Show e ho TIlE THE MAD PIPER Spring the Mad lad Piper riper I. I In is lad lading In ing them back Boudrean and Feller and Goi Gordon Gor- Gor don and Bauer Dauer Williams Beard Bearden eo and Mack Dyer Der McCarthy 1 and Lemon and Sauer Sauce Southworth and 1 Slaughter ter and Sam Sain This la le a cinch without using the brain o 0 Spring the Mad Piper Is I. tappIng tapping tapping tap tap- ping his reed recd Calling to 1 Harry the tho Cat Kiner and Mite 1 and tho the hard hard- hitting breed Blackwell and others who baffle a bat Marion Marlon Stephens and Pesky Peaky and Doerr That's quite enough of ot this this this- why bo be a bore bord Spring Dreams of 49 AT TIllS THIS TIME last season eason the following facts had been rather definitely established The Red Sox and Yankees Yankee were to fight out the American League pennant race with Tigers and Indians in fairly close pur pus suit The Dodgers and Cardinals were to take over the theN N t National L Lea League e a gun gue S. S race with the th S Braves Draves a always 1 w a S 'S threatening This seemed to be logical enough No Noone Noone one knew anY anything Grantland Rice about a Wd kid pitcher named Gene Bearden Dearden Beard Beard- en and no one could guess that Lou Boudreau u and Larry Doby would improve to any such extent as 81 the they did Also no one could figure the Cardinals would get such little help from their rookie crop and the Dodgers w would o 0 u l 1 d be scrambling around last place long after the season opened Now at least 10 clubs are indulgIng indulging ing In earl March dreams dream of October October October Octo Octo- ber cash and glory Here they are AMERICAN LEAGUE LEAGUE Cleveland Cleveland Indians Boston Doston Red Sox New York Yankees Philadelphia Athletics and the Detroit Tigers NATIONAL LEAGUE LEAGUE-D LEAGUE Boston o s ton B Bra Braves r a v e s 8 Brooklyn Dodgers Dodgen St. St Louis Loma Cardinals New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates with Chicago's Cubs Cub hanging around th the outskirts There bere has haa seldom been a time In 10 major league leape history where so go man many ball clubs In both hoth leagues learnes could be rated with aa health healthy chance to win Something Something Some Some- thing can happen to scatter them apart but the they also come to the wire under two blankets The best ball club dub in the two leagues looks to be Cleveland The The second best club should be the Ule Red Red Sox We are leaning heavily on that should be adjunct TIlE TIE BEST DEST CLUB in the National Nation Nation- al League should be the Dodgers with their speed and youth their quantity of strong arms and stout legs plus their 1948 experience But Dut it will probably prove to be the Braves Draves again If It Billy Southworth could win wina a flag flair with Eddie Stanley staG out of action over two months and Warren Spahn afflicted with an anoff anoff off oft years year for Spahn there Is no particular reason why he should not win again with a few slight Improvements and more help from these two standbys Also I have a fair idea that Bm Billy Southworth's Southworth Braves Draves will come north in April the conditioned best team in the older circuit Southworth Southworth Southworth South- South worth overlooks few bets bet when it comes come I to getting gettinge the e best out of what ho he has to work with He lie wastes less leu time in his training campaign than an any manager I 1 ever knew A Dip Into the Dark With the first day of spring trainIng training train train- ing less lees than a week away we hereby hereby hereby here here- by cUmb climb out on the end of the limb of a palm tree which has haa no limbs to speak ot of otHere Here lIere are our nominations for tor the early October roundup that may prevent us UI from tee leeh the th Army Michigan football ga a ty y AMERICAN LEAGUE LEAGUE Cleveland Cleveland Indians Indiana Boston Doton Red fled Sox New York Yankees Detroit Tigers Philadel- Philadel Athletics St St. Louis Louts Browns Drown Chicago White Sox and the tho Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington Senators NATIONAL LEAGUE LEAGUE-D Boston o 0 s o ton Ion Braves Brooklyn Dodgers Doolen StLouis St SL StLouis Louis Cardinals Pittsburgh b Pirates New Nw York Giants Chicago Cubs Cub Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Cin Reds He You Vou can un cut cot out this thI prediction pred a lion tion U If you OU care eare to and save It II for lOf next nez October The two r ce art are the tho toughest to pick that I l can recall in the last lut Iwo w wo 0 decades Lou Boudreau's Boudreaus Cleveland I In Indian n d t a Q a a are ar better equipped than anyone else eUe to win the American League pennant |