“Take it by and large,” put in Robbie, as Robson was invariably called, “I don’t remember when the Giants ever had a better balanced team. It’s strong in batting, fielding, base-running and inside stuff. And when it comes to pitching—well, with Joe and Jim here as our first string and Bradley and Merton and Markwith to help them out, to say nothing of the rookies we picked up in the draft, there isn’t a staff in the league that has any license to beat us.”
“It certainly looks good,” assented the cautious McRae. “But don’t bank too much on appearances, Robbie. There’s many a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip, and if that’s true anywhere, it’s especially true in baseball. I’ve seen a team that looked unbeatable on paper go to pieces in a week. Suppose, for instance, Joe should get his arm broken—all our hopes would go geflooey.”
“May the saints forbid!” exclaimed Robbie with such fervor that Joe could not repress a grin.
“Oh, I guess the Giants would come through all right,” said Joe. “It isn’t a one-man team.”
“No,” agreed McRae. “But it’s nearer to it than it’s ever been before in my experience. There have been many times in the last few years, my boy, when you’ve carried the team on your back. But now it’s time to pick a couple of teams for this afternoon’s practice. Come here, you fellows!” he shouted, waving his hand to the other members of the team, who quickly left their positions and gathered around him.
“Now, boys,” the manager went on, while they gave him close attention, “I haven’t ridden you very hard since we’ve been down here in this training camp because I’m a believer in slow development. I’ve wanted you to get the kinks out of your muscles and the fat off your waistlines before I put you through the hoops.
“But now you’ve got to the point where I want you to play ball as it ought to be played and as you’ve got to play it when the bell rings. So I’m going to pick out two teams this afternoon and I want each team to play against the other as though it were playing the Pittsburghs or the Chicagos. One team will be made up chiefly of the regulars, and they’ll play in the positions they’re expected to play in this season.
“The other team will be made up largely of the rookies and substitutes. For the sake of a name, we’ll call them the Yannigans. And I want them to play their heads off against the regulars and take some of the conceit out of them. I’ll be watching every move and so will Robbie. Any man that lies down on the job will get the rough side of my tongue, and some of you fellows know how rough that is when I get going.”
There was a general grin among the players, who could corroborate this to their cost, for McRae, though a just man, was a severe one.
“I want to even up things a little so that each side will have a chance,” continued the manager. “So I’m going to have Matson pitch for the Yannigans.”