The Daily Alaska empire., 1935-08-06
s P 0 R I ANTS

llt HuBt MulliSiPdi obddAhhi III Cleveland, where the all-star game was played, proved to be pitchers paradise, for the American league tossers at least. National league bat ters pounded the offerings of Lefty Gomez of the Yankees, and Mel Hardner of the Indians, far and wide but their efforts went for naught when the outfielders hauled their smacks down for put-outs.
 What a spot!" remarked Gomez after the game You just toss it up there and let 'em hit; someone is sure to catch the ball."
 The National leaguers made only four hits off the combined efforts of Gomez and Harder Three hits in six innings was Lefty's yield while Harder gave but one in the three frames he pitched.
 The Cleveland mound ace didn't have quite the chance to steal the show in this years all-star affair but he shared the pitching honors with Gomez. Perhaps Harder needs a setting like the inter-league meet ing to inspire him to do his best. He did not disappoint the home folks who went wild when he step ped out on the mound in the sev- enth inning.
 Harder seems to be headed for the best season of his big league career for he already boasts an even dozen victories against five defeats. He turned in 20 victories last year but had 12 losses charged against him. Even so he ranked second only to Lefty Gomez in the earned run averages with mark of 2.61 runs per nine-inning game.
 Combs oImI uoIng Strong
 Even after Earle Combs flashed his old time form in the early games Of the season the skeptics insisted that his come back would be halted when the warm weather set in Well, the warm-and even hot days are here and have been with us for some time. But there has been no sign of faltering on the gray-haired Yankees part. h. stead Combs seems to be moving forward all the time.
 One might reasonably expect that the near fatal accident in St. Louis last summer would take it's toll but apparently it has not for Combs in sists that he feels stronger and faster than he did last year. He doesn't mean that he feels as spry as he did four or five seasons ago that would be silly-but he does feel that he is going better than he has at any time in the last couple of years.
 Its chasing flies in the outfield that makes him realize that he is slipping bit as far as his speed is concerned. Fly balls that would have been easy catches a few years ago now take a bit of extra pres sure to snare. That's one of the reasons Earle is coming through with so many spectacular catches this year.
 Double-headers, too, have a way of getting the veteran down for they take so much out of him that it is days before he finds his stride again.
 Couldn't Stay Away
 For 25 years A. H. Rick Wood ward, as. owner of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association. followed the fortunes of his team as closely as a mother hen watch es her brood of chicks. And then a few weeks ago he decided that he had enough of baseball, or thought he had, and quit.
 A few weeks of leisure away from the boys convinced him that he could not be happy in self imposed exile. So back he went to the bench beside his players.
 Woodward has always been one of the most popular owners in base ball so it is no wonder that his re- turn was greeted with cheers by his friends and associates in the South ern loop.