Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-16
Form Counts for Anything Browns Should Be Welcome Visitors Herr
MANY DOUBLE HEADERS ARE
NOW ON NATIONALS LIST
G fifth Will Find Use for All His Pitchers
WhenPostponed GamesArePlayed.
Base Ball Gossip.

will have his hands full trying to land
the team as high as it was last season.
when 1t finished third. The Maps prn-
cipal fault is lack of spirit and hustle
The team lacks aggressive players and
creates the impression that it lacks con-
fidence in itself On paper it looks strong
enough to cut figure, but there Is noth-
ing impressive about it on the ball field
and Davis presence does not seem to
have inspired the players to any great
extent
When the Nationals leave on their next
trip, which starts after the series with
Detroit next week, they make one of the
longest stays away from home that any
schedule has ever provided.
There are twenty seven games sched-
uled on this trip, which do not include
three. postponed games to be played in
the east. So If the weather is favorable.
and 1T ought to be pretty soon, there Will
be thirty games of ball played on the
such an experience will prove a strenuous
test for the team. If it can come any
where near to breaking even during that
long voyage 1t will have done much
more than Is to be expected. With that
long trip confronting it a special effort
should be made to get as many of the
remaining home games on the right SIDE
of the ledger as possible, for it is sure
to need every victory it can get before
it reappears here late in June.
In the event of a game being played
today Walter Johnson is slated to pitch,
and if there is anything in the theory
that rest helps a pitcher. Waiter ought
TO be at his best. as he has had five days
rest Baumgartner youngster who
made a reputation by pitching fifteen
inning scoreless game against the Wh1te
SoX early in the season. or one OF the
Browns there being two on the team,
will do the slab work for the visitors
BY reason of the system which Griffith
is following, in that he is giving all his
players chance to show in various posi-
tions, he ought to have good line on his
men before the season is half over. He
has made a number of changes in his
lineup this spring, all affecting positions
where he appears to be well fortified. in
the hope of eventually finding a combina-
ton which will be satisfactory. So far
as Schaefer is concerned a position has
yet to be found which he has not filled
satisfactorily. Since he Joined this team
he has played everywhere but a battery
position and there has not been a time
when he has not held his own. But
Schaefer is too valuable man for the
team not to have a permanent berth. He
not only hits we'll. but he is fast on the
bases. and last, but not least, he puts
lot of life into the teams playing.
Under the direction of Jack Ryan, Joe
Engel, the youngest member of the Ma
tionals, has made great forward strides
and it is the opinion of both Manager
Griffith and Ryan that he is about ready
to give good account Of himself in
championship game. 1t is not unlikely
that he will be started in one of the
games against the Browns. There is not a
pitcher on the local staff who has more
stuff than Engel, barring Walter john
son, of course, and it is only a question
of his control as to whether he is ready
to win games for his team.