Evening star., 1940-06-28
The
SPoRTLIGHT
Flag for indians Likely
If They Keep Heads Up
BY GRANTLAND RICE,

BY GRANTLAND RICE,
Special Correspondent of The Star.
NEW YORK, June % (N.AN.A).
1t has been quite number of
yesterdays since I travelled with a
Cleveland ball club, under Nap
Lajoie, that had its pennant dream.
That was ball club good enough
to win any flag, barring the breaks
it drew-Nig Clarke and Harry
Bemis, catchers - Addie Joss, Earl
Moore, Dusty Rhoades, Bill Bern
hardt, Otto Hess and others on the
pitching side-George Stovall, La
joie, Tuck Turner and Bill Brad
ley for an infield-Elmer Flick,
Harry Bay and others in the out
f1eld-at least seven 300 hitters, in
cluding Big Larry, one of the
greatest of all time.
One season this club lost seven
regulars in less than two weeks.
Broken arms and broken legs, spike
wounds and everything else.
In the last 40 years Cleveland has
picked up just one pennant, won by
Iris Speaker, the Gray Eagle, 20
years ago.
Iris was an active gallery tramper
In the recent United States Open at
Canterbury. They used to say that
a golf swing hurt your batting, but
Iris played golf at every chance
when he was with Boston and
Cleveland, and he was the man
finally to stop Ty Cobb's long span
of leading the league in hitting
with 1886.
Golf Helped His Hitting,
Speaker Declares
am place of hurting me, golf
helped" Speaker said. Il was
never a chop hitter. I always be-
lieved in the old follow through at
bat"
AS an outfelder Iris was an in
fielder en- wheels. The game never
has had as great an outfield artist
on defense, and few who were bet
ter at the plate, swinging the old
ash.
Now Cleveland is dreaming of
another pennant. This dream was
almost spoiled short while back
by a number of young men whose
feelings were too easily wounded.
Cleveland certainly had as good
chance as anyone else, although that
Detroit combination of pitching and
hitting will take its full share of
beating.
The Yankees have taken a dizzy
drop from the Yankees of other
years. This drop has included a
heavy falling off in hitting, pitch
ing and team morale. They must
play at something better than a
ZOO clip from now on, which is no
light accomplishment.
The Red Sox haven't been get
ting the pitching they hoped to
have. Both the Yankees and Red
Sox had their share of sorrow in
the West on trips Just ended.
Pure Cussedness' Flow
In Tribes Moke-up
II Cleveland can muster enough
good pitching around the stout right
arm of Bobby Feller, one of the
best, the Indian outlook will be as
roseate as Georgia sunrise.
I was told earlier in the season by
those on the inside that Cleveland
had too many bad actors on her
ball club. too many who were too
temperamental, too hard to handle.
When I wrote that, lusty howl
went up. But there was at least
partial proof in the Witt case.
Temperament" as some philos-
opher once wrote, sis the highbrow
word for ordinary, pure cussedness."
If the Cleveland club can shed
this fault, the chance to win will
be even brighter.
Cleveland has a first-class ball
club. 1t has one of the best Short
stop-second combinations in base
ball-possibly the best of the lot.
1t has a ranking catcher in Rollie
Hemsley. And in Bob Feller and
AL Milnar, it has two of the best
slump breakers in the game. All
the Indians need is the hustling
that has kept Brooklyn's Dodgers
clawing at the top.
lnsurrecti tion Believed
To Have Done Good
I hear from those who should
know that the recent insurrection
has done more good than harm,
that the revolving players now are
hustling for Witt and that Witt Is
working better with his men.
The Cleveland ball club can't
make any big mistake in hustling
for its own good. meaning 100000
or more in the World Series split.
If Cleveland and Cincinnati both
pull through, the Buckeye Common
wealth will know one of baseball's
hottest civil wars. And the Reds
still are the people to beat in the
National.
Any team that can call on Der
ringer, Walters and Thompson in
turn has the jump on the field.
McKechnie almost is sure to get two
well-pitched games in any three
from this trio, and possibly three in
q row. Detroit can call on the same
high-grade pitching, headed by
Bucky Newsom.
You always can look out for
trouble when your pitching begins
to develop indigo spots. In the case
of the Yankees, it hasn't been so
much on the pitching side-it has
been a general cave-in all along