Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-30
BY j. ED GRuLO.

| nth.
Walker is through with me-, said the
National manager this morning. HE
will have to go back to the minors to
learn that this base ball business is not
joke. / do not want players of his
kind around me, and under no circum-
stances will he ever wear a Washington
uniform again"
Walker seemed much put out when he
was told to go home. He claims to have
a lame arm which he says makes 1t i'm
possible for him to do good work. but
Griffith will not take this as an excuse
and Walkers career as a member of the
team is at an end.
played on the present trip they have
scored forty-six runs. and yet have won
but single game. which shows very
plainly that the teams pitching is far
below the standard. Heretofore the hit
ting has been so weak that even good
pitching did not bring many victories.
but now that the hitting is Of the highest
order. the pitching is decidedly amateur
ish. Yesterdays exhibitions were simply
awful. Not one of the six twirlers that
Griffith used showed anything, and the
losing of the second game. after gaining
six-run lead in the very first inning
was absolutely disgrace Not a soul In
the local Enclosure had any hopes Of Bos-
ton winning after the Nationals had driven
Cicotte to the bench In the first inning.
when they scored six runs. With so great
have won, but Groom faltered right at
the outset and In the fourth inning
Clarence Walker helped things along by
muffing a fly ball. which cost several
runs for a cluster of hits followed this
mistake. Hughes did the best work Of
the pitchers Griffith used. but he could
not stop the hard hitting Red Sox for all
that.
Chick" Gandil broke into the big
league under conditions which cannot
have been encouraging, and yet he made
very satisfactory showing. He fields
his position splendidly, has a long reach
and can get almost any kind OF throw
He is fast on his feet and has all the
earmarks of a good hitter. He got cou-
pie safe in the first game and drove in
one in the first inning of the second game
with sharp single to left. He hit the
ball hard every time up. but was unfor-
tunate in having sensational plays made
on several of his drives. Gandil really
looks like the goods, and first base seems
at last to have been placed in safe hands.
If his stand at the plate counts for any
thing Gandil will hold his own as hit
ter. for he looks very impressive there
and handles himself like man who is
sure to always be dangerous with the bat
Shanks and Walker are doing the bulk
of the Nationals hitting. Both these
youngsters are clouting the ball hard
and timely, and this is particularly true
of Walker. who seems SO much improved
at the bat that 1t is hard to believe him
the same player who last year was rather
streaky in his hitting.
1t surely does not look like major league
| base ball to have fifty-two runs scored
| in one afternoon, and yet that is what
/ happened yesterday. For the lovers OF
hard-hitting it was exceptionally good
| day, but to the average patron of the
| game both exhibitions were tiresome. for
| good pitching was lacking on both sides.
!, Griffith used up abo>it all the pitching
/ talent he has. and he Will be forced to
drag either Musser or Engel into today's
games One of the other of the young
| sters will be worked in the morning
| game while Walter Johnson, with but
one days rest. will be forced to work in
the afternoon. 1t may be that the young
sters will prove a surprise, and they sure
! ly cannot do worse work than have sew
| eral of the veterans. From this out all
| the youngsters are to be worked, for Grit
| fifth realizes that IL he Is to hold re-
| specta BILE position in the race at the finish
| he will have to have better pitching. 1t
is impossible to get good twirlers now. so
he is going to take the chance of having
his youngsters work themselves into form
| by means of regular work. Cashion, too
| is to be worked quite often. in the hope
that he will eventually get control, in
| which event ii is argued that ne will be
! winning pitcher.
Griffith was rather down-hearted after
yesterdays exhibitions, but he is more
determined than ever to bring about a
combination on his tean which will prove
| a winner. He realizes that he needs
pitchers worse than anything else, and
he had the wires hot last night securing
| the country for pitching talent. He pro-
poses to get all the young twirlers pos
sible in the hope of getting one or two
| good ones out of the lot.
Steve White. the former Princeton
twirler, had the rare experience yester-
day of appearing for a short time in both
ends of the double header. He relieved
Walker in the first game and was himself
| relieved by Cashion, and was pitching &c
| Speaker in the last half OF the eighth OF
the final game. when Umpire Dineen call
ed the contest on account Of darkness.
Just how good a pitcher White Is could
not be determined for he came into tbs
first game with men on the bases. and
did not have chance to retire a man iT
the second game before he was takex
out.
During the teams present trip ii viii
stop at the Planters In St. Louis. thu
Great Northern in Chicago. the Colonia
in Cleveland and the Cadillac in Detroit.
If the Nationals had been blessed witt
any kind of pitching on this trip they
would now be near the top, for at nj
time this season has the team done q
much effective hitting as since 1t left II.
own grounds. Nearly every pitcher thai
has faced 1t has had his trouble prevent
ing his own defeat, but with none of Grit
} fith's pitchers getting in anything likl
form victories. Of course. are not to bs
| expected.
Gandil says that he preferred to come
TO Washington to any other team because
he felt that he would stand better
chance to make good there than IL he
were with some team which had one OF
more first basemen. Gandil seems to fl
in we'll on the team. and after he gets
accustomed to his surroundings he Il
| sure to be one of the stars Of the team.
| Joe Wood was hit harder by the Ma
tionais than he usually IL, and Pape was
even softer mark than Cicotte. but
Bedient once he Got warmed up, seemed
TO have something more than the others
!; | Griffith probably would have taken
Groom out before he did had he not been
in the fix Of not having two regulars FOR
today's games. He wanted TO work
Hughes and Johnson on Decoration day
but was finally forced to yank Groom