The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-10-06
CINCINNATIS
HELD TO 6 HITS
and SINGLE RUN
National Leaguers Unable
to Deliver at Bat; Reds
Are Ready?
By GEORGE KIRKsEY

UNITED Press Staff Correspondent
Cincinnati, Oct. 6-(UP)-The
Cincinnati Reds aren't going to win
the worlds championship on alibis,
but if alibis counted they could lick
the Yanks hands down.
Everything bad that's happened
thus far camped on the dugout of
the National league champions.
There's always tomorrow but tomor-
rows are going to run out on the
Reds if they don't start doing some
smuggling of bat against ball, as the
fellows say in the dugout.
The Yanks are two on top. They've
had every break their way, but good
breaks or bad, the Reds can't hope
to compete with the Yanks unless
they start hitting the old pumpkin.
One game pitched great by Paul
Derringer and one game pitched
good by Bucky Walters have gone
to waste. In each the Reds made
errors of omission and commission
which have cost them runs, but how
can the Reds hope to win without
manufacturing runs themselves?
Look at the Reds record:
One run in two games.
Four hits the first day and two
the second for a total of six hits.
That wouldn't even win one ball
game in a month Of Sundays, much
less two.
Eight men on base in Is innings,
and only one of them reached second.
You could roll together a pitching
staff of Walter johnson, Grover
Cleveland Alexander. Lefty Grove
and Iron Man McGinnity and they
couldn't do anything about the
Yanks behind offensive and defensive
support, which the Reds two aces,
Derringer and Walters, received in
the first two games.
Hits Needed
Discount all the mental lapSeS and
the fielding flaws, and the Reds still
have no right to win unless they
can get some man 's-sized major
league hits. The best tagged ball the
Reds can claim was foul by Ernie
lombard clouted deep into the up
per left field stands in the first game.
The Reds six hits, In two games,
mind you, may be divided as follows:
Five clean singles and one infield
roller which Harry Craft beat out
in the opener. OF the five hits, two
of them opened innings and were
nullif1ed by subsequent double plays;
two others came in the twilight of
Monte Pearson's masterpiece. That
leaves exactly one valuable base hit
the Reds have made in this series
Frank McCormick's fourth-inning
single in the first game which scored
Ival Goodman from second.
How can man live on bread and
water? How can an automobile run
without gas? How can ball club
win without base hits?
The Reds have the pitching.
They've proved that, but their penny
ante. tissue-paper, weak-as-water
attack has them behind the we'll
known Yankee eight ball. It'll be a
rout unless the Reds start to hit
b. and soon.
They say the Yankee ball park,
the background, the strange sur
roundings bothered them. Maybe it
did but the chances are that it was
Ruffing and Pearson who shackled
the Reds power and made them just
a feeble gang Of swingers.
Almost Perfect
If Ruffing and Pearson had pitched
two perfect games only 81 men would
have faced them. To show how close
they came, only So Reds have gone
to bat in two games, which Is only
four over par. That kind Of pitching
means the Yanks haven't much to
worry about. They can go along all
fall on that basis, and let the Reds
make those vital mistakes in the
clutch.
But it all narrows down to an old
baseball axiom: You can't win with
out hits. Maybe the Reds are saving
them up for the home town fans.
If so, Cincinnati will see barrage
of doubles, triples and homers !. :.
and I didn't say what club would
hit them, either.