Evening star., 1939-08-28

Ilu IlOVe 10 resign. Wnen MS con-
tract for 1889 reached him in course
of time, calling for cut in salary
Pie signed it, set his chin and pre-
pared to face another campaign at
the head of beaten ball club.
If nobody else had faith in him
as a manager Traynor had faith in
himself. Pies attitude always has
been: Il want this job, 1 need 1t
and some day the breaks will 20
with me instead of against me and
Ill win"
Bouncer Seems Likely
To Follow Hints
So he clung to the helm in the
face of his boss chilly Endorsement,
which was, as Shakespeare, who
had a way with words, once called
1t, damnation with faint praise. I
am afraid that next year Pie will
not be given an excuse to hang on.
Since hints did no good, Mr.. Ben
swanger probably will dispense with
hints and call for the bouncer.
The Pirates this year have the
same team which sneezed and
dropped the potato at the finish
line last fall. In fact, the team is
improved in one spot, first base.
where Elbie Fletcher replaced the
lackadaisical Augustus Suhr. Yet
the Bucs are f1oundering in sixth
place, with no prospect of finishing
higher than the top of the second
division.
There may be good reasons for this
collapse, but they aren't the kind
OF reasons that will weigh with the
president of ball club. Pies pitch
ers went lame this year. So what?-
He should have gone to the whip
with them instead of acting like an
uncle. Rizzo's hitting died to a
whisper. So what?-Rizzo is Tray
nor's ball player. Some of the Pi-
rates quit cold. So what?-Pie
should have built fire under them.
No Abb Seen at Hand
For Troynor's Failure
Just or not, that is the attitude of
club president who sees a second
division ball team growing in the
patch where he thought he planted a
pennant-Winner.
Mr.. Benswanger tried to scrape Pie
off the side of his Pirate skiff two
seasons ago. Though both parties
to the deal denied it, it was per-
fectly true that Pittsburgh wanted
Gus Mancuso to come from New
YORK as catcher-manager, in a trade
for AL Todd. There was a dis
agreement on terms, and the dea,
fell through.
don't know what man the Pi-
rate office has its eye on now. I
don't even know for sure that they
will fire Traynor, But, if past per-
formance on flrings and hirings
means anything, here is a fellow
with the black spot on him.
Why hasn't Traynor succeeded
with ball club which, in at least
two of his five years as manager,
was potentially the best in the Ma
tional League? The general theory
is that Pie is too nice a guy for his
own good. He has no fire, no as
sertiveness and he lets the Pirate
rebels, OF whom there have been
many, trample on his good nature.
Pies own explanation is that the
breaks have run against him. This
is true, no doubt, but over a span of
five years the breaks will run pretty
much the same for every manager.
Pie to Be Remembered
As Greet PIoyer
Perhaps the Pirates are a shade
harder to manage than the average
ball club. Some of the stars who
pre-dated Traynor's regime are said
to like their soda water with some
thing in it. Others are out-and -out
backwoodsmen who cost Traynor a
pennant or two by their nervous
claustrophobia in New York City,
where they played dead for the
Giants.
Waite Hoyt says that, when he
pitched for Pittsburgh a few years
ago, the boys used to call New York
the brickyard." They frankly
feared and disliked the town.
These things may have contrib
uted to the Pirates delinquency. but,
when Mr.. Benswanger Sits the eyi-
dence through, he probably will
come up with the name of Traynor
and rub it off his slate. It's sad.
but true, that all men are not fitted
for the specialized work of manag-
ing baseball teams.
1t often happens that the home
town hero-and Pie Traynor was the
greatest Pittsburgh player of his
generation-gets the job because of
his record as a player. That was
the case with Ty Cobb, among 9TH
ers. Cobb was too tough to manage
successfully. Traynor, they say. is
too mild.
But they were great players Just
the same and that's the way they
should be remembered. A man
doesn't have to succeed at the tricky
job OF managing ball clubs to be re-
spected. There are winning mana
gers at large today who do not be-
long IN the same league with Pie
Traynor as gentleman and scholar.