Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-02
McALEER LIKELY TO PRESENT
SAME LINEUP AS LAST YEAR
Small Chance Of Any Of the Youngsters Being
Able to Disp1ace Any Of the Veterans
Base Ball Gossip of the Day.

carry the team along without having to
depend Oh much from the others, though
Dolly Gray. appears to have more this
spring than at any time since he became
course. will work no more than four
pitchers, II he has that many In form at
any one time. 1t is the ideal way OF
working a pitching staff. for 1t gives the
twirlers just the amount of rest required
between games to be at their best
After all, the pitching staff of. team
is by far the most important department.
The stronger the pitchers the less often
sive strength does the remainder of the
team need. and 1t is not at all probable
that the Nationals are blessed with an
excess of batting strength. But good
battery work will make team which
lacks batting strength a contender in
any race, SO that much depends on how
good McAleer's pitchers will be this year.
More intelligent ball can be looked for
from the Nationals this year than last
All matters are to be given more thought
beneficial. For instance, most of the
right-handers who oppose the locals will
not be waited out. as was once the case.
McAleer proposes to have his men go
after these fellows with perfect control.
for to walt them out gives the pitchers
the advantage. But an entirely different
policy will be adopted with most Of the
left-handers. Southpaw pitchers, as a
rule. lack control. and 1t worries them to
have batters wait them out. Doc White
is an exception to this rule generally, for
his control is hear perfect. but Eddie
Plank has days when he cannot put the
ball where he wants, and 1t Is always
policy to wait him out Another advan-
tagc in waiting out a pitcher is that 1t
makes him work three times as hard as
If the batter hits at the first ball pitch
ed, and in a nine-inning game it counts
for much to make a pitcher 90 the limit
in every inning.
If Walter Johnson gets into the fold
before the season opens, and the chances
are he will, for he must realize that his
demands are not reasonable. he will I'M
doubtedly be put down to pitch the OPEN
ing game against Boston. This Boston
team is a problem this year Changes
by reason of the trading of Lord
and Mcconnell. and the retiring of Jake
Stahl have made the Speed Boys diff
is no line on it now, and there won't be
until the season has gone along while.
Heretofore the Boston team has always
been a stumbling block for the Nation
ais, and it remains to be seen If time
has made any changes.
Left field hitters are going to have a
great advantage playing on the local
binary fly hit into extreme left will go
into the pavilion seats, and a ground
rule limiting such hits to two bases
will in all likelihood be necessary. This
means that pitchers facing riEhtshand
batters will try to keep the ball on the
outside corner as much as possible to
keep 1t from being pulled into left field
Some pitchers may be able to do this,
but others will handicap their control by
these efforts. and there is no telling how
it may affect the result Of games Nat
urally the home team should. after a
while. have an advantage, because it will
grow accustomed to the field, but on the
whole 1t will be unsatisfactory. though
there is no way to make any changes in
the playing field just now, and it is
at any time during the present season.
or all the teams that go south and
Of all the various systems that are en-
plOyed to get the players into condition,
Pittsburg has plan which seems to
go into training later than any of the
major league clubs. yet always start
the season in first class shape.
Manager Clarke takes his players to
West Baden Springs about the middle
of March and remains there a week.
Their they go to Hot Springs. where they
remain until a few days before the sea-
son opens. Exhibition games are not
played, but teams made up of Pittsburg
players clash each day. In this way the
players get the, benefit of good pitching
Pittsburg has some real veterans in its
lineup. Clarke, Wagner. Leach and Phil
ippe, and yet though it usually takes
longer for the old fellows to come around
these players are always the first to show
form. and it is attributed to the system
of training employed by this club
1t is excellent policy for a ball club
to strive to better its team by adding
young. blood. but it is a most serious
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