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Show n hgi LEAGUE IS , HAVINGJURD-FIGHT Outcome of Season at Pres-, Pres-, ent Time Cannot Be Forecast. Just what the outcome of the greatest race in the history of baseball will be no one dares even venture. With but a few games separating- the first six clubs and I the standing of tnese apt to be turned , topsyturvy by a week's plav, It does nut look like a safe place for any predictions as to the ultimate outcome of r.h struy-tn'r struy-tn'r 51178 J' Krl Grilio ln tn 'ashtngton j The Athletics naturally are still the public favorites. The strength of that wonderful awfrrega tkm is mill recognized, and while it la undoubtedly true that the Alack pitching Man is not as formidable an it might b. there are those who believe be-lieve that Mark ran turn the trirk with- out piti-hers. fast performance has fome influence on these opinions, no doubt, though It must he conceded that the chances tor the Mackmen are not as bright this year an f.hey were last year, when at this stage they wr-re sailing out in front with more than a hundred points : to spare The champions am up against stronger opposition. There are more evenly bal-ani-tid. u-;ims In the circuit this year. 1' Vfi others are (da moring for a clianee . climb into first, place, and they are doing everything they .-an to get there. , Hope for Senators. I i To date the Nationals have been the : i mofiL consistent tram. Their arandlng i . today Is within a fraction of wliat it was a y.-ar ago. This would Indicate that the j aeiiin fs at least as 'strong as it was and may niako a stronger linlnh. The Griff-nit'.n Griff-nit'.n have had tliir slump. They made a disastrous western trip early in the sea -son, but h:iv.- heon gohiv at a normal gait ever nimv. I ripi'ensi vf - Hi crn is no greater team j than the National--. . It Is u hard team to score on, and give:-! Indications of having hav-ing the makings of a wonderful pitching stair, led by that greatest of all twirlers, , Walter Johnson, jonnson has lost eight ga mes to da te. just one more than he lost, all of last reason, and It would not . 'bo at all surprising if he had about ended adding to his losing column. He Is sure 1 tu come through with more victories this .-:t-ason tliaii he did last season, tor the vt.-ry good reason that he is working in many more names than he did in the last campaign. Such a pitcher gives a team a great advantage If, it can keep in the rare, to the riidwh. Complaints about the Nationals; being a weak-bluing team arp not borne out by the figures. Right now there are but two te.'-ims with a better club average i than the Nationals. The Philadelphia have a percentage of .2.'9 and Detroit .-lit, with Washington just seven points behind In the third position. There are five teams below Washington in the batting bat-ting percentage, which would Indicate that the livfifjnen are not nearly as weak with the 'but as they are charged, though it seems to be their misfortune on many , occasions not to get hits when they are 1 1; lui uutsiien. nut a tea m a iniung pru-clivities pru-clivities are judged on Us showing during a season, and in this respect the Nationals Nation-als appear to bavu gone at a much Improved Im-proved pace to date. White Sox Puzzle. There' Is one team In the American league race, a rather prominent one, too, winch is hard to figure as being a serious seri-ous contender that is' Chicago. Grant- : tug that Jnems Callahan is a great manager man-ager who ha;-; a good pitching staff, there is a lot larking in the other departments of t hat team that Infield, for instance, . consisting of Aleock, Berger, 'Rlackburne 'and Fournier. does not look very classy, and, aside from Collins, that out Held does not remind one of a world's cbampion- ' ship tearu. But, of course, stranger things have happened. The Sox of 1906, which Fielder Jones pushed through to 1 the front and won in world's series, was not a very classy outfit, but it had a pitching staff stronger than the one i Callahan boasts of. There was Fd Walsh In his prime and Walsh could pitch most every day and this iron man was helped out by two of the greatest left-handers the game has ever known Nick Altrock and Doc White. If Callahan can win a pennant with the team he now ,has on hand he will really be working wonders. Boston hfs been a disappointment, in that It bus mi led to be consistent. Tt has shown several flashes which were calculated calcu-lated to give it a chance in this race- and then has fallen by the wayside just when It was expected to gain ground. But that team must not be figured out of It by any means. Tt may come with a rush ut the finish. .St. Louis is sure to be troublesome at : al) times, yet it is, not to be expected , that that team can win out, though it may finish up closer than is generally expected. Detroit is the team which will need the most watching. Jennings's crew has the punch, a ml if the pitch era come up to the mark his team is going to be hard to stop. It lias a nucleus of players who have been through several gruelling campaigns cam-paigns who will be at their best when the pinch Is tightest, and with Cobb back in the lineup and attending to business those Tigers are going to be hard to beat. |