Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-02

to the men on the bases, thus distract
ing his own attention from the batter.
III Groom comes around as he should We
will go much better than We have
Slight ailments are not keeping any
of the regulars on the bench this spring.
occasion the players would get out OF
the game, but the way McAleer is fOrtl-
ned this year. it is rather dangerous
undertaking now. There are three in
fieluers and an outfielder on the bench
anxious to break into the game. and
they believe that if they once get in they
will have no trouble staying there. The
regulars realize this. and are taking no
chances, and this explains why several OF
them have played with severe colds, and
even injured limbs.
Before the season opened there was
considerable doubt expressed as to
whether the Nationals outfield had class
enough to hold it's own. With two weeks
of the season gone. ii seems safe to
say that McAleer is better fortified in
have been in recent years. Milan, Lel1-
Welt and Gessler have shown up well.
Their fielding has been splendid. and
Milan and Lelivelt have done their share
a good hitter in the early spring: in fact.
he has hit trifis better in the games
so far played than he usually does dur
ing the first few weeks in the season.
Gessler's hitting is sure to improve from
this on.
1t is rather unfortunate that McAleer.
who appears to have the best team
washington has had since joining the
American League. should find it for the
first time lacking. i'm pitching strength.
Pitchers were the strong depart
ment of the locals for years. 1t has al
ways been argued that if Washington
lad a team which could score runs it
would a winner Afr Alper'S has
scored more runs i'm the games played to
date than has any Washington team in
recent years in similar number of
games. but the pitchers have not been
doing their work, and this. more than
anything else. explains the teams stand
ing in the race.
Considering the fact that Walter John
son from the time he broke into fast COM
pany has been shOwered with compliments
for his pitching, and has seen himself her
aided as one of the greatest of slab
artists. he has carried his honors more
lightly than would the average youngster.
Johnson was a boy of nineteen when he
Joined the Nationals. and he was sensa-
ton from the start. He has been consist
emily praised ever since. and there are
not many players who would be able to
wear their hats under such conditions.
The best indication that Johnson has
never allowed his success to run away
with him is the fact that he is most popu
lar with his team mates. There is moth
ing chesty or swell-headed about big Wal
ter He does not consider himself near
as good a pitcher as he is. He sees his
own faults and tries to remedy them. He
lives up to every rule of the club and
does not object when he is given an up
per berth while travelling, as do most OF
the players who meet with success.
Pretty level headed young man is John
son.
Just wha, is responsible for the poor
form the local pitchers have shown seems
hard to explain. No team could have
had better weather during its training
season, and, not being more than a few
miles away from Washington. ii was
believed that the players would be thor
Oughly acclimated when the team re-
turned here. Aside from the pitchers
the other members of the team appear to
be in fine fettle. nor do the pitchers
complain of sore or weak arms, though
ii seems impossible for some of them to
get enough on the ball to fool the bat
tere Neither Gray nor Walker has the
speed this spring that he possessed last
year and this has been responsible for
their ineffective pitching. If these pitch
ers had sore arms their inability to win
games would be explained. but their
arms are not sore, and yet they seem
ineffective.
1t may be that the cool weather has
had some effect, but il that Is the case
it seems strange that the visiting teams
pitchers have not suffered from it.