Although the Boston Braves are only a sixth-place club, they are far from being the pushovers they used to be. Besides Outfielder Tommy Holmes, who is the National League's fancy .402 batting leader, this year's edition offers some promising rookies and a brand-new home-run aptitude (thanks, partly, to a shortened right-field fence). The Braves also have a new boss, Contractor Louis Perini, who seems bent on buying new talent.
Last week, Owner Perini stole off to St. Louis, and quietly swung baseball's biggest deal in four years: for one mediocre pitcher and an estimated $50,000 in cash, he bought the Cardinals'...