“The Giants,” replied Joe, without a second’s hesitation.
“That listens good,” laughed Larry. “There’s nothing like feeling sure of a thing. I only hope you’re right.”
But a time was coming when Joe would have given a great deal to be half as sure as he was that afternoon.
[CHAPTER XXIV]
A CLOSE CALL
The Giants were hailed with acclamations by the New York press and public on their return. The sporting critics agreed that the team had been “licked into shape” by their astute manager in a surprisingly short time. One enthusiast even went so far as to hail them as the coming champions, a thing which vexed McRae, who knew too much of the ups and downs of baseball to want to claim a pennant before it was won.
He himself had more than one thing to worry about. The team had “got by” so far through the marvelous pitching of Hughson and Joe. Not only had they won a large proportion of their games, but they had relieved the other pitchers when games were all but lost and pulled them out of the fire. But where he had fondly counted on four first string pitchers, he suddenly found himself reduced to two who were really pitching “up to form.”
Markwith had proved to be not nearly so good as in the preceding year. He still possessed marvelous speed and his curves were breaking well, but he lacked endurance. Part of this was due, perhaps, to his winter on the vaudeville stage, with its irregular hours and feverish atmosphere, and part also to the wonderful record of nineteen straight the season before. Perhaps the great strain had sapped his stamina. Whatever the cause, he could not be relied on for a full nine inning game. For six innings, he would pitch with all his old time skill and power. Then would come a bad inning and—bang! to an accompaniment of base hits, the game would go up in smoke.
Hartley also seemed to be going to pieces. His nerves were on edge. He was sullen, moody and erratic. He had never been any too strong mentally, and the life he lived had undermined his physical strength. There were times when he pitched a brilliant game and showed flashes of his old ability, but these were steadily growing fewer. McRae had by turns coaxed and threatened, but he had almost reached the limit of his patience, and Hartley’s stay with the Giants hung by a thread that might snap at any moment.