. A young team. and they
fight like the dickens to win. It's
almost as If you could hear them
saying to themselves, well, this
isn't as tough as we thought. We
can whip this outfit any time"
With an attitude like that they
come mighty near doing 1t.
The Yankees of 1925 were the
same way. You remember we
started out by winning 16 straight
games. and the young fellows right
away got the idea that they couldnt
be beaten. and SO they couldn't
Now the Detroit Tigers are an
example of what happens the other
Ujay round On paper the Tigers
afex1n
they're apt to get started off
right most any time. When they
do they'll be tough. But unless
they can get started pretty soon,
they'll be whipped. Get a teams
edauber'' down and they won't show
much. And that's just what hap
pens when an outfit gets away TO
q bad start.
The CINCINNATI Reds last year
looked like great club. But
they had tough luck at the
start of the season and BY the i.
end of the first month they
were SO far behind that they
never did catch up. They lost
heart. This year they're taking
the same team as last year,
hut they've had some breaks
games-and unless something
unforeseen happens you're pit TO
see the Reds up there or there.
abouts all season long.
Nest of the teams though are
rlayinR according to form. Over
IN the National League the Giants,
the Cubs. the Pirates and the Reds
are winning about as expected. The
Phillies are losing the same way.
In our league the Yankees, the
. Athletics, the White Sox, the Red
Sox-all are going along about as
expected. The others probably will
adjust themselves before long. It's
= cinch the Tigers won't stay down
around the bottom and / don't be-
1ieve the. Browns will continue up
around the top.
If there's a surprise outfit in the
American League it's apt to be
- CIeveland. Roger Peckinpaugh has
! great pitching staff, and when
any club gets good pitching it's
dangerous. Not a pennant winner,
Won understand. but an outfit that's
sgant to make trouble in every game
and one that will take a lot Of
fun in knocking over the league
leaders when they meet. Cleveland
q ant to be that sort of a ball club.
UCopyright 1928. by the Christy
Walsh Syndicate)
ISSUE DEFY