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Show CUBS AND GIANTS I IN A CLOSE RACE New York. July 2L The Fourth of July Is the turning point In the National Na-tional league schedule of games. th- season being about half over every year on thai day. As a general thine, about this time. Fonic correct line can be had earh year as to what club will win the championship, but the present season has afforded eo many surprise and so startling change of form by tho various teams that to pick the winner of thin year's gonfalon la a very difficult proposition to tasklo. The Cubs after ft very poor tstart have come bar kcloser to their old timo winning form than any other team, with the possible exception of the GlantK, and the latter, although Ihey are holding down second place and are clinging to the skirts of tho Cubs with a drin clutch, still Mc-Craw's Mc-Craw's men are playing very erratic ball. They have lost many games that they looked to have cinched with a lead pipe certainty, and a "blow-up" by them is constantly feared by Gotham Goth-am fans. Still they have as good a chance to win the pennant as any other club. Many of the older players, play-ers, who have been more or less tied up by tho beastly weather uf the sprint; months, have thawed out nicely nice-ly and most promisingly under the influence in-fluence oi the hot spell, and they can be depended on to keep their stride until the end of the season. The Cubs, without doubt, have the best baseball machine in the league. In fact, they are a far classier aggregation aggre-gation than the Giants, but that does pot guarantee them the "rag." Their pltcben appear to be going back just at present with the exception of "Three Fingered Brown," and that is a bad sign, for pitchers should be "coming" now Instead of retrograding. retrograd-ing. Drown lost about ten games before he gained his first brackets, but be is pitching (splendid ball again. Hut he cannot hold up the entire pitching department of the Cubs any more than Matheweon can for the Giants. I am of the opinion that the. Giants are better off for pitchers than the Cubs and that asset is bound to count good and strong In the long and punishing pun-ishing race that is ahead. The Pittsburg Pirates' .fall from their high estate is owing partly to I their pitchers falling to make good, i but more to the surprising tumble 1 from form that Wagnqr has shown this year. The big Dutchman has been pretty near the Pirates' whole team for ten or a dozen years, and his failure to come back this season has thrown tho world's champions into a 'rut" that I can t figure how thev can get out of, The championship lays between the Cubs and Giants, and it looks to me to bo about an even proposition. |