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Show COMMENT m SPORTS By Ed Sims iu(j l.io.uju: i;oiM)-ri' s the first summer month of the season approaches, a glance at the standings in the hig leagues reveals that should things continue to go like they've been going, there'll be some changes made by next September. In fact, neither of last year's pennant winners have begun to show conclusive - signs that they're ready, willing, and able again this season, while other teams are staging a fierce hatllo for tho '.11 flag in their own way. ItKOOKS AM) ('AKI)S TTI i: l G H For intanoe. let's look into the National loo;) first. There's Brooklyn Brook-lyn and St. Louis, both red hot, setting a pace that not even the Ueds can follow. About the middle mid-dle of May, each of these teams had lost only six games. Cincinnati Cincin-nati had dropped fourteen and were floundering 912 games behind be-hind the leading Brooks. The Dodgers had the hitting, the pitching, pitch-ing, the spirit, and the crowds. Some of their ace twirlers have rested for fifteen days at times merely because there were other younger ones rested and ready. The Dodgers had won 21 of their last 2 4 games at the time of this writing. The Cardinals are burning up themselves they were eight full games ahead of Cincinnati, right behind the Brooks, in mid-May. They, too, are getting the twirling from a crop of sensational rookies. The Cards are bouncing that onion in great style and the team as a whole functions well. The Giants, too, were ahead of the Reds at this writing. New York has gotten some good hurling hurl-ing thus far in the campaign and a couple of their main flingers may improve with the weather. Melton, Shumaker, Hubbell, Gum-bert Gum-bert and Bowman may win 'em against anybody if they're right. Terry's main worry is the lack of power at the plate. o INDIANS ABOUT TO GET AWAY Over in the American league, Cleveland is about to get away with the Red Sox and White Sox nearer to catching up with the Indians In-dians than anybody else. But here the race is closer than in the Senior Sen-ior circuit. The Yankees may pass either Sox club in a relatively short time for at the time of this writing the Yanks are only 2 games off the clip as far as Chi-'; cago is concerned, and three full games behind Boston. Then, too, Detroit may find that certain something and pull around a few of their rivals in a couple of weeks, more or less. The Tigers, just behind the Yanks, have fared badly since Greenberg joined the army. The first day he was missing miss-ing the Tigers started on a losing streak. The last series he played in was with the Yanks. The Tigers took 'em three straight and moved into second place. Then Hank left. It's an apparent story what he meant to Detroit. o NEWLY-FOUND HITTING AND FELLER PUSH INDIANS; BOSTON BOS-TON CCttnNG FAST; DYKES DRIVES WHITE SOX ON; THE YANKS FALTER The Indians' lead is a well-deserved lead. In mid-May they had lost but nine games. They have found the hitting with Heath sparking the onion - wrecking squad. In Feller they have probably prob-ably 30 games. Milinar, Smith, Harder, and Bagby are around to fill in between Feller's days. The Red Sox, on the other hand, are somewhat of a surprise. Boston is too close to Cleveland for comfort. com-fort. If they keep up their present pace they could win a pennant but too many fans remember the Red Sox surge early in the 1940 season to count them in there among the leaders yet. The pitching pitch-ing must be of a permanent brand. Dykes' lads, now in third place, are in there fighting with their all. However, if they've got the stuff to win a pennant, this observer ob-server hasn't seen it yet. They have the spark, the heart, and the spirit, but probably not quite a strong enough team all around. If they have it in 'em, however, Dykes will get it out somehow. At this time under Cleveland, Boston, and Chicago, McCarthy is trying valiantly to pull the Yankees out of their tail-spin. But the old master mas-ter doesn't seem to be able to get his pitchers working in championship champion-ship style. The Yankees at this writing have lost six out of their last eight games, and won only' two more than they have lost. |
