- Both Have Done Brilliant Work Until They Could Not Get Their Curves to Breaking Right
May 9, 1916 Age 25
BY. J. B. SHERIDAN St Louis Globe Democrat Sun
Herr Huggins said he was feeling pretty good, all things considered, yesterday. Real estate in Cincinnati is like everything else in that one-cylinder city, a bit on the hummer; and Hug owns some of the fanciest suburban castles along the American Rhine. As the little Napoleon of Brick and Mortar is some $200,000 ahead of the real estate game, he is not worrying about the $1,000,000 he has got to get out of it. Thinks that when the war is over the Germans in Germany will come to join the bigger Germany in Cincinnati and buy his broad acres and live in his castles along the American Rhine.
Nor is his ball club worrying Hug much. He said that his pitchers are all good, have “stuff”, but are not fit and won’t be fit for quite awhile.
“There’s Meadows, for instance ” said the midget manager. “He has more stuff than any other pitcher in the National League. But he loses control of his curve ball at times. His curve ball is too good, that’s all. He goes along with it nicely for some time, and then it gets too big and runs away from him. Then he comes to me and tells me that he can’t make the old bender behave and I have got to take him out.
“Just got too much of the old stuff, that’s all. Too good to be good, at least too good to be true, in point of control.
“Sometimes Meadows goes along for six or seven or eight innings and is a whirlwind. Then he can’t place the big hook and he is in the hole.
“Another day, he loses control right at the start. It does not bother Lee to be taken out. Keen kid; knows when he is good and knows when he should be taken out. Best kid pitcher in the old league. Watch him this summer.
Doak Also Lacks Control.
“Same with Doak, too. Stuff! Why, Doak has more stuff than he ever has had. But he can’t always control it. Controlled it against Chicago last week and held them to two scratch hits. Had it but could not control it against Cincinnati this week and what they did to him was a shame.
“Do you think that Doak has the same stuff he had In 1914?” Huggins was asked.
“Doak has better stuff than he had when he made his great record In 1914.” was Hug’s positive pronouncement, “but you can’t say that be is going to be as good a pitcher as he was in that year. These spitball boys are hard to forecast. Bill’s got the stuff. If he can control it he is there. If not, where is he?”
“St. Paul,” suggested a listener.
“I can’t see Doak with any club but the Cardinals,” said Huggins. “but I am not as sure that he will come around as I am that Meadows will. You can count on a fast ball, curve and change of pace guy where you can’t tell a thing about a spitball boy.”