OCR Text |
Show HOT AFTER I RACEMAKERS Fans See a Possible Finish in Both Ball Leagues Followers of Naps and Phillies See Possible Chance 1 of Their Carrying Off I the Flag BY MONTY New York, Aug. 9. Though parti anB of the Naps and Phillips still profess ro see a chance for their fa-vorite6 fa-vorite6 to come through, th two league pennant races may bo considered consid-ered closed out The setbacks suffered suf-fered in a few spots along the trail of the last few weeks by the Giants and Athletics hao cut Into their re-W re-W (I 7 specthe leads somewhat, but there 16 still so much distance between the J pacemakers and the rest of the fields as to preclude any likelihood of their missing out on the two flags. Of course, lots of things may happen In baseball, as the tlroeworn saying. I goes, bur If we ere anxious to win an extra five dollars and had to give' our life as our end of the wager, we j would plank down the bet in the' twinkling of an eyelash The odds should be close to a thousand to one; pgainst either of the leaders being I beaten out The first placers and the runnerup? In both leagues have all played approximately ap-proximately a hundred games each This leaves fifty -four nattleeout ahead And a handicap of six or eight I games with fifty-four left to go is considerable handicap It is an insurmountable in-surmountable handicap when the one I ha on the long end of it is the better speeder A close scrutiny of the situation In I the National league leads to the bo- J lief that the Giants will need none or their allowance If they were on I even terms with the Phillies today they seem to be powerful enough to draw away and win in the final sprint H by a margin at least equal to ih- r.ir they now possess Which means that ( If the Phillies had a lead over the '; Giant6 of, say, eight games at this , stage, the New Yorkers would be able to catch them and spurt under the wire first From this quarter the American II league lavout frames up about the j same The Athletics ought to play better ball from now on than any j other team in the organization, and j not only keep their ad'antage but I l-fji Increase the martrln of It. Both the Athletic and Giants are the class of A their own circuits by several large I strides, and the alibi commissioners I ji of the two leagues will have little to I I I crow over after one of them loses the I world's series in the fall. . r. v- This has been a 6ort of "little men's year" in the National league First ' ' of all, three new little managers are J In the fold In Hugglns, E- ers and I I Tinker. Then Johnny McGraw, the I sawed -off leader of the Giants, has H I his team out in front. Also, a bunch of midgets have made good on the I playing field. Vlox, formerly only a I ; j utility man used In about one game , . I every two weeks, has become a star H J fcecond baseman since Fred Clarke 4 I has put him there regularly for the j Pirates. Heinle Gorh, whom McGraw I foolishly traded to the Red6. also has 3?J blossomed forth aB a crack second -' . il Backer this year. H I But the greatest of the new tinles ,.-11 Is little Maranvllle of the Boston -.J'Vj Braves. This plucky youngster, ho wa8 called too small for big league 'jujlrl ball, has shown them. He has not pasted the ball very hard his batting 3f 11 average has hovered around 240 for iV the last few weeks but he hah aSf'ifji proved a veritable wonder at fielding FS&3l n'B position One humoriBt said of him, "He coverB more ground than Strv Ping Bodie sitting down,'' and when 3TJI Ping 6lts down he surely covers some Paxri ground. Maranvllle not only can jsJrJSaj shift from one side to the other in a bSkmK! twinkling, but he is chain lightning Pfj at getting rid of the ball once he has -jSjjfa&J captured It, and be throws both with ilJJn velocity and precision. He Ib the i9sp4 premier shortstop developemnt of the year. H I ' I Baseball men In the east are be-ginning be-ginning to see a real menace to or- ,-4; ganized ball in the Federal league, 1 H with Its new plans of branching out I , I .4 end expanding. A story is going the '"'"J rounds that It will bo taken Into the ;V, fold, probably as a Class A or B league, but It is not believed that there is much truth in the yarn The fifC Federals are backed up by big money. Sfeii Moreover, they have more than Bp "v broken eren on this the first season jsrtf of existence. The new plan which Mi7",'j suggests two leagues, with one In the east and one In the middle weBt, is fVA likely to develop into a number of mM things. First, there will be the jf?T?y " chaaee for the two Federal leagues. V? or wbatever It Is decided to call them. ifcSjjiaf to get together each year In a world's gSsfej series of their own- Later on smaller S8a&j leagues may become affiliated with ggjffisj the outlaws, and It Is possible that Swjffi tome day there will be a rival "or- atraRj t ' J ganized baseball" if the thing may be 9HU expressed that way If such comes Nafift to pass the Baseball Players' Frater- nity may bob up into a position of 1 Importance |