“Don’t you believe it,” laughed Joe. “In the first place, if it were easy they wouldn’t offer me anything extra for doing it. A pitcher is doing very well who wins two-thirds of the games he pitches. On that basis I’d have to pitch thirty games to have a chance of winning twenty. But if his old pitchers are going strong, McRae may keep me on the bench half the season and only put me in when they fall down. He’s a great one for depending on his old standbys. Then, too, I’ll be a newcomer, and perhaps the team won’t play behind me with the same confidence as when Hughson or Markwith are on the mound. That will make it harder for me to win games. You must remember, too, that all the teams on the circuit play harder against the New Yorks than they do against any other team. They take a special delight in downing the Giants before their home crowds, and they always save up their best pitchers for those occasions. So, take it altogether, there’s only a mere chance to win my twenty games during the season. I’m going to take that chance, though,” and into Joe’s eyes came a steely look that would have delighted McRae if that fighting leader of the Giants could have seen it.