Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-02

In MS HVe tTlpS 10 the Dat ne got tnTce
hits. Twice he hunted perfectly and
easily beat the throws. and the last time
up he beat slow bounder to Pratt In
the second inning he made great throw
from deep right field to third base. where
he caught krichell. who was trying to
go from first to third on hit to right
field. Few outfielders would have at
| tempted a direct throw, preferring to re-
lay. but Moeller cut the ball loose and
caught Krichell by yards.
Moellers speed Is at it's best now. He
is much faster than he. was earlier in the
season and the improvement that his bat
ting Is showing assures him of a place
with the top-notch hitters of the game.
Announcements that the Walter John
sons would be here for four days greet
ed the players through the local press this
morning. the insinuation being that John
son is the only real ball player on the
team. This sarcasm has had the effect
of putting the players on their mettle and
they are particularly anxious to make a
good showing here.
Their work caused mahy favorable
remarks to be made from the
stand and some of the fans here are be-
ginning to realize that Griffith has great
ly strengthened the team since it made
it's appearance here last season. The
fact that the team displayed a lot Of
speed In its playing seemed to surprise
the natives, and the fact that every man
In the lineup was full Of ginger came as
revelation.
So impressive has been the work OF
Howard Shanks In left field since he got
a chance to break in there that when
found that position lost to him. tempo
rarily at least, and he was shifted to
right in place of Walker If Shanks
keeps up his present pace. and there is
no reason why he should not, the chances
being that he will improve, he will be-
come the teams regular left fielder,
while Moeller will remain in right. where
he. shows to even better advantage than
he did in left. Playing regularly has
made a big difference in Shanks and
the season. There Is no better fielder
and he is fast and has all the earmarks
Of making good hitter. Clarence Walk
er's only chance to break into the game
now Is to have either Moeller or Shanks
fall down.
Nor is 1t going to be an easy matter
for Knight or Schaefer to take second
base away from Morgan. Morgan is by
no means finished In the position, but
he is showing signs of being a natural
hitter. and hitters is what Griffith needs
most just now. For q utility man Nor
gan has filled the bill most satisfactorily
in the two games he has played there,
dIo IIc IldS UccI VI GREAT 1lcIp " LILO
team with his stick.
There Is no more clever batsman In
the American League that Eddie Foster.
There may be harder hitters and some
who will finish far ahead. Of him in the
averages, but when 1t comes to pulling
inside stuff, Foster has few equals and
absolutely no superior. He gave clever
exhibition with the bat today After hav-
ing a double In the first inning he came
up in the third with Moeller on first.
On the hit and-run he pushed the ball
into right just out of reach of Pratt.
who had gone to cover. and Moeller went
to third.
In the ninth inning the same situation
confronted Foster. and in order to block
his play, Wallace decided to cover for
Moeller but, when he did so. Foster also
switched, and this time pulled the ball
right past Wallace for a base hit. The
feat was soon noticeable that even the
spectators realized its cleverness, and
Foster was applauded. Griffith who has
been in base ball for twenty-five years,
and during that time has been a close
observer, says that never before in his
career has he seen a cleverer batter than
Foster, who, he says, Is one of the few
players who have a correct conception Of
the ht-and-run play, never hitting tho
ball hard under such circumstances, but
Just showing 1t toward the openings
which the opposing indelders make when