Evening star., 1939-08-09
Windy Club
Pulls Season. 5
Big Surprise
RedIegs' Shoky Nerves
Aggravated as Craft
Goes to Hospital
BY SID FEDER.

L
The fellow who counted his chick
ems while they still were in the
shells didn't have thing on Mr.. Gus
@. Baseball Expert this season.
At least that fellow had some
thing to go on if his hens were set
ting. These big league clubs just
won't "set" for Mr.. Gus these days
At the moment, all his extra-spe-
cial 4-star dope" on u the pen
nant leaders, 90 the Washington
Senators and 90 the Chicago White
Sox is about to go under for the
third time.
The Cincinnati Reds and New
York Yankees were supposed, as re-
Gently as few days ago, to be
"shoo-in" to meet in the World
Series. At this writing there's no
immediate danger of their getting
knocked off the top spots, but to say
the least they both look jittery.
Griffs Cut Yank Lead.
The Senators were supposed to be
extremely lucky-like hitting "bingo"
if they finished any distance out
of the cellar, despite the friendly
presence of the Athletics and
Browns in the American League. Yet
right now they're riding along on
an 8-game winning streak, the latest
IA decision over the Yanks in
yesterdays campaigning, which cut
the champions league lead to mere
seven games.
The Reds were supposed to be the
only outfit in the aNtional League
with enough class to get the rating
as big league club Yet, Will Nc
Kechnie's men barely managed to
split a doubleheader with the Chi
cago Cubs yesterday and can boast,
if they want to. about a record of
just three victories in their last eight
starts, which has shaved their lead
to 7l2 games.
The White Sox probably have
fooled Mr.. Expert more than any of
them. They're still way up there
in third place. And, on paper,
Jimmy Dykes lads belong in that
rareflied atmosphere about as much
as the Ladies Weekly Sewing Circle.
Yet, with the 5-3 win over the De-
troit Tigers that they pulled out of
the hat yesterday, behind Johnny
Rigneys elegant elbowing, they now
are no worse than even on the sea-
sons play with every club in the
league except the Yankees.
Reds Lose Star Gardener.
McKechnies hopes of clearing up
the Reds jitters didn't get much
help Yesterday when Harry Craft.
who plays lot of centerfield for
them, went into hospital just as
Poison Ivy" Ival Goodman came out
for the first time since the All-Star
game. Craft collided with Lee Gam
BILE chasing fly in the first game.
which the Cubs won, 7-3, to end
Bucky Walters 8-game winning
streak, and wound up with slight
conclusion. In the nightcap Buck
McCormick'S single in the 10th in
ming provided Us victory.
The Reds haven't much to brag
about today, but they can boast that
their pennant lead once more Is
larger than the Yankees edge. Since
the second-place Boston Red Sox
topped the Athletics, go, on the left
arm of Old Nose Grove and the
2-homer bat of Jimmy Foxx, the
world champions lost full game of
their lead.
Trying to shake. off hitting slump
that now just about covers the en-
tire batting order, the champs ran
into some shaky fielding of their
own as we'll as pitching collapse on
the part of the hitherto reliable
Alley Donald The loss, in which
they committed four errors and saw
their hurlers dubbed for 16 hits, was
their third in a row.
In the only other game on the big
league program, Hugh closing
Pitcher Mulcahey fooled the boys
and girls with an Shit pitching per-
formance which gave the Phillies
80 night game decision over the
Brooklyn Dodgers, to snap the Phils'
10-game losing streak.