Show R THE HE citrus crop took quite a shellacking from the rather rough winter that assaulted Florida this season This was practically the tho same winter that almost wrecked England and Europe and was none too soft on the South the Southwest and the Middle West inthe in inthe inthe the U. U S. S A. A But for all of ol that the pennant crop In Florida Is looking to one of its biggest years If you recall the facts the Cardinals Cardinals Cardinals Cardi Cardi- nals who trained at St. St Petersburg and the Red Sox who trained at Sarasota Sarasota Sar Sar- won the two major pennants a year ago In the p American league t. t 4 Florida trained y tea teams m s the Red Bed r. r Sox T Tigers 1 g e r sand and s' s i Yankees ran 2 1 q qIn rf z In the National i. i league they ran 12 1 f. f According to Al Al' Al Lang sv who h o w was a s Grantland Rice bringing teams toi to i Florida when Connie Mack was a rookie it will be the same this season Red Sox Tigers and Yankees will run 1 3 again Al AI tells you The Cardinals will prove once more that St Sl Petersburg is the best training spot on what is left leU of this globe Florida stands pat This state will dominate the two leagues and I well we'll still have a few oranges grapefruit tangerines strawberries and what not left over Lang still sUll figures the Yankees would have done much better 1 if they had come direct to St. St Petersburg Petersburg Petersburg Peters Peters- burg in place of using up their early training days in Puerto Rico and I other Latin-American Latin countries I agree with him The main reason I ICor for Cor a big league team coming south or heading westward is condition condition- not exhibition games The main idea is to build up legs and arms to develop wind to get ready for the games that wait on beyond the middle of April You get that on turf turl and sod sad not in the air or traveling on trains The Yankees were far ahead of the Cardinals this time last spring In Shape Too Early They are a full month past us Eddie Dyer told me But the Cardinals were 20 games ahead of the Yankees in late Sep Sep- Ball players I meet around here dont don't figure the Yankees can come close to the Red Sox who are picked again to get another killing jump jump due to saner training meth meth- At least partly Not entirely The rhe Red Sox also have much the better ball club no matter where the training site How can anyone tell about the Yankees one veteran said Who could have told you 10 or 11 of their best hitters would fall off of 30 40 or 50 points Who can say how many of these will bound back to where they used to be Who can tell you how good Joe DiMaggio the big man on the club will be Their pitching was pretty good last year It was their weak hitting that wrecked them DiMaggio a great ball player could be a big lift if it he is the ball ballplayer ballplayer ballplayer player he was before the war var Maybe Maybe May May- be he will be I wouldn't know But having DiMaggio in a slump is like having Bob Feller with an of off year or Ted Williams batting or Hal trying to win 15 or 18 games Look how Babe Ruth carried carried carried car car- ried the Yankees so many years Sure he had a lot of help but it was the Babe that supplied the spark DiMaggio makes a much greater difference to the Yankees than the hits he makes or the runs he drives in or the great catches he can handle Joe can lift or let down the entire club on the mental or hustling side Plenty of 0 Possibilities The Yankees are still packed with possibilities Spud Chandler is still a great pitcher Rizzuto Lindell Keller Henrich Johnson Robinson and others have shown in the past how good they can be when be-when when they are right With the exception of Chandler and Robinson Robinson Rob Rob- inson most of ot the Yankees were not too hot last year They have high class handling from Harris Dressen and Corriden They couldn't ask for better But ItIs it itis itis is the ball player and the spirit of the ball player that gives you the answer The spirit of the Yankees I happen to know was bad last sea sea- son ion They were a long way way from from the Yankees I used to know Id I'd like t tsee to see sec first how much fight and h hustle they have left Id I'd like to see them with more of the stuff the Cardinals and the Dodgers have The Thc Hard Luck Breaker It has been a long time since I 1 saw Spud Chandler of Georgia running run ning blocking and kicking against Yale After leaving Georgia Spud spent most of his time fighting at off hard luck He was shifted here and there finally landing with the Yan Yan- kees He started several weeks before be fore the spring training season but broke an ankle while running A year later he fielded a short bunt with a quick snap that wrecked a ligament in his right arm |