Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-12

| on the home ground Should the usual
| losers play pretty sti6 game ON the road,
| this season ought to be filed from begin
ming to end with excitement, born of close
percentages. Then, the strengthening OF
the second division teams ofsiast year VIII
| be another element of making a fast sea-
| son. The st. Louis club, with Tim Hurst
| at the helm. VIII make a better showing
| than last year and may prove a dangerous
club to the leaders II a good pitcher can
be secured to help out Taylor and Carsey.
Louisville has better appearance than for
long time. The late deal with Cincinnati
although helping the latter club greatly.
benefited the Colonies. Pittsburg is a club
that will keep all the prophets guessing
| 1t may prove a great aggregation and
then again one of the rankest Of outsid-
ers. Brooklyn shows but little improve
| ment on paper. although the club may take
decided brace and win many more games
than last year. The one club which has
probably been strengthened most is Gin
cinpad With that In and outfield and
with the addition of Hawley and Hill to
| the pitching staff, the Reds should be in
| the race from the very first game and stay
| in it until the finish Neither Boston Bal
4 timore nor New York have been improved
| while the Reds are almost like another
team by the changes i'm the pitching de-
partment. In Bretenstein, Hawley, Hill
and Dryer the Cincinnatis have four men
equal to the best.
J: Bentley Seymour, the New York
twirier, although young man in the bust
ness, has branched out as a teacher OF the
art of pitching. and has the following to
say to his fellow southpaw twirlers and
aspirants for high honors from the center
of the diamond:
Lefthand twirlers have much to contend
with, and but few achieve success. Lack
of control is the most prevalent fault of
the southpaws. To remedy this requires
long months Of careful. painstaking prac-
tice, and the majority of young pitchers be-
come discouraged and quit if they expert
ence reyerSeS at the outset of their garrett
Even when lefthanders attain fair con-
troll. they are apt to have erratic spells dur
ing the early years of their experience In
the National League there are several
crack southpaws. who give way to their
weakness at times and hurl the ball all
over the diamond.
Despite this they are invaluable because
OF their speed 1 believe in speed above
everything.
Hurl the ball at the plate with all your
speed. Drive the batter back, and keep
him guessing. This can be done by send
Ing IN rising inshoot. On the next ball
the batsman will naturally edge away from
the plate. This is your chance to deceive
him by a fast out.
Again he acquires confidence: but a
sizzling twister within a few inches of his
ribs causes his teeth TO chatter Mix your
curves up well. for any set order of balls
would make you an easy prey to an OBJ
servant hitter. 1t is always advisable.
however, to begin hostilities with the fast
est ball you can throw.
Lack of headwork is the ruin Of many a
promising pitcher 1t is necessary to make
constant study of your batterS Every
batsman is weak in some particular. and
when you ferret out this weakness you
have him at your mercy. One man breads
a ball just shoulder high, which. to
another, would prove a hOme-run oppor-
tunty.
A low twister, a few inches below the
waist drives many batsmen to despair and
this should be employed frequently. RuGie
Nichols and other National lpaYnn
owe their success largely to their intim Al
acquaintance with the strong and weak
points of opposing batters.
The sorest affiction of young twrler is
his tendency to get ratified. In the heat of
a close struggle, when everything depends
on the ball he is about to pitch, the mel rcs
often collapse and wild pitch is the result.
The sovereign remedy for rattles is to take
plenty of time at critical moments. A
slight delay disconcerts the batter and You
regain your nerve at the sight of the bats
man fdgeting around the plate.
If you feel yourself giving away, sign
to your captain to come over. Let him
talk to you for a moment 50, and the
| relaxation from the tension of the box will
relieve you greatly.
Whatever may happen, don't be tempted
into a hasty delivery. Your arm Cannot
long stand the strain, and tired arm
means defeat.
Don't eXpend all your strength in the nrSt
few innings. Remember he game lasts
nine innings, and string of eight goose
eggs will not compensate for {. victory lost
in the last inning.
AS the opening of the actual playing sea-
son grows nearer there is less demand for
the backiisting, the rowdyism and obscenity
for which the cry was almost unanimous
last fall. Indeed, some of the very writers
who were turning out half columns of mat
ter last summer and fall against rowdyism
are now beginning to hedge as fast as the
short time VIII permit One goes so far
to say that the proposition to put the rowdy
and his obscenity and profanity out of the
game will be a dead letter unless consider
| ably modified This writer says it will be
good rule if modified. but a dead letter is
not. IF it means that every player who
| loses his temper and swears is 10 be fined
and suspended it will be a dead letter"
That is to say. the league will suffer if the
profane and obscene players removed
by proper discipline. There is some ambi-
| guilty in the sentence which may explain
this writer's meaning when unfolded an
other way. Perhaps when he SAYS every
payer, he means that it should be The
players of the otner eleven clubs upholding
his own club as model. but should not
reach out after every player to include
The ptofane and obscene of one particular
team Every player" should mean every
player In the league. There should be no
discrimination from whatever influence
Manager Hanlon is opposed to indefinite
suspension by umpires because they are
| not responsible enough" That is what he
everybody understands just as well as Mr.
Hanlon. He favers suspension in aggra-
waited cases. When a player makes a big
row and fuss over a decision involving ONLY
question of judgment. it is an aggravated
case When the player swears at the nm
pre- ana calls him names which have their
origin IN the slums, the case is aggravated
just IN proportion TO the length of time
wasted and the color of the remarks The
senselesS kicker, the profane and obscene
prayer; should and will be squelched whcth-
er ne belongs to Hanlon's bowling dervish-
| es or freedmans band of angels President
BraSh has been working hard on his reso
luton and the magEates with contrary
views, IL they defeat his purpose, will al
| least recall the fact that they have been in
a rumpus. ~ al
Gossip.
capt. Brown closed contract Yesterday
with local firm for the manufacture of the
senators uniforms for the coming season
Brown believes in patronizing home indus
try but in addition he will be in a posi,ion
to "nair' the manufacturers in case there
is anything defective in the clothes Earl