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Show LOU BOUDREAU, the 29-year-old manager ol Cleveland's Indians Indi-ans and one of baseball's best short stops, has the brand and breed of club he likes to r-"-i. j; handle. In the f ,s main it is a , ' , k young club, a big I j, 'J club, a hustling ft jx-s club and it is P -S? backed up by four I", is talented starting h pitchers- These ' , Allie Reynolds, I '4 Steve Gromek "' " and Charley Em- bree, with other Bob Feller possibilities who should help. "This is a tough race for anyone to predict," Boudreau tells me. "I mean a tough season in trying to guess postwar form. I will say right at the start that I can't see any hot chance of our Indians beating beat-ing out the Yankees, Red Sox or Tigers. But maybe we can nip one of them with our pitching and our hustle and finish as high as third. Fourth place is our main goal and that won't be any sure thing." "I'm looking largely to a year or two on beyond when these kids will be seasoned. And don't forget by that time our starting pitchers, headed by Bob Feller, should still be going strong. It isn't an old staff. Feller, Reynolds, Gromek and Embree are all well under 30." Two Strong Points It might be stated here that the combination of Lou Boudreau and Ray Mack gives the earnest Indians Indi-ans a strong spot at short and second, sec-ond, where strength is needed. It might also be mentioned that In Lou Boudreau the Indians have a young manager who is rapidly gaining experience, for which there is no substitute In sport. Not often, anyway. "If the Yankees, Tigers and Red Sox play up to their expected form," Boudreau says, "I can't see how they are to be crowded out from the first three places. But a lot of things can happen through a long baseball season. A lot of things. After all none of the top three will be cheering when they have to face our pitching staff day after day, and they all know this. "It means a lot to have four good starters you can bank on. Pitching has always been and always will be a big part of baseball. How much? Well, maybe 60 or 70 per cent," Bob Feller's Future It was worth while taking another look at Bob Feller, hardest working member on the Cleveland roster. I asked Feller about his improved curve ball. I heard he had developed devel-oped this in the navy. "No," Bob said, "that isn't right. I've had about the same curve for some years now. Only before I depended de-pended too much on my fast one. Now I'm simply using more curves. This also helps save my arm. "I didn't get to do so much pitching pitch-ing in the navy," Bob went on, "but I'll tell you one new thing I learned. This was a slider. I don't know how It will work out, but it may help." A Bob Feller with a slider added to his fast ball and his curve ball isn't going to be happy news to American league hitters. I didn't have the nerve to ask Feller how many years he thought he might have left. For at the age of 27, 28 in November, my guess would be at least 10 years more. This is still a guess for I felt sure that Dizzy Dean would have better than 10 years left when something snapped and went sour In his right shoulder blade. All I can say here is that Bob Feller is smart enough to be thinking think-ing about 1946, not 1948 or 1950. He knows what the hazards are when you are wheeling that fast one and that quick break in game after game against bats that too often are loaded with poison. True Color in Baseball The Yankees have been accused in the past of lacking color. I was talking about this matter of Yankee color with Manager Joe McCarthy Mc-Carthy recently. "In my opinion," he said, "this 1946 Yankee team has my idea of true color the color that really belongs. be-longs. By that I mean the color we have in infield skill and in outfield out-field skill and power. "I believe big crowds will get their thrills out of watching our infield in-field in practice Rizzuto and Gordon Gor-don around second, Stirnweiss at third in the execution of their plays. "Those who love baseball or those who love athletic skill above the average, will see Rizzuto, Gordon Gor-don and Stirnweiss make plays that belong to a circus. They are the greatest infield combination in this respect I have ever seen. Remember, Remem-ber, I am predicting no pennant. We don't know too much about our pitching yet. But I know what our infield can do. I know the impossible plays this infield can make, the type of plays that give any crowd a big kick even if we lose. Rizzuto and Gordon are two acrobats. They are the type of color I want." |