The Washington times., 1903-05-11
Begin a Series of Four Games
tt, St. Louis Team Grip
Piled, Den1oraItsed, and Is
Mob in a PihabIe Flight.
Lottas Exercises Bat Little
oAnthorfty OVer HIS Hen.
Fielding and Batting o4V-
erageS for a Week.


FIRST of series Of four games with ST.
Louis on the present Western trip. Fol-
lowing St. Louis the Statesmen will
move on to Chicago for four games
then to Cleveland Tor the same number
and end the Western tour at Detroit
with three games. and then jump into
Boston for four games before appearing
on the native heath on June /, with the
Athletics as their guests. 1t can be
readily seen that the Washington team
has a terrible ordeal to face. Even
under the most favorable conditions the
trip IS a hard one, and one even teams
which are in good shape dread to en-
counter. The long hours spent on the
road and the enforced inactivity while
lounging around hotel Hobbies unfit the
men for bruising games, to say nothing
of the lack of practice. since visiting
teams can only take advantage of the
half hour for limbering up just prior toI
calling the game.
With the crippled and patched up con-
dition OF Lotus team there is nothing
to anticipate but a string of defeats.
Martin will play at second base until a
better man can be found. 1t has been
several years since the boy has played
in the infield, and it will take him
long time TO familiariZe himself with
that territory with the limited hours
for practice afforded him. He may
turn out after all to be a good in
fielder and fill in until DeMontrevilIe or
Moran can get back in the game, but
in any event new blood is needed in the
team and Immediately at that.
AS has been repeatedly stated in these
columns Washington's most fatal fault
is its lack of team work. This was
glaringly demonstrated IN Saturdays
game at Philadelphia when the team
cavorted about the in and outheId. every
! man on his own hook and without any
thought of the play ahead. Delehanty,
Robinson. Coughlin, Ryan, Setback Pat
ten and Carey may all be mentioned in
this category. Clark and Martin alone
used their heads when about to ex-
ecute a play. This game was nothing
more nor less than a nightmare to those
who have the interest of the club at
heart, and yet it was not a marker in
this respect 70 the first game in Quaker
town when the spectators actually stood
in their seats and guyed and laughed
UNTIL firing Of the farce. they called on
the home players to allow themselves to
be put out.
LOTUS tells of his hard luck, tells of it
feelingly and with tears in his eyes. He
says he has a high-classed and high
salaried lot of players on his hands and
the season opened more auspiciously for
him this year than ever before. Pretty
true in some respects, but If ever a man
was gold bricked it is this same LOTUS
Without mentioning names or dissecting
the team it is easy to see where he
stands. Men with big regulations, many
of them. but in not a single instance has
one of these stars delivered the goods
so far. The outield is not playing to-
gether, the inield has been switched and
changed so often that it plays like a
lot of school boys, and every pitcher on
the team has been hammered out of the
box. Should anything happen, TO Bill
Clarke the team would be without Il
catcher, since Lew Drill can hardly be
ciassed as even a minor Lacquer.
Last place stares the Senator's in the
face from now on and if it wins one out
of every four games on its present trip,
it will surprise even the most loyal and
sanguine of it's rooters.
LOTUS is Ear too easy with bis men;
there is not a sembIance of discipline
manifested; the men come and go as they
please His admonitions are not needed,
and heated arguments ensue between the
players and himself in which he always
comes out second best. The players know
he Is easy and accordingly take adyan-
tage of #.
The Washington Club is veritably a
ship without a rudder.
The past week the Washington club
gave an Illustration of baseball, as it
should not be played; fielding and base
running were both weak. The team hit
.-it W with the stick at $50 clip, not
so Sad. but when compared with the
batting OF It's opponents, theze figures
fade into Significance.
The averages for the week follow:
Players Averages.