The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-10-05
Today's Sport
Parade
BY HENRY McLEMORE
UNITED Press Staff Correspondent

UNITED Press Staff Correspondent
New York, Oct. 5-CUP)-If the
100000 infield" of the Athletics
Of treasured memory was really
worth that sort of money, then a
combination of j. p. Morgan, all of
Hetty Green's heirs, the Agakhan
and King Midas would be needed
to swing a purchase of the Yankees,
present infield.
Sing all you want to, you old timers
about McInness. Collins, Barry and
Baker; or Chance, Evers, Tinker and
Steinfeldt Of the old Cubs; or Bos-
tons Tenney, Long and Collins. But
they never saw the day they could
patrol the beat between first and
third like Dahlgren, Gordon, Gro
Setti, and Rolfe.
Not for the money, at least, of
the $1,000 patrons who watched them
in action against the Cincinnati Reds
in the opening game Of the world
series yesterday.
Why, bless you, Ali Bahia and his
forty thieves never robbed princes
Of money the way Babe, Flash,
Frankie and Red robbed the Cincin-
natis of base hits in that first game.
Gordon at second and Crosetti at
short put on an exhibition in pulling
three double plays that never has
been surpassed. How do I know?
Well, I'll tell you. If any second base
combination had ever done any bet
ter they would be in some museum
now, stuffed and mounted, and with
barker charging you two bits to
see 'em.
The second double play the boys
pulled, ON a roller through the mid
die. was baseball perfection. With
Billy Myers winging toward second,
and ready to interfere all he could
with throw toward first to nail
Derringer, Crosetti scooped up the
ball behind second and lobbed it
underhand to Gordon. With unbe-
lieving speed and skill Gordon took
1t, spun around, avoided the oncom-
ing Myers, touched second and rifled
the throw to Dahlgren, who picked
it out of the air with one hand. It
was two-way killing at its very
best and. according to Manager Bill
McKechnie of the Reds, was the
play that won the ball game for the
| Yankees.
Even II 1t wasn't quite that i'm
portant 1t played a whale of a part,
just as did the other two double
plays and Gordon's tremendous stop
Of Wally Berger's slashing wallop
in the eighth inning. Gordon went
far to his right, took the ball on
the dead run, skidded to a stand
still and nailed Berger by yards.
Hopeless
Now comes the second game and
one Is forced to ask ones self how
the Reds expect to beat the Yam
KEGS. If they can't win with as beau
tiful pitching as Derringer gave them
yesterday, what are they going to
use? Power? Well, hardly, because
If matters ever get down to a slug
ging match the Yankees are more
than match for them. And, after
yesterdays game, they can't very
well count on finesse pulling them
through, because the Yankees APP
pear to have too much of that, too
The Yankees, apparently, are so
good that they can beat you by more
ways than there are to skin a cat.
If you want to play cute, with the
outcome dependent upon defense and
strategy, they'll nose you out by
a run. If you want to take toe
hold and let fly, they'll dig in and
knock two boards of the fence for
every one you knock off.
Speaking of predicaments, of which
wasn't, try and think of better
all-around predicament than Nc
Kechnie found himself in the last of
the ninth inning yesterday. With
Keller on third with the winning
run, all he had to do was figure
how to keep DiMaggio, and then
Dickey, from knocking in the win
ming run. It was like deciding
whether to have black leopard or
a hooded cobra for a watch fob.
Deacon McKechnie should have set
tied, as Bill Corum suggested after
the game, with a simple LET us
pray" but he didn't. He chose to
walk DiMag and gamble on Dickey.
He must have known he was gam
bling with the "house" dice because
Bird Dog BIZ whacked one to CEN
| ter and the ball game was over.