Show A S COME OME time back we were discuss 0 mg ing the affairs of baseball baseballs s state with connie mack the part that luck plays came up for some chatter in my opinion luck plays a small part a very small part mack said with games to play there is only one spot that luck can figure rather beav lly ily this could be in some injury or I 1 illness striking at a key player one who can t be re placed this is about the worst luck you can get MACK 1 he said so the br braves aves can be charged with the worst luck of the season in losing eddie tor for the rest of the season for despite what branch rickey and leo durocher thought about it has been the most valuable the most useful second baseman in the national league his absence from brooklyn has accounted in large part tor for most of the dodgers doldrums earlier in the race it has accounted for a loss of in attendance due to so many games lost that s pres ence could have won when the blow fell billy B illy southworth had just organ iced his cast into the most tor for team in the league it bad had good catching and certainly one of the soundest pitching staffs in johnny sam warren spahn bill and bernon ernon bickford braves had hitters the braves had a good hitting outfield on hand but above all in Y and alvin dark the braves had the strongest second base combination in the circuit and it might be added that was largely responsible for young dark s fine play and his marked improvement on the day was hu hurt rt both he and dark were hitting both were among the first five among the league leagues s best hitters As a defensive combination they had no superior pair to face just how anky 8 substitute will work 0 out has yet to be shown over a long stretch this could easily be the wreck ing bad luck that mack was talk ing about the braves may win the pennant without with the pepper box around they were the best team in their league the team one had to pick as the able pennant winner you know what would happen to the card finals if they lost stan or where the indians would be with out lou boudreau athle athletics tics have pitchers the fact that a majority of the experts prophets and soothsayers still are waiting for the Athle athletics to crack chasn t annoyed mack too greatly still he chasn barnt t liked it too much the records show that he has the soundest and m most ost con sistena pitching staff in the league and the facts show mack tells you that we have just about as good a ball club as the yankees indians or red so sox in other departments it isn t as fast as it might be but it can bit and f field and I 1 certainly know of no other club that has more spirit no club that has been up around the front for three playing months can be considered any morning glory if phil marchildon were in his 1917 1947 shape wed we d have a nice lead already set aside with better prospects on ahead whatever I 1 apkens 1948 can be set down as one of mack s bigger years the veteran won his first american league pennant 46 years yea rs ago in 1902 he won again in 1905 1910 1911 1913 1914 1929 1930 and 1931 so it has been a matter of 17 years since the tall thin old timer has won a flag and he feels that he could make good use of bis his pennant before retiring from the busy scene he lie had no idea this spring that he could do as well as he has to date I 1 feel pretty sure that back in early april mack gladly would have settled for a spot at the bot torn of the first division favorites fade out at that time about all you could heir hear were the yankees and the red sox the tigers and the in ceans deans drew the next rounds of ap what everyone overlooked was the value of six or seven good consistent pitchers in a season where good pitching was extreme ly scarce when men such ball players as eddie joost and hank Maj majeskie eskle began acting like stars the ath fetics began showing dust to both yankees and red sox they gave pretty fair proof of their intentions by opening the season in boston and walloping the astonished red sox three times running shortly after this they moved up with w ith the cleveland indians and began becan feeding athletic dust to the rest of the league |