The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-10-03
PTTCHERS' BATTLE IN FIRST GAME?
By LEO IT. PETERSON Limited Press Sports Edlt0rl


 Baseball's gray train came to Q stop at Briggs Stadium today with the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs out after the big cut of the lo46 World Series melon.
 It was Hal Newhouser, Q 25-game winner for the Tigers, against silent Hank Borowy, Q blue-eyed Polish guy who used to make Q practice of picking on Detroit when he hurled in the American league.
 Fordham Hank won Il for the Cubs after they paid the New York Yankees 9lO0,000 for him and Manager Charlie Grimm was hop- ing that his pennant insurance would get his boys of on the right road this afternoon.
 The bookmakers figured he would. for they quoted the Cubs ct to 6 to win the opener.
 But Steven o'Neil, the tough looking Irishman who pilots the Tigers wasn't worried.
 Hal doesn't worry about odds," he said. He will show the Cubs some pitching which they've never seen before. And l know 1t will be good enough"
 He discussed hte jinx which Borowy has held over the Tigers he beat them il times while losing only three games before the Yam kees decided to sell him. Cocaine
 "You figure that you always catch up with Guy some time" he ex- plained. His eyes twinkled when he said 1t, and you could see that he had every confidence in the world that Hal, despite @ sore back which requires SO many injections of cocaine that 1t looks like 6 pin cushion without pins, would come through.
 Grimm was just as confident that 4orowy would set the Tigers down.
 "Ee's my man." jolly Cholly said. Hell do 1t for us."
 Both Grimm and O'Neill predict cd the series would 90 six games with each boss picking his own club to win, of course.
 Both teams were in fair shape, with the Tigers still showing, how ever, the strain Of the American league pennant race which saw them win the flag on the final day of the season Sunday. Hare. .hitting Hank Greenberg said his aling left ankle was feeling better, Eddie Mayo pronounced his shoulder okay and even Dizzy Trout, the number two man on the Detroit firing line, said hsi back injury no longer both- cred him and that he was already to go when Steve calls on me-"
 Grimm got quite a jolt as he sat in the stands of Briggs Stadium yesterday and watched the Tigers go through Q long batting drill. Greenberg and Roy Cullenbine really were meeting the ball, driv- ing 1t out of the park, rifling 1t against the fences and driving 1t along the foul lines.
 My gosh" he observed. If those guys go like that tomorrow I guess we might as well go home"
 there Is in the heart of the Tiger
 He recognized that the threat batting order-0reenberg, Cullen bine and Rudy York. They are long ball hitters who always are danger ous at the dish for they make breaking up 8 ball game one of their favorite pastimes.
 But Grimm, who brought his banjo along to idle away his spare moments - and they weren't too many with his players baking at living at floating hotels"-hgured that he, too,' had a murderers row that could do all right. Phil Cavar- retta, Peanuts Lowrey and Andy Pafko have been the big guns in the Chicago attack with Big Bill Nicholson suffering the worst sea- son of, his career.
 But swiSh-ae Nicholson is known in the business because of the cut he takes at the plate - may break out any time.
 So Grimm decided that even with Prince Hal; Q southpaw, pitching he would keep Big Bill, who hits left handed, in the lineup. You never know when he might park one," Grimm said, hopefully.
 Charley decided after the Cubs worked out yesterday that Roy Hughes, Q veteran, would start at shortstop instead of Len Merullo. Merullo is 8 youngster but his play afield is cratic and Grimm figured that in one series Hughes experi- ence could be important. Otherwise, the Cubs will go with the same lineup that brought them the National league pennant. It will be Mickey Livingston behind the plate when Detroit lefthanders, and Paul Gillespie when right handler is working.
 ONeill will go with Jimmy Out law, who played in the outfield un- til Greenberg was discharged from service, at third and his son-in-law Skeeter Webb at short. Webb and Hoover alternated at the short field spot as the Tigers won the Arneri- can League pennant.
 Neither Grimm nor O'Neill were looking beyond today's game but they were expected to name Claude Passeau and Virgil Trucks. who was discharged from the service only last week. as their second game pitchers. Yet there was a chance that Grimm would switch to Paul Derringer. 8 World Series veteran who knows all the pitching tricks in the books for the second game And there also was a chance that O'Neill would call on Al Benton or