Evening star., 1912-09-11
BY J. ED GRILLO.

With renewed vim and vi2or the Nation
ais opened the final fight for secor place
here yesterday. winning in easy fashion
in game in which they easily outclassed
the Maps.
Griffith has his players on edge again.
They looked more like the team which
established a consecutive winning record
through the west on the occasion of their
first invasion than they ever have since.
With all pennant hopes abandoned the
players are now putting up real fight
to beat out the Athletics. and if they can
continue as they started it will not be at
all surprising if they come near to du-
plicating their record of a clean sweep
of the west
The Maps having won three out of four
from Chicago, We're figured being a
tough proposition for the Nationals to go
against, yet no material change was TO
be noticed in their work and they went
down before the visitors for the four
teenth time this season.
Griffith's team played its very best ball.
1t fielded brilliantly, hit as it seldom has
and showed signs of renewed life and
that commodity known as ginger in base
ball.
Griffith figures to have a fairly good
hold on second place by the time he re-
turns home to wind up the season. He
believes that his team win finish strong,
and there was every indication yesterday
that he had a good line on his charges.
Four of the Nap pitchers suffered at the
hands of the visitors. Seventeen hits for
eleven runs was the extent of their Of
fensive work. while Cashion held the
home boys down to two runs. With john
son carded to pitch today. probably
against Vean Gregg. there is good
who is pitching his best ball of late.
should come pretty near making it three
straight here.
While Carl Cashion is still far from be-
ing a finished pitcher, he is arriving at
that stage where he can be relied upon
to hold an opposing team down fairly
well. He is still wild at stages. but when
he has control he is hard to hit. Pecul-
iarly enough, Cashion was in trouble yes
terday on several occasions after two
men were out. He seemed able to dis
pose of the first two batters who faced
him and then would get off his balance
and get a couple on OF fill the bases. On
the whole, however, he gave splendid
exhibition for virtually a green hand, and
he is showing such marked improvement
that 1t seems certain to be only a ques-
tion of time when he will be rated as one
of the capable pitchers in the league.
When Griffith's team is hitting as it
should it presents rather formidable Of
fensive front. Whenever Moeller can get
on the bases it makes a wonderful differ
ence in the scoring ability of the team.
There is no greater pair to work the hit
and run than he and Foster They were
successful with it twice yesterday, and
Milan, Gandil and Laporte, who follow
them, not to speak of Shanks, are begin
ming to hit as they should.
Gandil has, of course, been a consistent
performer with the stick all season, but
he Is in one of his good moods right
now and is the most dangerous batter
on the team.
Griffith made no mistake when he pur-
chased Laporte. He is not wonderful
fielder, of course. but he does fairly well
, in the position. and as hitter does not
have to take his hat off to any man in
Grifhth's lineup. He has batted con-
sistently ever since he joined the team
and is of the greatest assistance to it
in this respect.
Shanks, too, seems to have come with
the bat. He is hitting better now than
At any time this season. and he is grad
ually settling the question of who win
play left field for the Nationals next
year. This yOungster did not have the
breaks he was entitled to earlier in the
| season, but he has improved a lot in his
hitting since then.
The change Of management from Davis
to Birmingham has sort of pleased local
| patrons of the game. From all accounts
Davis was dismal failure at trying to
make success of the Nape. Birming-
| ham has made good start. He has in
jected a lot of life into his team and is
not afraid to give his youngsters a
chance. Even yesterday. when his team
was being badly beaten. it was evident
| that an entirely different feeling exists
! in the ranks. for even Lajoie was hus-
| ting and apparently interested in the
teams success.
| But whether Birmingham will be re-
| tanned as manager after this season no
one seems to know. as the local owners
/ have refused to commit themselves on
| that point. But the chances are that
| he will, for the club might go a whole
! lot farther and not find a more capable
| man.
The Nationals were hitting lot OF
balls toward third yesterday, as the box
score will show. both Turner and Kibble,
| who took his place, having busy after
| noon. None of these chances. however.
was difficult. all being nice bounders
which were not hard to handle.
| On two occasions yesterday Moeller and
/! Foster pulled the hit and run play not
only successfully. but scientifically. In
/ the first inning, when Moeller got on by
reason of Lajoie's tumble, the former
started down for second and Chapman
| left his position to cover. Foster clev-
| erly pulled the ball through short for a
base hit and subsequently, scored when
| IAjoie threw wild to catch Foster of
first.
| In the eighth inning MoelIer bunted
safely and this time Lajoie started to
cover. when Moeiler made a dash for
| second Foster. however. crossed the in
field by hitting into right and Moeller
again went to third.
Birmingham used four Of his pitchers
and three of them. Blanding. Steen and
Wolfe, were hit hard. Neher, a young
only in the last inning. and every mar
who faced him hit at the first bal
pitched, with the result that none OF
them reached first base.
Ray Chapman. the much-touted short
stop secured by Cleveland from Tole 10
will undoubtedly make great bal
player some day. He is fast and handle.
himself well. but he is still erretic, an6
1t Will take more experience to class hin
ing twice on Cashion yesterday. he die
nothing with the stick which looked i'm
pressive. though, of course. one game /.
not enough to get a good line on fielder
Here In Cleveland they conside
GeorRe Mcbride the greatest shortstop II
the league. Things always break wei
here for Mcbride. There is hardly
game played on the local grounds by TIN
Nationals In which he does not make
not an exception. In the sixth innin,
Neagleson. who relieved Carish, hit
sharp grounder right through the box
II looked for all the world like a regula
base hit. but Mcbride cut across. pickle.
the ball up with one hand while. on
| hard run. and without steadyin0 himsoI