Williams: Yankees may alter plan of defense against Cards
By Joe Williams
New York –
It must be that the OWI hasn’t though of it yet. How else can you explain the department’s failure to capitalize on the presence of Mr. Nick Etten and Mr. Danny Litwhiler in the World Series?
Here are two conspicuous representatives of the underprivileged, fugitives from the famished Phillies, wearing white ties and tails, munching daintily on caviar and exchanging polite chitchat with the royalty of the sport.
Isn’t this what Henry Throttlebottom Wallace has been striving for? Isn’t it a realistic working of the Rooseveltian credo of spread the wealth, equality for all and see what the boys in the backroom will have?
A year ago, both Mr. Etten and Mr. Litwhiler were running errands and doing other odd jobs for the Phillies under the oppressive capitalistic system of baseball. Today, Mr. Etten finds himself at first base for the Yankees, Mr. Litwhiler in left field for the Cardinals.
If the OWI should take the stand that this would happen only under the benevolent guidance of the New Deal, it would take much doing to come up with the convincing rebuttal.
It’s the war!
The answer probably is that anything can happen in a world war. Certainly, it was strange to find the Yankees, of all clubs, dealing with the Phillies. It so happened they needed a first baseman, and the Phillies had one to sell. As a matter of fact, they offered the Yankees Mr. Litwhiler too, but he was rejected.
And this prompts the shuddery thought: What if Mr. Litwhiler should turn out to be the difference in the Series? What if it should be his bat that influences the payoff? It could happen. The fates have a dizzy way of spinning their wheels at times.
Incidentally, what used to be the one spot the Yankees never had to worry about first base, has become in recent years one of their most vexing problems.
Change of plan
Last year, the Yankees outfielders tried to cut down the runner going from first to third. They didn’t have much success. They lost the decision six or seven times, Meanwhile, the fellow who hit the ball galloped to second and thus was a potential scorer himself. It is discouraging enough to lose the far runner, but when you wind up giving the hitter an extra base you are inviting disaster. This technique of defense, as much as any other factor, contributed to the Yankees’ defeat.
Our intuition tells us it will be different this time. Except in obvious circumstances, the Yankee outfielders will try for the guy going to second. They aren’t going to set up any more runs than they can help. Revised conditions in the outfield dictate a more conservative policy anyhow. The Yankees throwing arms aren’t what they used to be, and all reports indicate nothing has happened to the speed of the Cardinals. They are still the swifties.
