The Washington herald., 1911-07-08
By WILLIAM PEET.

anent the Washington baseball team has
been aimed at the club owners, and the
impression seems to prevail in some
quarters that the men behind the
Nationals are holding tight to the purse
/ strings.
Criticism of this nature is unfair, for
II ever a ball club is trying to get hold
of young players Washington is that
club. r.
J The writer several weeks ago printed
a statement from Manager McAleer to
the erect that McAIeer had given Scout
Kahoe orders to grab every good-lookIng
ball player he ran across. and to pay
as much as anybody for talent.
On Thursday Manager McAIeer himself
slipped OF the train en- route to De-
troit from Boston. and is now looking
over the Eastern League clubs
The writer knows of at least three
minor league players who will be signed
up within the next two. weeks. These
men have been tipped off by friends of
some Of the local club stockholders, and
IL possible the players in question will
be purchased for immediate delivery.
Buying young ban players. as has been
stated often. is a gamble pure and sim
pie, but there is always the chance that
star will be unearthed, and II will be
I found that before the present season
closes the Nationals will have spent al.
most as much money for young blood
as any other club in Ban Johnson's cir
cult.
! 1t would be an excellent idea for the
Washington club to arrange with some
minor league organization to ship oil
promising youngsters they are unable
to use here to such a club and let them
gain experience, pulling in the strings
when a player showed his fitness for fast
company. There are, doubtless, several
| clubs which would be only too glad TO
enter into some such arrangement with
the local team.
| Had Doc Gessler showed the hitting
strength last season now in evidence the
Nationals might have closed the year in
! fifth place. Time and again last year
/ Gessler had chances to drive in the much
needed runs, but could not connect
| The big fellow is going like a house
afre just now. He is pulling down one
or two safe cracks every game. and 1t
looks as II he would continue to keep up
the pace.
The st. Louis Cardinals grabbed an
other from the PhilIies yesterday and
broke into the first division of the Ma
tional League. New York and Philadel-
phia are tied for third place and the
| Cardinals are almost within speaking
distance. No wonder the Mount City
fans are going crazy over the showing
of their National Ieao11a Climb
Mr.. Hedges, owner OF the st. Louis
Browns, says the Nothing Doing" sign
is on the rumor-oft repeated since sew
eral months ago-that Fred Lake was to
manage the Browns in 1912. Whoever
undertakes to reconstruct the present
outfit had better take precautions to
have some careful sanatorium prepare
place for his reception after about
six months of the job.
The team is not unwilling-merely in
capable 1t has been given some fairly
clever pitching. from time to time.
! Barney Petty would own a great rec
ord were he with a run-getting club.
But the Browns are simply unable to
manufacture scores. The Cardinals, of
the National League, are hitting sixth,
chances offered. fielding no better. Yet
they are making the leaders look to their
defenses.
Joe Jackson, of the Maps, celebrated
the Fourth Of July by making his hun
dredth hit of the season. Incidentally. 1t
was a home run, which was celebrating
in earnest. Joe is the second American
League hitter to make 100 hits, Ty Cobb
being the first, and Joe did not stop last
Tuesday, but has been hitting ever since.
Grantland Rice, the word painter on the
New York Mail, thinks the Athletics will
again win the American League flag. In
referring to the recent Yankees-Athletics
series, he says: For the form Of the
thing those who cast their bets against
the Athletics coping might hang onto
the coin for a few weeks longer. but it
will only be through matter Of form.
You can't beat a club which eats up
the game as this bunch does and goes to
its play with such unending Joy.
'.Blundering, struggling. and stagger-
ing along, the Yanks fought bitterly to
stick upon the pennant map, but were
outclassed. They were given every
chance in q pair Of the four contests,
but in the end were crushed and swept
aside by a far better team"
President Ed Barrows, Of the Eastern
League, has a fine scheme for keeping
his staff of umpires clean and still
holding up on the number of arbiters.
For several weeks Umpire Frank Rud-
derham had been going badly and In
two cities the jumps were given pop bot
tie and cushion showers. The other day
President Barrows sprung a little sur
prise when he announced that he had
traded Rudderham to the Southern
League for Umpire Byron. Of the South
ern Association. This scheme Of SWAP
ping umpires is good one.
wolgast's real test viii come Labor
Day when he faces~Packey Mcfarland.
the clever man par excellence of all the
opponents wolgast expects to eliminate
from the lightweight patch within the
year. with height, reach, skill and
weight in his favor, Mcfarland, In the
limited period Of twenty rounds, seems
TO promise to make toilsome Journey
for the champion. But Wolgast has
shown his ability to get to the larder of
Always the Same
Tharp's