CASEY v. BROOKLYN

OUTSMARTING the American League was a snap compared to the job Casey Stengel faces when he takes on the Dodgers. The Yanks are old pros who know the game too well to play it by the book. Casey's spectacular hunches will have them shooting for a big inning at the first break. Batters expected to sacrifice are likely to bluff a bunt to muss up the infield and then hit away; runners will gamble and go for extra bases. Infield and outfield alike are capable of making the game-saving catch, the impossible double play that rescues a faltering pitcher.

Pitchers are Casey's biggest problem. His two surest starters, Whitey Ford and Tommy Byrne, are both lefthanders. And no one knows better than Casey that all season long only one southpaw, the Cardinals' Luis Arroyo, started and finished a game against Brooklyn--and he lost.

5-4. "Bullet Bob" Turley, Casey's best righthander, can be as wild as an ensign with a .45; he has a tendency to aim the ball when he gets behind a batter, and may be a setup for Dodger power.

Manager Walter Alston's Dodgers unquestionably have the potential to win Brooklyn its first World Series ever. The weakest hitter has the power to pole one out of the park. The big batters are almost always hitting away; their strength is seldom wasted in sacrifices. Given a well-tagged ball, anyone on the team will gamble and go for extra bases. If Smokey Alston worries about any single defect, it is Dodger nonchalance. His team won the pennant too soon, coasted into autumn carelessly dulling the fine edge that made them champions. Then, there is always that oldtime habit of losing to the Yanks in the series.

Nor is there any hiding the fact that Dodger pitching is not nearly so spectacular as Don Newcombe's midseason form suggested. When the big righthander is hot, he can throw his fast ball past anyone; when he gets behind and has to come in with it, good hitters murder him. He holds his team record for throwing home-run balls (35 this season). Right-hander Carl Erskine has been off form all year; Billy Loes and Johnny Podres are just too erratic to be counted on. Clem Labine, right-handed relief artist, the pitcher who did most to keep the Dodgers in front, will be a busy man in the bullpen. On the brighter side, Don Bessent, called up from St. Paul in midseason, has the speed and control to become rookie sensation of the series.

Even brighter, there is always Roy Campanella, too good a catcher to let any pitching staff look bad. Dodger pitchers never know how sharp they are until Campy starts calling their shots. Any one of them will have to be hog-wild to throw a ball past him back of the plate. At bat he has a sharp eye, seldom goes after bad pitches. When he gets on base he is perfectly capable of churning his chubby legs fast enough to steal.

Backing up the Dodger pitchers is one of the finest infields around.

Captain Pee Wee Reese is the great shortstop that a pennant-winning club usually depends on. He is also a dangerous and daring base runner, a deadly batter when working the hit-and -run. Teaming up with him at third, Jackie Robinson also makes up in hotheaded drive what he has lost in speed. He is still an excellent glove man, and once on base, can still give a pitcher the fits. At bat, he likes to stay back in the box and step into an outside pitch. Pitchers who can keep the ball high and across the hands can force him to bobble it off the handle.

At second base, Don Zimmer is a hustler who tries hard to make up for his lack of experience. At first, Gil Hodges is as good as they come. A slick operator with the glove, he is a steady, dependable slugger at the plate. Along with Campy he makes life miserable for left-handed pitchers in the Ebbets Field bandbox.

In the outfield, the Dodgers are solid. Carl Furillo has one of the strongest throwing arms in the majors. Only fast or foolhardy men will try to run on him when he gets a jump on the ball. Duke Snider in center can go get the tough ones. At the plate he takes a harder cut than either Campy or the Yankees' Yogi Berra, and he can hit the ball wherever it is pitched. Even a high outside ball, if Duke can reach it, will wind up in the leftfield stands. Junior Silliam, who broke in as Brooklyn's second baseman, will probably start in left field. He is about due to start connecting at the plate. Even in a slump he can bunt for a hit; the speed that gets him to first can also get him under those long, tough flies.

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