The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1959-07-17
What Happened
To The Jets?

What happened to the Jets? That's the tickliSh
question that seems to be making the rounds these
days.
Fans point out that for a while, the Jets were
cutting down opponents like the Indians did to Clusters
men during his famous last stand. Then suddenly, the
Jets were getting blasted from all sides and they
couldn't win for losing.
To be more specific, The Jets on June 3 climaxed
an exciting drive which carried them to the top OF
the International League standings with a 27-2l record.
Two days later, they were still on top, but tied with
Buffalo for the lead. Less than one month later, they
were at The bottom of fhe heap with a 35-45 mark.
During the 'firemenS' slide, which must have
set some sort of record, the Jets won nine games while
losing "a.
Before we 90 any further, it should be pointed out
that the Jets certainly aren't as bad as that record
makes them appear. Basically, Columbus has a sound
club. If Columbus has a sound club, fans will ask,
why the sudden collapse?
John Sanders, Jets publicity chief, pointed out
that the big problem during the plunge was an alb
sence of clutch hitting.
In the 81 games played between June 6 and
July S, the Jets left III men stranded on the base
pafhs-an average of eight men a game. In one game
the JETS left ID men on the bases, once they left 10,
and three fines they left II men stranded; twice they
left II men and twice they left 10 men on base.
During this stretch, the Jets were shut out five
times; they lost seven Of nine games decided by one
run. Six of these defeats came in a row. Eight Jet
losses were decided by two runs. The Jets also lost
four extra inning games in this period.
Latest figures show that Columbus is sixth IN the
league in club batting and dead last in fielding. The
big slump brought the team down in these depart
ments.
AS for pitching, the Jets haven't been too bad. The
closeness of the Jets defeats bear out this point well.
On the other hand, the hurting hasn't been out
standing.
Sore arms, loss of Alvin Jackson Ines back now)
TO Pittsburgh, and failure OF a couple OF hurlers TO
fulfill early season predictions, hurt the jets. However,
all of these factors didn't hurt the JETS as much as the
loss of good, solid clutch hitting.
A slump is still one of the big mysteries OF base
ball. It's almost like a business depression a down
ward spiral with no braking force.
Most say that a slump causes a psychological let
down, which in turn contributes further TO Inc slump
and there you have your vicious downward spiral.
Lately, the Jets seem to have snapped out OF the
doldrums and are no longer playing dead. The prob
lem now is to get back into the thick OF the fight
and STAY there. A glance at the IL standings will show
that this is a difficult venture since the whole league
Is punched together.
The explanation for the struggle in the league is
keen competition. Can the Jets offer the same type
of keen competition as they will meet during the bal
ance of the season?
a negative answer will mean the Jets will end
UP in the bottom half of the leagus-if not dead last.
a yes" answer will mean the Jets will finish in the
top haIf-givsn q few brakes.
This leads up to a very obvious, but difficult
question. What will the Jets do during the rest of the
season?
A flat prediction is out of the question. After all,
the Jets might suffer through another midsummer
nightmare like they did in June. If so, "look out be-
loW.'
However, this columnist is optimistic. Repeating
an earlier statement, we feel Columbus has a basically
sound club. Feeling this way, we are willing to go out
on a limb and say the Jets viii finish fifth, and with a
little bit of luck, fourth place.-LVF1