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Show BOSTON RED SOX EXPECT PENNANT (By Jake Stahl, Manager Boston American Lensuo.) We, the Boston Red Sox, expect to win the pennant. This Is a statement that might bo anticipated from any manager whose toam had a reasonable reason-able chance to win. But we have a reason. From a poor start we are out in front. Wc have no old, worn-out worn-out men who aro likely to go to pieces. Our toam Is rounded into a good organization. We have a catching catch-ing staff In good shape, five pitchers twirling winning baseball, the best outfield in the country and an infiuld which is doing all that it is called upon to do. On that we base our expectation ex-pectation of keeping in front in the American league race. It Is a long Btretch from now until the end of the season and there is no telling what may happen in that time. We are out in front now, though, and while I can't say absolutely that we aro going to stny there, I can say, confidently; that we expect to. Of courso, I will have to admit, as would any other man, that there arc too many angles to baseball and too many chances taken to make the positive pos-itive assertion that wo are gojng to win tho championship of the American Ameri-can Ioaguo. Such a statement on my part would bo preposterous on the face of it. But I can refloat that I expect my club to hold the lead it now has, and if It docs not I shall be exceedingly surprised and disappplnt-od. disappplnt-od. , There i every reason to bolloyo that the club will hold its present galL Our players are all young and ''coming." We are in bettor shape now than at any other lime this season. sea-son. If we have been able tp come up from a poor start, and that while wo wcro only rounding Into form, and take the lead wo havo now, It would seem but reasonable to supposo that we can stall off any rush on the part of another club. Players Confident of Result. The advantage wo now hold his ln-stJIIcd ln-stJIIcd lots of confidence in tho players. play-ers. They all believe that Boston boa n pennant-winning club, and are going go-ing to do their utmost to provo It. It Is realized by evory one on the toam that they havo never had the chance they have now of taking part In a world's series. Those five In a row from New York did my team a lot more good than tho mere advantage advant-age given it in the percentage column. col-umn. We are leading the league now because be-cause we are playing good basoball better ball than any of the other clnbs.. There Is not another team in the circuit that Is hitting, fielding or playing in any way superior to us. There Is absolute harmony In the ranks overy man pulling with the ' others without a discordant note. This Is about all there is to it so far. and I see no reason why we should not maintain the high standard. Of course, Joe Wood has been our mainstay all season, nnd to him we mainly owe the fact that we are holding hold-ing the lead we have. It was due to his excellent box work that wo wore able to win games early in the year when tho club, as a whole, was in poor shape. Had it not been for the fact that Wood was able to go In two days every week and twirl airtight ball from start to finish, we would have lost several games before wo got fairly started and probably would not be In our present position. Wood the Mainstay In Box. Wood has been more consistent this year than ever, and had tho club been oing behind him during the early iiart of the year as it is now he tvould hardly havo lost a gamo. Yes, I think It Is to him that most of the credit should bo given for our present standing By handing praise to Wood especially espe-cially I don't mean to detract one bit from the value of the other men ou tho pitching staff. They havo done their share nnd deserve a lot of credit, but I can't help saying that to Wood should go the most of the credit. |
