Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-06-18
BY J. ED GRILLo.

Whatever else this seasons cam
paign may have brought to pass, it has
been kind TO the seasoned ball player
Many are the players whose names
appear among those above the coveted
800 mark who last fall We're labeled
for the minors and We're hardly worth
considering for another trial. But the
old fellows have done wonders so far.
There seems to have been general
revival among them and the best ball
has been played by them. OF the hun
dreds of youngsters who were taken
south in the spring but few have made
good Here and there you will find
name in clubs lineup which does
not sound familiar. but in most in
stances the teams are made up of what
is commonly called veterans. for in
base ball a man is old after he has
appeared before the public three or
four years
There is a glaring illustration of sur
prising form reversal shown by Gessler
and Schaefer. two members of the Ma
tionals. Both have played great ball
this season. Last fall neither seemed
10 have a chance to make the team
this spring The clamor for young
X
for granted material would be found
to take the places of this pair. No
such players, however, bobbed up, and
in fact, it would be no easy matter to
find ball players who could have done
better work than have Gessler and
Schaefer this season
III couple Of youngsters had made
as good a showing as has this pair this
year the followers OF the sport here
would have predicted wonderful things
fnr he Nafi Il. nf ho fun
good work is expected from the old
fellows. and they do not get the credit
that do the youngster who breaks in.
In fact the work of McAleer's team
barring the pitching, which only lately
took A brace. has been much better than
the teams standing would indicate. AS a
run-getting aggregation the Nationals
have improved. and had McAleer been
blessed with the kind of pitching that
Washington teams in the past have been
| noted for he would be several notches
higher In the race. But the entire slump
! and failure of the team can be attributed
TO this weakness. There is nothing more
demoralizing to a ball team, regardless
of its strength. than to go out on the
field every day and find its pitcher being
pounded. No ball club can give a good
account of itself under such conditions.
The hitting. fielding and aggressiveness
all suffer and there is. of course, moth
ing left when that is lacking.
primarily the trouble was with john
son. Had he been right at the outset of
the season the team would have won
many more games and he would have
welded beneficial influence over the en-
tire pitching staff. The players. like the
patrons OF the game. have a lot of
confidence in Johnson. and when he took
Ill and was unable to deliver the players
became discouraged and the slump which
landed the team very near to the bottom
of the race resulted.
II is TO be regretted that Manager Nc
Aleer returned from Boston when he did
Had he remained there he might have
bagged what he went after-a pair OF
pitchers. Three straight defeats at the
hands of Cleveland has probably had the
effect of giving John /. Taylor the cour-
age which he lacked TO make deals when
McAleer called on him. The clup -.hich
can reach John /. at the psychological
moment could probably get the entire
Boston team for a couple of bat bags
The Boston owner must see his pennant
hopes waning. and naturally he blames
the players for the slump. Once he
sours on his players they cannot stay on
his team. be they who they may. This