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Show Pfi A I MCF.Jj J A YANK HE veteran win talking about tlie next world series with tlie Cardinahi. The veteran gave me three reasons rea-sons for picking the Yankees tt recover re-cover the flcaln and -m the winner's end which they lout a year a no. Here they are 1. "Last fail, Til admit, we had them badly underrated. They were a better ball club than we expected to n-et. This time we'll be i ' ' I ' 4 fybMk UitiMtt'f"- set and ready. Rcd KufTlng 2. "The Cardinals have suffered much heavier losses than the Yankees have. The three men that fed us poison last fall were Johnny Beazlcy, Terry Moore and Country Slaughter. Pollet would have bothered us a lot. WVve lost DiMaggio and Ruffing, whi.e Etten has filled up Buddy Hassett's spot. Beazley, Moore and Slaughter could make a big difference. " 3. "With Spud Chandler working as he is, with Bonham and Wens-loff Wens-loff ready, we'll have a big edge in pitching. Chandler is hard for any team to beat. Against this Mort Cooper has never been good throwing throw-ing at our league. Cooper is a strong, winning pitcher. But he's sure to remember what happened in his four American league crashes." The Cardinal Side There Is some sound stuff to this argument but here is one point the Yankee entry overlooked the Cardinals have always thought they could beat the Yankees. The Yankees also overlooked the fact that the Cardinals had better pitching, just as good an outfield and just as good an infield. The sudden collapse of Joe Gordon, a former World Series star, a top competitor under pressure, was the heaviest Yankee jolt. They have had the better of their meetings in Florida. I never saw a more confident World series club than they were last fall. Even when Mort Cooper, their crack pitcher, was hammered out and Red Ruffing was holding them hitless, they were still full of scrap and hustle. No team that has lost Beazley, Pollet, Terry Moore and Slaughter can be as good as it was. But the same goes for DiMaggio and Ruffing. Ruf-fing. At present the prospects for a first-class show are bright enough. Baseball's War Trip Branch Rickey has the best all-around all-around suggestion for baseball's proposed pro-posed all-star war tour that I have run across. His idea is to have two representative representa-tive outfits from both big leagues tour the home camps of the United States with some form of pennant emblem at stake where each contest con-test will be a real game, fought to the limit, and not an exhibition scramble that will mean nothing to anyone, including the camps and the ballplayers. There are heavy handicaps in the way of transporting any teams overseas. over-seas. For instance: 1. The weather. England is now out on this account and North Africa Af-rica soon reaches her rainy season. 2. Scarcity of suitable ball parks where a first-class game can be played. 3. The competitive spark that means action and not exhibitions. This leaves Australia as the only available spot and this would be a doubtful tour. Australia is a long way off, needing more fighting men, planes and supplies than ballplayers. ballplay-ers. "What's the matter with supplying supply-ing entertainment and recreation to the millions of service men we have at home?" Mr. Rickey asks. "Most of these men are camped far from home. They could also use entertainment and recreation. "But it would have to be the real stuff. No mere exhibition offering would ever get by. These troops know what real baseball is and they wouldn't stand for anything but the best type of competition. "If such a series was played a complete record of all games should be kept with the club standings carried. car-ried. Also there should be some form of emblem or trophy to be awarded." I agree with Branch Rickey. I doubt that any overseas exhibition would work out. It would be better, for overseas work, to use such men as Babe Ruth, Dizzy Dean, Walter Johnson, Frank Frisch and others well known wherever the old flag flies. The Master Motion Carl Hubbell is still talking about Walter Johnson's pitching motion. "Johnson must be around 57 now," he said. "But when I saw him warming up with Bresnahan and pitching to Ruth a few days ago he might have been around 28. What impressed me was the free and easy motion of his arm. As you get older, especially after you've passed 40, the old wing begins to tighten up. It must be worse after 50. But not for Walter. He still has a pretty fair share of the old speed left." |