Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 162, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 July 1917 — RED SOX UP AGAINST PITCHING PROBLEM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

RED SOX UP AGAINST PITCHING PROBLEM

Babe Ruth and Dutch Leonard must shoulder the heavy end of the box work if the Red Sox are to win the American league pennant this year. During the first seven weeks of the race Manager Barry depended almost entirely on these two pitchers to keep his club in the-rutmtog; —and- they came through nobly. Ernie Shore and Carl Mays, although both are good pitchers, cannot be classed with the first two mentioned, and the fact that Barry has not used them In a greater number of games indicates that he is not confident of their ability to “come through.” Bader, the new member of the Red Sox regular staff, is an experiment. Although he pitched several good games for the Sox, he

was used against the weaker teams. From indications it will be up to Leonard and Ruth to hold the fort against the White Sox, Yankees and Indians, or at least do 75 per cent of the pitching against these clubs. The heavy strain of hard pitching will soon begin to make itself felt in Red Sox ranks, an<f unless Mays and Shore round into the pink of form and are capable of holding up their end along with Leonard and Ruth from now till the wire is reached, look out for a pitching slump,, which is very liable to come. All Ihings considered, a pitching slump is the one big danger in the path of the • Boston club, yet Barry may solve the problem, big as it appears to be.

PITCHERS MANAGER BARRY MUST DEPEND UPON.