Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-29
CR|FF NEEDS ONE
MORE GOOD PITCHER
Stands Chance for Pennant
With TWirIer of Johnson
Groom Type.
OUTFIELD SEEMS TO
BE WELL FORTIFIED
One of Three Recruits Should
Make Good, But Old Trio
Would Do in Pinch.
BY J. ED GRILLO.

! Before the Nationals can be figured as
having an equal chance with their rivals
in next years pennant race. Griffith will
have to develop one more consistent
pitcher. He has a great pair in Johnson
and Groom, but it takes more than two
consistent performers to carry a team
| through season.
| Griffith must develop, for he cannot
buy seasoned pitcher. The time when
club could buy players that it needed
has long since passed. A winning major
league team these days is much too valua-
able to make the sale Of any player Of
value. at any price, a good business propo-
| sition. The profits Of a worlds series are
/ so enormous that a club cannot afford
| to part with player Of class, hence the
| developing system is the only one which
! can bring results.
Griffith will have quite corps of young
pitchers in his training camp next spring.
The most promising of these undoubtedly
is Carl Cashion, because he was given
chance to get some experience in the last
campaign. Cashion needs control and he
should be much improved in this respect
by next season. Engel. too, is sure to
make pitcher but he is still green
hand and needs a lot Of experience. In
addition Griffith will have Gallia and
Ayers, the latter from the Virginia State
League. linen Cnere is Dent, VINO was
| drafted from the International League,
but Of whom little is known. There is, of
course, no way Of telling just what can be
/ developed out of this bunch of material,
| though Cashion gave flashes last season
which made it appear that he has
bright future before him. He is a pitcher
| much like Tesreau OF the Giants, having
an advantage in that he has a free mo-
| ton and is a much better fielder of his
position.
Tom Hughes should not be overlooked
either. The veteran did some splendid
work last season, and had it not been
| that Griffith was forced to work him out
of turn while johnson was i'll he would
have finished with a spendid record.
Hughes is a great help to the team in
| that he is one Of the best pitchers in the
league to go into game when one of
the other pitchers is faltering If Crit
hth develops another pitcher who can
take his regular turn with Groom and
Johnson the chances for the flag will
be greatly increased, for, barring acct
dent, both of his stars will do even bet
johnson naturally will work his hardest
| for the purpose Of placing himself in a
position where he can demand a healthy
increase in salary, his contract expiring
at the end of the next season, while
Groom, who saw his best year during
the last campaign, will work with more
confidence and should finish with a bet
ter record than he did this year.
Griffith deserves the credit for the i'm
provement his pitchers displayed last sea-
son. He Is a master at the art and he
has the knack to teach those under him
the fine points Of pitching, without which
the average pitcher cannot succeed, re-
CARELESS of how much natural ability he
may possess. If there Is manager in
either league who can bring out a young
pitcher it is Griffith. and for this reason
his chances for developing one more good
pitcher are extremely bright.
The selection of Charlottesville as a
training place for the team proved a
good one last season. The climate there
Is just about the same as 1t is here in
Washington, and the players do not suf-
fer q setback after coming to their own
when they trained in the extreme south.
Conditions at Charlottesville are such
that inclement weather does not force the
players into idleness. The gymnasium of
the University of Virginia, which was
used to good advantage last spring. will
again be placed at the teams disposal,
so that 1t is possible for them to work
every day, rain or shine
But the greatest advantage that Griffith
will have next spring over last lies in the
fact that he will have a team In the field
which will virtually be the same as the
one he finished with. and this team made
splendid showing, overcoming a great
handicap brought upon it by the rather
| weak combination with which he star ed
the season.
Even II it should happen that none of
| the three young outfielders whom Griffith
secured thsi fall makes good he will be in
better shape in this department than he
was last season. Shanks improved rapidly
| and Moeller is sure to be better, while
Milan Is due to have brilliant year.
Milan did not hit quite up to his standard
during the last campaign. He had streaks
of good and bad work with the bat. but
he is still a young player and is sure to
come back.
But there are reasons for believing that
! one or two of the youngsters will make
good. All OF them have such splendid
records in the minor leagues and come
so we'll touted that it is not likely that all
of them will fall down Connolly, Well
chance and Allen, according to reports,
| are the best trio Of young outfielders
picked out Of the minors last fall. One of
them should deliver the goods.