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VOL. XXII PORTLAND. OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 3, 11.03. NO. 18.
NEITHER THE BROWNS NOR THE NATIONALS CAN CHECK THEIR LOSING STREAK
RAGGED PLAYING AND
ADDITIONS TO HOS
PITAL CORPS MARK
BROWNS' PLAY AT
HOME
CERTAINLY the first .two -weeks at
home have been a crucifying grind
for the Browns. Not only have they
lost games by the most Inexcusable rag
ged playing, but they have augmented
their hospital corps by their two catchers.
Added to this Is the absence of George
Engle, who was called home on account
of the death of his sister at Cincinnati.
Yet In spite of their continued losing
streak, the attendance has been greater
at Twenty-fourth and Vaughn streets than
that which passed through the gates
across the river. This coming week, how
ever, will be the test in point of attend
ance. The Browns will be playing Uncle
Honk Harris' baseballists on this side of
the gurgling stream which divides Port
land, and Jack Grlm's Greengages will
exchange swatting compliments with
Butte.
Thus fir, in the battle between the
leagues, if reports are to be believed, the
Pacific Coasters have drawn four to one
better than the Pacific Nationals. At San
Francisco and at Los Angeles the Pacific
Coasters have because both cities have
winning teams, had the crowds, and the
newspapers along the line seem to think,
they will hold the crowds and keep them
coming through the Coast gates all dur
ing tfie season. At Los Angeles Charley
Reilly is having his own troubles getting
anything like his share of the patronage.
This was so while Harris' crew was "play
ing their week's stand there, and -also
while His Wittlness, Mique Fisher, had
his pennant-winners on exhibition. Har
ris, while he was In the city, showed, a
telegram which he received from Fisher
stating that the Nationals bad between 0
and 100 to see McCIoskey's team play,
while at Recreation Park there was the
usual midweek crowd, which means per
haps about 2000 or less. Some of the Los
Angeles players brought the story to
Portland that neither Helena nor Butte
had made money enough during their
series with which to get home, but this is
hardly credible, for If this had been the
case something would have leaked Into
print about the situation. At any rate
neither team made more than enough
money to get back home on, for even to
do this the gate receipts must necessarily
be very large. Financing a baseball team
on the road early In the season Is no easy
task, and taking Into consideration the
great distance of travel and the coin
necessary to foot practicing bills, It does
not take long to eat up a snug bank
account.
Getting. back to our own Browns. The
team' ay a""whole has not fulfilled the ex- '
pectafions 'of the local fans. "While the'j
team early in the season looked winners
every Inch on paper, the rapid company
In which they have been cast has shown
them to be very slow in comparison with
San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacra
mento. Seattle, too, has found the com
pany exceptionally fast, while with Oak
landwell, that's another story. Tho
Browns are going to be rock-ribbed be
fore many days. Raldy, whose record
shows him to be a bang-up inflelder,
jumped Into the game on his arrival. And
while It Is a bit too early to judge his
work, his presence will, in addition to
giving the whole team courage. In a
measure relieve Jay Andrews of his anx
iety and will no doubt help keep him
away from the error column. In speaking
of the error column, it might be men
tioned in passing, that the Brown third
guardian is not afraid to make a try for
everything which lands in his territory.
With a good man at short he ought to be
more steady. The same ought to help
Andy Anderson. Andy's work of late has
been decidedly off color. Some of the
more critical fans lay his erroring to gen
eral laziness and indifference. In a meas
ure this may be so, but it must be re
membered that he has been and still Is a
sick man.
Smith, Van Buren and Zlnssar have been
decidedly off in the batting department.
The Deacon manages to get at least one
wallop at the Spalding during each en
gagement, ' but Zinssar and Smith have
not been doing so well. On the road they
were always considered dangerous wield
ers of the ash, and opposing pitchers laid
awake nights figuring out slants and bend
ers that would reduce their batting aver
ages. But they kept slugging the ball
just the same, and received all sorts of
complimentary notices from the baseball
scribes over the circuit. For a time Jay
Andrews allowed his batting lamps to get
fogged, but he. too, has shined them up
a bit during the last week.
Of Shaffer's hitting a book could be
written and from cover to cover It would
be hard to say something kind of it.
Time without number the first baseman
has faced a pitcher at critical moments,
moments when a man was waiting either
at third or second. The dinkiest kind of
a Jolt would have landed the run over
the plate, but Shaffer was not there with
the goods. In the first place, he hasn't
the poise of a hitter, and in the second
place, the club he uses Is not a club. It's
simply an overgrown tree. Every time
he clouts a ball It pops up In the air,
always making easy fielding, or he makes
an easy infield hit. If Shaffer, every time
he had a. chance to bring home a winning
run, would have done so and have re
ceived $1 per run, he would be many
plunks ahead of the game. He never has
yet delivered the goods. Once ho is on
bases he runs well, better, perhaps, than
any one of the team, but this does not
smooth over the rough spots caused' by
his Inability to bring In runs when they
are badly needed. Phil Nadeau, of course.
Is still doing business at the old stand.
Few games go into history without his
landing the ball into safe terrltoryt at
least once. If not more often.
Speaking of funny things that have oc
curred on the ballfield. Bill Donovan has
a new one to tell: It was during the trip
of the All Nationals to the Coast last
winter, and happened at Riverside, Cal.
The Americans and Nationals were play
ing, and, as the day was quite hot. none
of the boys were exerting themselves.
In the middle of the game a big Jack-
rabbit appeared from under the grand
stand, and every man on the two teams
made a run for him. "With Jake Beckley
leading and Sam Crawford close after
him, the IS men chased the rabbit all over
the field, finally catching him. The next
day one of the papers came out, telling
of the thrilling chase after a jackrabblt
by the players, and devoting a column of
space to that feature, cutting the game
out with about lour lines.
Donovan now has the left hind foot of
the jackrabblt, and carries it with him all
the time.
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HARD PRACTICE FOR VIGNEUX7 MEN
While the Browns were on the road there was little chance for
practice. Once at home, however, with the finely appointed club
house with a hot and. cold shower bath at hand. Manager Vlgneux
has bad his crew of baseball players out on the diamond every
morning that the weather permitted. Crippled as the team Is, the
men were put through a couple of hours of hard work and while the
results have not as yet shown themselves, another week and fine
weather will bring It outThe Oregonian photographer spent Thurs
day morning taking the pictures of the Browns In action. He caught
the members of the team in all sort3 of positions and the pictures
show that Vlgneux was working his men and not playing ping, pong.
Nadeau was snapped just as he was about to line out one of Joe
Kostals swift ones. Jay Andrews is In the act of biting at one that
came high enough to make him a necktie, as can be seen by Vlg
neux's uplifted hands. Ike Butler has just shot an. Incurve over the
plate on a signal from Harlow. Shaffer got his picture "took" as he
was reaching for a bounder hot from Andy Anderson's bat.
The key to the photographs follow:
MANAGER JACK GPJM
WILL STRENGTHEN
THE GREENGAGES BY
ADDING TWO STAR
TWIRLERS
HI LB the Browns have been row-
- Ing a hard row at home. Jack
Grlm's Greengages have not been
wallowing In a bed of milk and honey.
Grim has a couple of sorely crippled men
on his salary list. The National manager
is also burning up the wires in the East
for players. He has engaged a couple
of etara of the first water and will aug
ment his pitching staff by at least two
more twlrlers. Away from home the team
has lost and won some -very
tight " games. 6ne game they al
most lost through the stupidity
of His Anclentneso Parrott. That piece
of. diamond bric-a-brac was caught by a
basebalL trick that Is so old that It Is
molting. It was so old, that it was new
to the Greengager who has been so long
in the game now that he haa forgotten
the flight of time. But Parrott has been
hitting well, especially In the Seattlj
series.
On the road the Greengages have not
broken even by any means, but they have I
played some very pretty games and when j
the team Is strengthened up In a couple I
of placs they will be a factor In- the
National pennant race before the season
closes. Grim, himself, is a foxy manager
and few men in the business have en
edge over him when it comes to getting
results from his hired men. Donahoe.
Deleel, Davis, Wallace, Lundbom and
Quick are fast enough for any company.
Wilson and Painter have a chance to de-
velop later. They jumped Into the game
without a moment's notice, m and ot
course, have suffered thereby. On the
whole the team will do for the company
they are In.
Manager Dugdale, of Seattle, says that
the reports sent out from California do
not give his league credit for the at
tendance which the official figures show.
According to private advices he has re
ceived from Pacific National officials In
California, San Francisco has already
proved that she is not tied to the apron
strings of "Uncle" Henry Harris, the
wise man. Harris and Morley, of Los
Angeles, thought the native sons' element
would frown upon the Invasion of the
cold-blooded Northerners and withhold
the gold that makes the umpire call
"play." "While Dugdale has troubles qC
his own he feels that Harris is not rest
ing on a feather bed.
Manager Dugdale and Captain Hulen say
that they have got something real good
in Bernie McKay, the Oakland, CaL. pitch-
, er, who .was turned adrift by both Spo
kane and Tacoma. The day that Tacoma
let McKay go. without even giving- him a
trial, the story got around In. Seattle that
Dugdale would give the youngster a.
chance. Dugdale steered clear of the .sub
ject, but when he was put in a corner
he capitulated and remarked: "Give thdt
fellow a trial; bet yer life. I think there
is something In him, and I am going to lot
him work out. It is my private Idea that
both Spokane and Tacoma made a mistake
In throwing him on the market."
"I tell you," said Hulen, "McKay Is a
find. I am not afraid to put him In the
game any day."
Every man oh. the Seattle team got the
hunch that good material was lying
around loose. Big Freeman, Dugdale's
promising first baseman, said that McKay
hit a ball at him which came about the
fastest of anything he had ever gone
against. As a matter of fact, McKay is
not only a batting pitcher, but he can.
come pretty near showing up Jess Stovall
In fielding, which Is saying considerably.
In- practice McKay can stand at the home
plate and smash the ball up against the
left field fence.
If McKay does turn out as Seattle an-
I tlclpates there will be sore spots in Spo
kane and Tacoma.
Pitcher John Thlelman, . of Cincinnati,
has been secured by Manager Reilly. of.
I the Los Angeles Nationals. George Han
son, a catcher, who was with Des Moines
last season, has also been signed by Rell-
vj Hanson caught for the Oakland team
two years ago. Kid Bresina, an old-time
favorite in Los Angeles, is on Reilly's pay
roll as general utility man.
The practice of "farming" Is not only
absolutely prohibited by the National As
sociation, but the prohibition is made
binding by a punitive-provision. Any
player who exposes a "farming" trick Is
not only entitled to claim and receive bis
release, but can make trouble for the of
fending clubs. Notwithstanding thl3.
there has been considerable "farming."
"Ward, the fielder whom Pete Lohman
I wanted to play for nothing until he got
Into condition, appeared In center field
fnr WATprra jral nlavpd an excellent same.
Ward Is an ex-Brooklyn player and is
considered a valuable acquisition by tho
men from the mining regions.
Just two players In harness were strick
en down by disease during the year and
compelled to succumb to the attack. In
July Luther Freeland, one of New Or
leans' pitchers, who had been a member
of General Funston's brigade In the Phil
ippines, was attacked with fever. Per
haps he brought the fatal germ from
the far off Isles. At any rate, he died
July 30. That, too, was the fate p of
George P. Prentiss, one of the Boston-
American pitching corps. He was a vic
tim of typhoid fever in a more virulent
form than George P. Winters, and re
moved to his home at Wilmington, Del.
He lingered until September 8, when the
end came. Winters fortunately recov
ered. Matthew Klllllea, one of Ban Johnson's
earliest advisers and warmest friends, who '
went to Texas in search of health, came
back to Milwaukee to die in the city ha
had kept in the Western League. Early
In February William Sharslg. who had
given Philadelphia its first pennant In
1SS3. when he managed the Athletics,
passed away after years of suffering:.
Some famous old timers entered upon
their journeys through eternity's gates,
and among them were Jimmy Galvin,
the old Pltt3burg pitcher; Tim Donohue,
the Washington catcher; Fred Dunlap.
once famous as a second baseman; and
Mike Mansell. who wore the red In Cin
cinnati during the A. S. Stern adminis
tration late' in the '80s. George W. Burn-,
ham, umpire and wit, his mind a blank
and enjoying visions jof untold wealth
In a Michigan sanitarium, died leaving
memories of a genial personality and,
reputation as a story teller, who helped
enliven the overflow meetings tit ft oore
of baseball aewfona.