The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-05-12

the Giants, co the Brooklyns, CD
the Cubs, "a the Cards. The Amer
lean League leaders we're Cd the
White Sox, co the Clevelands, 90
the Yanks, "a the Red Sox.
What did the final readings
show2 In the National they showed
the Cubs on top followed by the
Cards, the Giants and the Pirates.
And in the American they showed
the Tigers in front followed by the
Yanks, the Clevelands and the Red
Sox. Thus the Cubs had come up
from third place in the early read
ings and the Tigers from sixth.
Such fluctuations were not I'M
usual. The number of teams that
get out in front and stay there
until the race ends can be counted
on the hands of a Victorian
alarm clock. Paradoxically the
Tigers in improving their position
from sixth place in May to the
lead in last September were less a
surprise than the Cubs.
WTHEN they started to improve,
w they improved steadily. while
the Cubs, staggering and stun
bling, were saved at the finish by
21-gane winning sterak. There
was reassuring consistency to the
Tigers once they began to climb;
the Cubs rode home on what is
loosely known as an inspirational
streak. They just happened to hit
the jack pot.
The current race is month old,
and in the National League the
leaders are Cd the Cards, 90 the
Pirates, CD the Giants and Cubs
tied; in the American the leaders
are Cd the Yanks, CD the Red Sox,
CD the Clevelands, "a the Wash
ingtons. The champion Cubs are in
the same position they were a year
ago, except they are tied, and the
champion Tigers once again are in
the second division. Where will
these pace-setting teams be in the
final readings?
My guess originally was that the
Cubs and the Tigers would repeat
The key man of the Cubs is large,
gusty Hartnett the catcher, and he
is having another effective season,
hitting .345, so the guess on the
Cubs still stands. The key man
of the Tigers, Greenberg the Slugger,
is out of the lineup with a double
fracture and won't be back until
July at the earliest. I question if
the Tigers can win in the face of
this handicap, so 1 have switched
to the YankS.
TINE Yanks might have won
Il handily enough last year, but
for the community collapse of
Gehrig, Dickey and Gomez, not to
mention the injury which kept
Crosetti on the side lines for ten
weeks. All these men are in action
now and clicking. To this favorable
condition, the truculent bat of young
Di Maggie has added pounds of Of
fensive strength. To me, the YankS
are definitely the team to beat.
Under the leadership of Steve
O'Neill, their new manager, the
Clevelands are playing slick baseball
even on the road, which is unusual
for them and I look for them to
prove more dangerous threat over
the long run than the expensive Red
Sox, who seem deficient in pitching
What's more, Jimmy Foxx at $40
is almost 40 points off his batting
stride, and if the Red Sox slab
mediocrity is to be offset, the hit
tiers must do it.
TINE Cards still have a vita! prob
Il lem at second base. The once
great Frisch is a fading veteran,
and he has no Grade A replace
ment. Generally, a hard man to
get out, Frisch has been hitting only
.2l3 this spring. He has been such
an enduring factor in the success
of this club both as a driving force
and an artisan that it is diff
cult to picture the Cards as poten-
tial champions without him actively
leading the charge.
Back on home grounds today after
a disastrous road trip the Giants
face the proposition of proving
whether it was all Just a sad mis-
take. Admittedly it is far too early
to count team like the Giants out
OF the race, but it may not be too
early to ask If Bill Terry knew what
he was talking about at the start
of the season when he said, This is
the best team ever had" Up to
now the Giants certainly have not
performed like a superior team, nor
have Terrys manipulations indi-
Gated that he himself believes this
eo be So.