The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1934-01-16
CRIZZLED MANAGER
DISPOSED OF ONLY
TWOVALUABLE MEN
Lefty Grove and Mickey Coch.
rane Are Only Two Who
viii Be Missed
DEPENDS UPON YOUNG TEAM
Foxx, Higgins, M'Nair, Williams
and OutfieIders Left Are
Strong
By BILL BRAUCHER

New York. Jan. 16.-1f you are pre-
pairing to shed tears for Connie Mack
because he wrecked" his ball club by
selling Lefty Grove and a few other
bits of baseball baggage, save them.
All is not lost.
The Wrecxing exercise conducted
by Mack recently was not SO disas-
trous as appeared at first. Looking
carefully over the men he sold and
those he kept, it begins to appear
that he parted with. only two very
useful men, Grove and Cochrane.
Earnshaw, Walberg and Bishop con-
tributed very little to the success Of
the AS last year.
X X \
Depending almost entirely upon a
young team he had thrown together
last spring, Mack moved into the clos
ing month of the campaign with the
best club in the league in point of all
around performance. The first Of
September found the AS in fourth
place, five games behind the Indians.
The club gained nine full games on
Cleveland, finishing third.
An example Of the Mack managerial
acumen Is furnished by statistics
which show that the AS made 25
more runs all season than Washing
ton, the pennant winner, while max
ing 81 fewer hits. Jimmy Foxx's 48
home runs also must be figured In
that reckoning.
But the outlook for 1894 is not so
bleak as it was in 1914 when Mack
really did toss his team to the winds.
With an infield and outfield such as
he has. Mack needs only one first
class pitcher to make trouble all year
in the first division.
y X X
There's FoxX at first, the greatest
hitter in the game. Frank Higgins,
kid third baseman, hit .314 in his first
year of big league competition and is
figured to be on the way to becoming
the best third baseman In the league.
McNair at short has established him
self as a star. and if Williams can re-
turn to his 1881 form at second base.
there simply won't be any infield
problem for the AS.
The outfield is settled. Roger
Cramcr in center has come through
as one OF the best in the league. Bob
johnson, In left, besides being ball
hawk of the Charley Jameson order,
is one of the leagues most dangerous
and timely hitters. Right field will
be divided between Big Ed Coleman,
Bling Miller and Lou Finney.
The AS need first class pitcher.
One Of q number of young men who
toiled promisingly during the last
month of the 1888 season may arise
to fill this need. The backbone of the
staff may be regarded as Mahaffey, a
veteran; Big Bob Kline, obtained from
Boston, and Merritt Cain. who won Is
and lost II for the AS last year. Kline,
who won seven while losing eight for
the seventh place Red Sox last year,
should win between Is and 20 games
for q club like the AS.
X X X
Claset, McKeithan, young Ray
Coombs, Dietrich and Marcum show
ed at intervals last year that they
knew what it was all about. Mack is
pretty certain to concentrate on these
and other young pitchers when train
ing begins at Fort Myers, Fla, the
first Of March.
No less astute an authority than
Babe Ruth believes that despite the
sale of Grove and Cochrane, the As
will be the team to beat for the PEN
nant this year. Ruth likes the young
pitchers introduced by Mack in the
last few weeks OF the 1888 drive.
The catching corps, consisting Of
Berry. Madjeski and Hayes, is moi
so hot. but there are several sigma
departments in the league no better