Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-02
OCCIDENTAL TEAM
ON TRAINING TRIP
Outlook Is Promising for Return with
Trophies and Coach Thinks
Nine Should Have Good
Season

The Occidental college baseball team
leaves this morning at o'clock for
training trip of three days duration
to Oxnard, Santa Paula, Ventura and
Santa Barbara.
The squad has trained faithfully for
the past few weeks in practice games
and field routine and is In splendid
condition to bring back string or
trophies from the northern towns. Pat
terson will be left behind this morning,
SO that the slab duty will depend upon
Bruce, Merrill and Thacker, but they
are thought thoroughly competent to
take care of the sluggers in the rural
lineups.
Thacker will toss the first Ave in
nings at Oxnard this afternoon and
will enter the box fresh from a three
days rest. Johnson has forsaken his
early season aspirations for the back
stop job and Thomson and Woodside
have been detailed to take care of
catching temporarily. George Baer
has been shifted to right field to make
room for Johnson on the halfway sta
ton, and Wieman has showed short
stop Thomas into the sun garden.
Owen Bird will attend to whatever
drifts into the middle conservatory and
McKenny will probably spend the year
at his old third base. Bruce Merrill
alternates from the mound to the in
itial sack, but may be permanently in
stalled in the toe plate division. as
he is showing great aptitude in deliv-
cry and puZzlers. Patterson is at pres
ent suffering a trihe from the sulks
but those who know him say that his
first few weeks are always partially
occupied in pouting.
Thacker is rounding into wonderful
speed which is we'll controlled, and
his fellow veterans prophesy for him
another good year similar to his first
on the team. Owen Bird and Baer
are practically sure of being there or
thereabouts when an elevated bunt
strays into their territory. Thomas
is considerably more graceful than
either of his colleagues in the field, but
any small change risked on his squeeZ-
ing the ball is in considerable jeopardy.
Johnson is getting to look better every
day, but is still a bit awkward with
his wing and at trapping the doubtful
bouncers.
McKenney has every excuse in the
world for poor practice work with a
badly bruised leg, sustained in a recent
game. However, he has improved re-
markably in the past two days. Wie-
man is reasonably certain of stopping
his share of whatever falls into short.
and is perhaps the best sticker and
base thief on the team. Thomson would
as soon catch barehanded as with the
customary pillow, and when it comes
to shooting seems to have no concep-
tion of tender hands on the part of
basemen. The coach's definition for
Woodside is "lazy as an only child
but the backstop candidate is appar-
emily trying to overcome that fault.
The team will return home Saturday
night and resume batting and fielding
drill, intermingled with trial games,
until the season commences with the
other colleges. In talk to the men,
bers of the squad last night the coach
was optimistic of the present showing,
and although predicting nothing brill
liant for the team, expressed an opin-
ion that their standing with the local
schools at the end of the season would
be within seeing distance of the top.