Show speaking of sports dodgers rise baffling but not to th them e M by rtobert ROBERT mcshane released by western newspaper union D DUROCHERS dynamic dodgers L are the hottest thing in baseball today not long ago the brooklyn representatives senta tives ot of the national league were chosen to battle it out for a poor position in the second division today they are the surprise team of baseball no one concedes them the pennant but neither does any so called expert gaze into the crystal bau ball and venture out on the well known limb by tagging them as tail enders the rise of the dodgers cant be construed merely as a local development fans fa far r from the banks of the govanus canal bordering ebbets field are rooting for the former daffiness Daf finess boys if the home team cant win john Q public is all for the dodgers they have the peoples vote just a few years ago the dodgers were always good for a laugh their brand of baseball guaranteed but their style of entertainment was sure fire uncle wilbert ro robinson b inson was at the helm and i it t w was a s an uneventful game when 0 one n e base runner overtake another or when an outfielder put out of action for a few innings by a fly bau ball rapid change 0 artists all ali those thi things ing s are of the past today the dodgers play a last fast heads up brand of ball boss larry Alac macphail is one of the best showmen in the business and 7 M manager lippy leo durocher is as confident and smart as any manager rightfully can be but theres one big reason why the dodgers are a pennant threat they larry have all the fire and macphail spirit of a college fraternity team spectators upsurge began when macphail baseballs big idea man took charge before the 1938 season he was responsible for the purchase of players durocher directed them As evidence of widespread houseclean ing activities there are only nine players still on hand from the questionable tio squad he inherited the veterans on hand are pitchers fred I 1 fitzsimmons van lingle mungo luke hamlin and forrest catcher babe phelps infielders durocher pete coscarart john hudson and harry lavagetto starting in 1938 macphail purchased c ase first irs baseman afeman dolph 0 p camil ami rt for whitlow wyatt milwaukee mounds man was acquired next followed by pitchers hugh casey from memphis and bill crouch from nashville pitcher vito tamu tamn lis came from the browns and outfielder ernest koy from the yankees via waivers buddy hassett and jimmy outlaw went to boston for outfielder gene moore and pitcher ira hutchinson he pays to conquer in 1939 macphail bought outfielders jim ripple from the giants and fred walker from detroit and traded pitcher bill to boston for backstop al todd since last year macphail has out done himself he paid louisville and several players for shortstop hal reese beese roy koy cullenbine was given to sign and the red sox realized for outfielder toe joe other additions included pitchers carl doyle from memphis max macon alacon from the cardinals and jim carleton from milwaukee ile he also acquired wes ferrell newell kimball gus mancuso charles gilbert and herman franks neither macphail nor durocher show any surprise over their teams early season standing they have an airtight infield and a brand new outfield the catching is good and the pitching better than they expected that adds up to improvement in league and brooklyn probably the best baseball town in the nation is sold on this years team just remember that some turned out on a rainy miserable afternoon for the opening garde game chances are that you dont remember it but brooklyn won the national league pennant back in in 1920 a year they won 93 games and lost 61 flatbush fans are cooki looking pg forward to a repetition of that victory v c if it comes the residents of new york connecticut new jersey and adjacent points would do well to take a coastline cruise during the tall fall months sport shorts george hildebrand former american can league umpire is generally credited with inadvertently discovering the spitball while playing outfield for the providence team in 1902 ted williams of the boston red sox has a good remedy for temporary batting slumps slump s whenever he has a hitless afternoon he imposes two hours of batting practice on himself the next day glenn russell chicago cubs fi first rt baseman is an expert whistler |