Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-22
No ONE YET INJURED
IN EARLY PRACTICE
Remarkable Record of Ma.
tionaIs at GaIveston-W0rk
of the PIayers-SurpIus
of Good Material.
Special Dispatch to The Star


good material and 1t has him wool-gather-
ing at times to figure on whom to discard
or course there are no Wagners or>"Ty
Cobbs in his combination. but he now has
such an almighty good lot of men under
his wing that the Nationals are bound to
cut a much better figure in the coming
championship season than they did In
the last struggle. The new team aver
ages better in youth. intelligence and az
gressiveness. and the systematic and
thorough course Of practice work which
is going on daily will be productive o!
team spirit that is bound to produce the
desired results.
Surplus of Outfielders.
Where Chief Joe will be bothered most
is with the outfielders. Ganley and ely
mer are, of course, fixtures, and Ollie
Pickering has played such consistently
good ball that he ought to be assured
of retention in the middle garden. Pick
is fast and works we'll between the men
on each side of him. 1t is a certainty
that Milan will be kept. though he may
have to do the utility outfield stunt. Can
ley has not been hitting as safely as he
ought 10. but is hitting the ball har all the
time and doing wonderful lot of ground
covering in the outf1eld. He is the fast
est man in the team getting down to first
and moving around the bases. Kay is
bothering Cantillon. Bill is reported in a
state of convalescence after severe at
tack of grip, and he has been getting well
rapidly since his arrival here. but he Is
still weak. and this has hindered his stick
work Instead Of the long, wicked drives
he is capable of, there is lack of driving
power. and his safeties have been few.
Then again he doesn't begin to class with
Pickering or Milan as a fielder. Kay can
and Will hit, though and as Joe wants
hitters he is going to hold on to King
Biz in some way or another.
Street a Fine Backstor.
Take it from me- says Cantillon. that
unless something happens to put him out
of the game for good Charley Street will
be fixture behind the bat for the Ma
tionals for a long time to come. He's a
backstop entirely to my liking and fills
the bill in every particular. I'm bothered
no more about the detection of Blanken-
ship. If he comes to his senses and re-
ports he will be given his share of the
work. but If he does not he can stay on
the coast and he won't be missed Street
is quickwitted and fast behind the bat.
and works his pitchers for all that's In
them. He's q good jollier for them and
won't lose his head in a pinch. II there s
q stronger and more accurate tirower in
the DuSlneSS To-Day among the DdckStOpS
I don't know who he Is. Look at the hit
ting the lad is doing. It's evident that
Ned Hanon made a blunder in letting
him get away from Cincinnati. Jack
Warner is working as hard and con-
scientiously as he did in his best days
lot of work. Mike kahoe is also doing
WE'LL
Infeld Lines Up Strong.
Just as they have been working to-
gether in SO many games. the regulars OF
the infield will be Freeman on first, Dele
hanty at second. Altizer covering third
and Mcbride stationed at short. 1t looks
as If Shipke is to be retained for utility
for the Skipper is a hustling. lively fell
low who is willing to play anywhere and
always makes a good showing. Shipke is
accounted a light hitter, but so far during
his stay here he has been doing some
pretty successful swatting. Freeman is
slowly working of weight and will leave
here in good trim. He is a big fellow-a
fine mark to throw to-and puts up a
sharp game at first. If he has any weak
ness in playing the bag 1t hasn't shown
so far. He has q sound whip and will
be mixed up In many double plays where
the third baseman is the receiving end
Freeman can hit all right. and hit hard
too Strikeouts are infrequent with him
and he drives the ball SO far that even
when he is caught out in the field run
ner can easily score from third. The
giant thunders down to first like run
away touring car, and if there is any
possibility of his beating out an infield
tap he will always slide into first.
Mcbride Snowy. But Steady.
Snowy infielders are not usually the
steadiest ones, but Shortstop George Nc
Bride seems to be combination of both.
His showiness isn't for effect, as he is
naturally graceful and easy in his move
ments. He goes after everything and is
death on those fast grounders that have
the nasty habit of slipping over second
base, just out of reach of the shortstop
and his side partner on the left. He and
Delehanty are eternally practicing on
double plays, as also Freeman and Alti-
ger do on runners who try to annex third
on first base out. and Mac is sure
oh throws to second to cut of base pill
ferers. Mcbride Is a much better stick
er than Mig Perrine, who held down
the job last spring. and a far more de-
sirable man in all other respects. Alti-
ger is doing creditable work around third
and fast acquiring tricks peculiar to that
bag. Dave fumbles now and then. but
he can hurl the ball across to first so fast
that runners do not benefit much by
those bulls"
Pitching Staff Able.
There's nothing the matter with the
pitching staff and great work can be
confidently expected from the slabmen if
there Is any hitting behind them and a
big steady streak of it is in sight, unless
the opinions of a good many wise heads
go awry, for Cantillon's crowd will eX-
plode plenty of phenoms and hammer
many a seasoned veteran during 1908
FalkenDerg, Patten. Smith. and Hughes.
the old standbys. are always dependable.
and Walter Johnson will be ready for his
share of steady and effective work when
the gong rings. The problem of another
southpaw to help out Patten has been
solved in Burns. the big Los Anglican,
who appears to be endowed with fine
speed and control Two seasons on the
Pacific coast is enough to bring out all
the good there is In youngster, and tit
him for fast company, and this is the
case with Burns. Charley Street. who
handled him all last summer. says he is
a nervy, resolute slabman. who doesn t
know what yellow" means, and is a
glutton for work. Burns looks it. He
doesn't go far In good looks. but his big
frame and SQUARE bulldog law give ona