Well the boys on our club was feeling pretty cocky the 1st 2 days about how they could hit but yesterday they could of played in a 16 ft. ring without no ground rules as the most of the time they was missing the ball all together and when they did hit it it acted like a geyser and it was Bert Gallia pitching against us and they all kept saying he didn’t have nothing but when he got through with us we didn’t have nothing either and that’s the way it always goes when a pitcher makes a sucker out of a club he didn’t have nothing but when they knock him out of the park he’s pretty good.
Well any way I told Gleason last night that it looked like we wouldn’t get no better then a even break here unless he stuck me in there to pitch the last game today. So he says “No I was figureing on you to open up in Detroit Sunday but of course if you are afraid of Detroit I can make different plans.” So I said “I am not afraid of Detroit or nobody else and you know yourself that they can’t no club beat me the way I am going whether its Detroit or no matter who it is.” So he said “All right then keep your mouth shut about who is going to pitch because if you are going to manage the club I won’t have no job left.” Well let him try and run the ball club the way he wants to but if I was running the ball club and had a pitcher that is going the way I am going I would work him every other day and get a start on the other clubs as the games we win now counts just as much as the games we win in Sept.
Well Al Florrie went back to Chi last night though I wanted her to stick with the club and go on to Detroit with us but she said she had to get back, and tend to business at the beauty parlor so I told Gleason that and he said he was sorry she was going to leave us as it was a releif for him to look at something pretty once in a wile when most of the time he had to watch ball players but he admired her for tending to business and he wished it run in the family. He says “You should ought to be thankfull that your Mrs. is what she is as most wifes is a drug on their husband but your Mrs. makes more jack then you and if she give up her business it would keep you hustleing to make both ends meet the other, where if you missed a meal some time and died from it your family would be that much ahead.” So I said “Yes and that is because your cheap skate ball club is only paying me a salary of $2,400.00 per annum instead of somewheres near what I am worth.” So he said “I have all ready told you that if you keep working hard and show me something I will tear up your contract and give you a good one but before I do it I will half to find out if you are going to win ball games for me or just use up 1 lower birth like in old times.” So I told him to shut his mouth.
Well Al I thought the war with Germany was all over but Joe Jenkins joined the club here and now the whole war is being played over again. He is 1 of the catchers on the club and he was in France and if they was any battles he wasn’t in its because he can’t pronounce them but anybody that thinks the U.S. troop movements was slow over there ought to listen to some of these birds that’s came back and some of them was at Verdun 1 evening and Flanders the next a.m. then down to Nice the next day for a couple hours rest and up in the Oregon forest the folling afternoon and etc. till its no wonder the Germans was dazzled. If some of these birds that was in the war could get around the bases like they did around the western front all as the catchers would dast do when they started to steal second base would be walk up the base line towards third with the ball in their hand and try to scare them from comeing all the way home.
Well its Detroit tomorrow and 3 more days after that and then home and I haven’t been there since the middle of March and I guess they’s 2 kids that won’t be tickled to death to see sombeody eh Al?
Detroit, April 28.
Friend Al: Well old pal I suppose you read in the papers what come off here yesterday and I guess Gleason won’t have no more to say after this about me being afraid of Detroit. The shoe points the other way now and Detroit is the one that’s afraid of me and no wonder.
I didn’t have the stuff that I had down to St. Louis for the opening but I had enough to make a monkey out of Cobb and Veach and I couldn’t help from feeling sorry for this new outfielder they have got name Flagstaff or something and I guess he was about half mast before I got through with him.
Well its a cinch now that I will open in Chi Thursday and I will give St. Louis another spanking and then I will make Gleason come acrost with that contract he has been promiseing me and if he trys to stall I will tell him he must either give me the jack or trade me to
