The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1955-09-24
Red Sox Burned Ur

battle last Julys terrific heat, day after day, without
Yet Higgins watched them wilt and grow weary
out there without once thinking giving the boys
That's what Higgins cid that Boudreau didn't do
Even IN normal month Of July, the weather is hot
i7 th sag Souereaa ana every other manager
around the terrific heat of last July
Managers using three and four pitchers game and
! substituting generously in oother positions
But Higgins must have thought his PLAYERS were s,ner
human with iron muscles
on many occasions through that hot spell he kept his
pitchers in there and eight innings even THOUGH
it obvious to friendly commentators that thew
on the verge OF collapse from the burning sun
AS for the rest of his team they had to stay in
there the full nine innings or no heat
Somehow they stood up under it, and gained
ground temporarily the leaders, who were pacing
themselves through the heat wave and saving some-
thing for the stretch drive August and September
What happened stretch is alreadv history Nv the
time the heat over the Red Sox were exhausted
For the past three weeks they've been acting like tired
oo men Ther strength was gone, and with it
Young pitchers who had thrown their heart out winning
pan games IN hot July were being belted out Of the
the first and second innings
The July grind even produced its toll on smart hitter
himself through the long season
Since returning from the western trip it quite notice
able that he wasn't swinging with power
1t must be that he, too exhausted himself under that
oroing July During the past three he has con-
fined his efforts for the part pushing harmless singles
through by the inheld
Higgins in his first year up apparently was fooled
by the type of ball the leaders were playing in July
If he had studied the charts of other years he
would have that the better teams seldom play
much better than SOC ball during the period of intense
No athlete, regardless age, could possibly stand
up under the irOn-man schedule that Higgins ordered
Even the champion miller perfecty-traned marathon
err is careful to pace himself the course.
He doesn't get frantic even excited when he sees
the hafmer ping huge lead during the early stage
Nor does Jockey on horse trained for the long route
get disturbed when he Splinter 10 20 lengths
Byt the same token the league leaders and oddsakers
Red Shy were Ir1rf1o
wild under the torrid sun rays of last July.
themselves into exhaustion during the early stages of long
race
Sooner or later they knew the sox would run out of gas
If the various sox players had been spared the daily
the July sun on an afternoon or So things might
have been different in the last couple of weeks when they
now, still a faithful admirer of Lou BOudreau's
ability, we ask you what Mike Higgins did that Lou
didn't do?
Those who dolize Higgins viii laugh at the com
parison and point out that the Sox less than 10
! games from the top, while they finished something
like rs games off the pace under BOudreau.
Wei, accept that rebuff from there. !.
There's something we always like to remember about
Boudreaus 1854 team.
the stretch when he saw the fourth place Tigers
laundering he benched his youth move
men rockies plugged the gap with some smart veterans
ana moved the SoX from fifth place the first division with
in matter of three weeks
Il junked the youth movement" said Lou $50 that all
the players could get share the series money"
Maybe we're just dehard Boudreau fan but we still
Whether the Higgins admirers believe it or not the
Sox picture far brighter than Boudreau looked
at last year.
1t was mid-eason in 1854 before williams recovered
from his broken coarbone Frank Sullivan Brewer
were just kids in the big league kindergarten speak
Grady Hatton limited service third base because the
Sox front Office had not yet given Lepico
O'clock and young George trying to throw
curve balls down in Louisville And Billy try
ing to play second base with the help lack it,
Milt Boiling at shortstop
With that set-up Boudreau struggling to win
games against Cleveland pitching that had
three 20-game winners Yankee pitching staff that
had two 20game winners and a Chicago that
had Virgil Trucks enjoying his year. with Sandy
Consuagra at his best in the bull pen.
Compared to that 1854 record, only Early Wynn
of Cleveland and Whitley Ford of the Yanks have a
chance of entering the select 2O-victory this
year.
Quite difference, you must agree
It's still sincere opinion that the released one
of the smartest managers in baseball replaced him with
rookie who has yet to learn the tricks trade OF the
major leagues
We have fault to find with Higgins He promised to
do his best and it wasn't too bad.
He had the misfortune OF being oversod by sports
writers who get all excited the Red July
forgot remember that the schedule
to 60
WANT to buy or sell some-