The Washington times., 1911-04-12

water. He meets the ball with that
| sting denoting safe hrts, and such hit
| ters arc needed on every big league out
| fit In the field he moves around with
the agility of a cat, spearing hard drives
and getting them to first with a quick
| snap spelling death to the opposition.
Second base is much better covered this
year than it was last season.
Valuable Substitute.
Substitutes, though not always in the
game, are valuable adjunct in a win
| ming aggregation, and the Nationals are
we'll fitted up with good men who can be
counted upon in the emergencies aris-
ing so frequently during the season. The
extra outfielders are Germany Schaefer,
Charlie Conway, and Warren Miller.
Schaefer is so we'll known as not to
need description. He has the best
| throwing whip of all the outfielders, and
this isn't forgetting Harry Gessler or
Clyde Milan, either.
Miller and Conway are just plain slug
gers. Miller, a left-handed thrower and
hitter, attracted the attention Of Mana
ger McAleer at Atlanta by his unerring
eve at the bat. He never offers at a
poor ball, and when they are right he
drives them viciously for safeties. He
is fairly tall, weighs about 155 pounds,
and has plenty of speed on the bases.
In the field he has not done anything
spectacular, but takes care Of every
thing in a busineSs-like manner which
argues well for his future.
Conway, the Youngstown slugger, Is
one of the biggest men in the squad
and uses every ounce of his 1S5 pounds
when he sends the ball soaring into
the garden. McAleer likes the way he
steps into the ball at the plate, and he
may be called to play the outfield in
case the regular men do not begin to
hit. Conway is right-handed. both at
the bat and in the field
In the infield "Wid" Conroy, veteran
of many a hard-fought battle. stands
ready to play any position but first
base on a moments notice. He laughs
when folks tell him he is old, and says
that he started early. that's all: Fur
thermore, in the last six years he has
never commenced a season without hav-
ing trouble with his legs. This year,
although he worked as hard as any at
Atlanta, he is physically perfect, and
this means a whole lot to the team
John Somerlot's Worth.
Just how good John Somerlot is may
be inferred when it is known that John
Henry hasn't cinched his job at all yet.
Somerlot reported late at Atlanta, but
soon got into the swing, and inside Of
a week was playing at top speed.
I'VE lost a lot of games last season."
says Jimmy McAleer, through inabil-
ity to hit safely in a pinch, or even
send out a long fly. The breaks in luck,
too, were generally against us. 1t
stands to reason that this cannot go on
forever. ] expect better luck this sea-
son, and 1 feel certain that 1 have a
bunch Of hitters who can at least shoot
out long one, scoring runner from
third. This would have won many a
game for us last season"
The Nationals infield Is well-balanced
and brainy. John Henry has shown
that he can play the first corner par
excellence. Bill Cunningham today is
playing as fast ball as ever he played.
them all hustle for the premier honors
around the shortfield. Kid Elberfeld,
crafty and peppery and brainy, Is a
mighty element Of strength in the team.
The infield> looks good enough to take
care of the best Of them, and Manager
McAleer is worrying not at all about
that quartet.
Milan's Pace Fast.
The outfield has Doc Gessler. Zeb
Milan, and Jack Lelivelt. Milan bids
fair to set fast pace for every out
fielder in the league this year, If his
preliminary work counts for anything.
He led all the bastmen at Atlanta, and
is the best fielder of them all. Gessler,s
fielding leaves nothing to be considered,
and he has only to brace in his wal
Looping to make his job secure for an
other year. Lelivelt is a natural hitter,
but he has not got under way yet. Nc
Aleer is patient with the Chicago boy,
however, and is quite sure that he will
soon hit his stride and be up with the
best of them
Back of the bat are Gabby Street and
Eddie Ainsmith, a veteran star and a
coming brilliant. Street for several sea-
sons made the reputation of Walter
Johnson, and today he is doing just
as brilliant work behind the plate as
he ever did. Furthermore, Street
showed a surprising batting ability dur
ing the practice at Atlanta