- Doak Doing His Share
- Slim Southpaw Has Officiated in Eight of 14 Games on Current Road Trip.
- TEAM’S RECORD IS 9-5
- Winning Streak Has Boosted Huggins’ Team Into Third Place.
June 23, 1914 Age 23
By W. J O’Connor St Louis Post Dispatch
The Cardinals are closing today in Philadelphia their first swing around the Eastern end of the National League circuit and their record in the enemy’s land is: Nine games won, five lost, percentage .643. Some record!
By winning a big percentage of their games, the proteges of Miller Huggins have climbed into third place, right on the heels of the Reds and not far behind the Giants. Hug’s men are two and one-half games out of second place and six games behind the pace-makers. They had the most successful road trip of any Western team.
After getting rid of today’s game In Quakerland, the Cards will move to Pittsburg for a four-game series, then bump the Cubs for a Sunday game, returning next Monday.
The one interesting feature of the Cardinal conquest of the East has been the transformation of Harry Sailee into a relief pitcher. Of the 14 games played by the effervescent Cards, Sal has officiated in no less than eight of them. He has been used mainly as a relief pitcher and has delivered nobly for Huggins. Here’s Sal’s record:
Harry Sallee’s Relief Record.
June 6 – Relieved Doak In third inning with two on and lost to Giants. 6 4. Held Giants to three hits in six innigs. Matty beat him.
June 9 – Beat Giants, 52, yielding nine hits in nine Innigs.
June 11 – Relieved Doak in eighth inning against Brooklyn and beat Superbas, 2-1. No hits in one and two-tnlrd innings.
June 12 – Relieved Steel in ninth inning and allowed four hits, but no runs, in eight innings, beating Brooklyn, 8-7, in 16 innings.
June 17 – Relieved Griner in ninth inning, with one on, none out. Lost in tenth, 5-4 to Phillies. Three hits in two innings.
June 18 – Relieved Perrltt in ninth inning against Boston. One hit in one inning. Cards won, 6-5.
June 19 – Relieved Griner in eighth inning, man on second, none out. Lost, 7-5, to Braves. Touched for three hits, four runs.
June 22 – Relieved Robinson in eighth, with men on second and third and none out. Allowed one hit in two innings. Beat Braves, 4-3.
Hug’s wisdom in using Sailee only as finisher has been proved sound because of the number of games the lean southpaw has bagged in the waning moments when the other Cardinal hurlers tottered. In this respect. Sallee is doing tor Huggins what Bender and Plank have done for Connie Mack. He’s pulled the close ones out of the fire and pitching an occasional game from the start, usually winning.
Hug’s Staff Just Average.
Hug has only a fair pitching staff, Robinson’s failure puncturing a gaping hole in what promised to be a bang-up set of young hurlers. The ex-Pirate southpaw started the season with a flourish, but he has slowed up and gives evidence of being track-sore at this early date. However, Griner and Perritt have come through beautifully, while Doak is doing his share. Hageman, who has “everything,” doesn’t seem to be in demand, while Steele is getting there only occasionally.
Sal is the backbone of the staff. He’s destined to occupy the same position on the Cardinal club that Cheney does on the Cubs, Marquard on the Giants and Alexander on the Phils, and if the lean boy stands up under the strain and Hug continues manipulate his team with the artistic touch shown on the current Eastern trip, there may be some basis for the hope of the Cards closing in first division.
However, another seasoned pitcher would be a great help. And in this connection it might be well to remember that Hug had hopes of refining George Suggs, the ex-Redleg now with the Baltimore Feds, for just that purpose. Hug aimed to use Suggs as a rescue man, but George took the hurdle. He opposed M. Brown Monday and pitched beautiful ball, good enough to win in any man’s league.