Evening star., 1940-05-17
7eopk Lacrosse 7opner Here Colleges Swing Into Grand Final
il: From the
Press Box
McKechnie Is Expecting
Trouble Everywhere
BY JOHN LARDNER,

Special Correspondent Of The star.
: NEW YORK, May II (N.AN.A3.-
Before pulling up stakes and hitting
the road that leads out Of Brook
lyn-a very popular road these
days-the good gray manager Of
the Cincinnati team, Deacon VIII
McKechnie, broke down to the ex-
tent Of conceding the race In the
National League to be open to five
ball clubs.
"And the other three clubs have
q very good chance, too," added the
deacon hastily, for he does not like
to be caught in a fiat statement
without his galoshes.
It took Mr.. McKechnie some time
to name his first FIVE teams. He
was scratching around for a method
of calling them OF without betray-
ing favoritism.
Suppose I name them from East
to West" unused the Red thinker.
mo, that's no good. I'm not sure
If Brooklyn is farther East than
New York or not. It probably is,
but I'm not sure"
Mr.. McKechnie then hit upon
the brilliant device Of calling them
of in alphabetical order, which re-
suited as follows: Brooklyn, Chica-
60, New York and st. Louis.
Every Club Has chouee,
The Deacon Claims
"Those teams have all got .
chance" he said. But don't get me
wrong. So have Boston, Pittsburgh
and Philadelphia mean, Boston.
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It's
too early W tell" shouted Mr.. Nc
Kechnie, sliding into q compromise
feet first and getting the umpire's
decision.
However, if you pluck long enough
ut Mr.. McKechnies famous brains,
you discover that Cincinnati is the
team he likes best and Brooklyn the
one he fears most. This is nicely
in harmony with the standing of the
clubs.
MY team is better than it was
last year." he confessed, land last
year it was good enough. Mike
McCormicA gives me better all
around strength In the outfleld.
lombard is headed for a fine year.
He only had a fair one last season.
The pitching is reinforced and Eddie
Joost is able to play regular ball In
my inf1eld."
And Brooklyn?
Brooklyn is no flash in the pan,"
said the Ohio pilot. emphatically.
He wiped his glasses. They'll give
us trouble all the way. I fear them.
Who's got a better club than
Durocher? Give him one more con-
sistent starting pitcher and there's
no telling what would happen"
Not Eoeer to Assist
Dodgers This Year
''Why don't you4 give him one
yourself, and find outa"'. said your
correspondent, a constant expert
menter. 8.
No. said Mr.. McKechnie
thoughtfully, II don't believe W.T.
I don't want to know that bad" ~
The deacon feels that st. Louis,
with its all-around strength, espe-
cially in the hitting department, is
bound to deliver a challenge before
long. He also feels that the Giants
and Cubs may be harder to beat
than they were last year. And mind
you, he does not scoh at the Bees,
Phillies and Pirates Gin that order,
which is strictly alphabetically.
But he likes his own team best,
and he has some justification for
doing SO.
There is no better front-line pitch
ing in the league than Cincinnatis,
with Bucky Walters, Paul Derrin-
ger and Junior Thompson. Thomp-
son, 13-game winner last year, is
almost certain to do better this sea-
son. Derringer shows signs-very
slight-of over-maturity, and may
not match his total of as wins for
1899, but Walters, the ideal Ma
tional League pitcher (pitcher, hit
ter, fielder and base-runner rolled
together) looks as good as ever.
Acid Test for Reds
Seen in Midseoson
The team won't hit much. The
4nfield still is bit unsound around
second base, and the outf1eld evokes
no memories of Speaker. Hooper and
Lewis. With its pitching and its
hustle, however, and the superla-
tive management of Deacon Nc
Kechnie, Cincinnati is the one to
beat.
I believe the Reds will face the