FOUR PITCHERS ARE
ON HOSPITAL LIST.
Three Will Be Laid Up For
at Least Ten Days.
With four of the best twirlers on the Blues' staff in the hospital, the prospects for starting the season with well trained flingers assumed a very gloomy aspect yesterday. Two of them must stay in bed at least a week, under the most favorable conditions, and may be confined for six weeks. One is out, but may be ordered to a bunk on short notice, and the other will be laid up for at least ten days.
The sick list contains William Duggleby, "Nick" Carter, "Vinegar Bill" Essick and "Lefty" Brennan. Roy Brashear has a severe cold which may put the star infielder out of commission later, but he is still able to play. Duggleby has a badly swollen eye as the result of being hit on the head by a pitched ball Sunday and will not be able to play for at least ten days, although he will try to keep in training to a certain extent during that time. Essick is able to work, but he has a severe cold which will not keep him away from practice altogether unless it gets worse.
The real sick members are Brenan and Carter. They played Saturday and Brennan was able to make three hits in the game Sunday, but yesterday the club physician stated that they had malaria fever and made them go to bed for at least a week. They may be able to get up at the end of that time if their condition shows improvement daily, ubt should they get worse, which is altogether probable, they may be confined to their rooms or a hospital for six weeks..
Manager Cross knows what Essick and Carter can do. In fact, they are about sure of being on the regular staff this season, but Brenan is entirely new to Cross and it is a question whether Duggleby can pitch the brand of ball needed in this league. He failed to do anything remarkable in the Eastern league a year ago and unless he shows improvement this spring he may not draw a regular station.
