Show When the Clock Is Running Out You Yon can look back to the pages through the ages when the he sages Thought in terms of endless time When you yon reckoned by the second or the centuries that beckoned In a rhyme What is time the sages asked you But the sages never knew The killing thrilling moment that is only known to few To the teams in scrappy battle through the gridirons gridiron's reel and rout Where seconds tell the story of the glory of the bout To the team that's trailing slightly slightly- when the clock is running out All time is now split seconds seconds seconds-as as the wild cheer leaders shout For the pass or run that follows follows- when the clock is running out Oh the reeling dizzy feeling in the wheeling spin of doubt doubt- Can they make it break it-break break or fake it it- it as the clock is running out The Condition Pitcher Spud Chandler the Yankees star pitcher is strong on the side of condition condition condition con con- or physical fitness Part of this is due to Chandlers Chandler's psychology and part to his football training where one had to keep in shape with the schedule Georgia faced in those years often 10 hard games Spud is a terrific worker A few years P back this conditioning condition condition- ing Lug process boomeranged boomeranged boomeranged boom- boom wh when n he started to get ready weeks ahead of time by working I out his legs over a aGeorgia aGeorgia aGeorgia Georgia track He broke an ankle which left him out of action most of the year This concentration on condition has been largely responsible for Chandlers Chandler's best year at the age of 34 Few pitchers wait that long to have their best season which season which also was one of the best pitching seasons in n nul nur 20 91 O v J One Great Pitch PitchA A bunch of us w were re arguing as usual over the greatest single pitch any World series ever saw My vote went to Christy Mathewson Mathew- Mathew son in th the series of 1912 Giants 1912 Giants against the Red Sox This was the eighth game of the closest series yet played In the last of the tenth inning the Giants were leading by a run with Boston at bat There were two on base with one out and Tris Speaker up Mathewson piled two fast balls through and then with the same pitching ing motion lobbed one over Speaker caught off balance lifted a high pop foul that dropped safely in the coaching box near first base It should have been an easy out but the call came for Chief Myers to handle it and it-and and the slow Chief Chie couldn't quite make it That pitch should have made two out and quite possibly have won the series for the Giants It took headwork and courage to feed Speaker that slow one under the circumstances But Mathewson always had just about everything a pitcher needs to tobe tobe tobe be tops Back in 1905 a mere matter of 38 years ago your correspondent saw Christy shut out the Athletics three times in compact order in the finest finest finest fin fin- est pitching exhibition he has ever seen Christy Mathewson still holds first place in many a fans fan's memory book The Left-Handed Left Crop Good left-handers left are hard to lo lo- lo- lo cate Any ball club that has one top southpaw is lucky The Cardinals Cardinals Cardinals Cardi Cardi- nals in a way were lucky to have four hanging around this season season- Lanier White Brecheen and Brazle not not to overlook Pollet PolIet who was called into the service This is the best left-handed left crop any team has ever known when you add up both quantity and quality Any team whose power depends on good left handed hitters is up against a heavy handicap facing left-handed left pitchers In the old days the Babe had most of his trouble facing southpaws with the curve breaking away from his swinging bat Which reminds us that a good part of Connie Macks Mack's earlier success was due to the great left-handers left he gathered in along the trail trail Rube Rube Waddell Eddie Plank Herb Pennock Pennock Pennock Pen- Pen nock and Bob Grove Grove to to mention four of the best in baseball history About 1944 What about baseball through 1944 No one can say the outlook is any anymore anymore anymore more promising than it was for 1943 a year ago The fathers father's draft will undoubtedly make a big difference So will the progress of the war After looking at what happened through 1943 there is little use in making too many pessimistic guesses Judging from all reports received to date baseball played its part foi to the service men both in camps at home and those abroad II- II j |