Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-07-04

risk Of having the ball fail on the sod.
We're right In our judgment nearly all
the time-fuliy once In as few as three
hundred and seventy-four cases-and for
that reason alone the players ought to
listen to what we have to say In cases
such as those herein cited.
AS to the high fouls. when We baw1 at
the catcher. "Y' can't get it!' it's pretty
ornery and contemplate on the catcher
part to make an effort to get 1t. any
how. in spite OF what we've said to him;
and it's still meaner and measlier when
he does succeed In mailing the foul. thus
sort Of showing US up to the crowd sit.
ting In our neighborhood Players have
no right whatever thus to cause chagrin
on the part of persons sitting in the
grandstand When. for example. we yell
you can't get it," to the catcher, why,
he should Immediately stop in his tracks
the high foul, even II he sees it sailing
down only about two and a half feet from
where he stands.
Then, too. take the squeeze play.
Often, very often, we advise those
ginks with the gutta percha conks to try
the squeeze play. and they absolutely re-
fuse to pay the slightest attention to the
advice which we go to such trouble &c
slip to them.
True there's q maxim among ball play
ers that when they get away with the
squeeze play they're considered all the
candy and every particle OF the mer-
chandise by the fans. but that when they
try the squeeze play and fall down on II
they're universally regarded as infinitesl-
NAL pieces of too highly favored cheese.
We, however. have no concern whatever
with the maxims nor the near-Wisdom OF
ball players
We're merely concerned over the fact
that when we advise the squeeze play
from the stand, they all too frequently
pretend that they haven't heard what
we're saying to 'em.
is on third and whose business 1t is to
steal home, may have the idea-and even
the justified idea-that the man at Dat
Is Of no use at the Job OF taking a Smash
at the ball and thus making the play
good. But what's that got to do with our
advising the squeeze playf
Nothing whatever We wouldn't ADVISE
1t IL We didn't kns whole lot more
about the chances Of its success than the
players involved. and that's all there -
to it.
Again, it frequently happens that we d.
rect the pitcher to strike such and SUCH
a batSman out.
Now we know what we're about when
we advise the pitcher to strike the pats
man out Generally the batsnan we reIeI
to is famous sticker, man VINO IL Cd.
him by the finger. and fast man on the
bases besides.
Well, that's why We want the pitcher
to fan that chap.
And we tell the pitcher so.
"Whfff this feller!'' we say, louoly 10
the pitcher, knowing as We DO that the
man at bat is q dangerous fndiv1duai.
But does the pitcher invariably, IN re-
Spouse to our advice. proceed to ran INC
batsman to whom we refer?
He does not. He certainly does not
Instead he often, too often. In fact, &C
tually permits the batsman to get hit
off of him.
It's all fluff for the pitcher. In such a
case, to argue that he is unable to fan
the famous batsman. That's all moon
shine He's there to fan that Fellow
whom we tell him to fan, and he's not
there to put UP any argument about II.
Same way. too. when we tell the HEAVIER
to walk such and such a man. The pitcher
in such cases often imagines that ne II
have better chance to fan such CHAP
than 70 give him free transportation; but
It's darned disobliging on the pitchers
part all the same to go to work and ran
the fellow after we've advised that he be
given gratis ticket to the sack.
And there are a lot of other instances
that we could mention wherein the play
ers show a Grass and irritating spirit In
refusing to be guided by what We hand
to them In the way Of advice from the
stand
This thing ought to be looked into and
attended to. We don't pretend to be able
to play ball as well as some Of the play
ers, but we're class A as advisers. and
we ought to be listened to. that's all.