Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-26
GRIFFITH'S PITCHERS
SEEM TO WEAKEN
Continued from First Page.)

that they are not ready. Joe Engel is be-
neved to be the most promising OF the
lot, and In practice shows more than any
Of the other twirlers. barring johnson,
but whether he is ready to work in a
championship game remains to be seen,
for as rule young pitchers become
nervous under a strain. and, of course,
are useless when in that condition.
For the first time in weeks there is &C.
casion for the admirers and followers
OF the Athletics to once more feel hope
full. Jack Cocmbs pitched in his old form
yesterday, and scored victory over Bos-
ton. Whether this means that Coombs
has regained his form or whether 1t was
merely a fash in the pan remains to be
seen, but If he Is well again 1t will make
big difference to the champions, for
there is no more valuable pitcher for
team than Coombs has been for the
Athletics. Just as soon as Coombs and
Bender get back to form the champions
Will begin to climb, and with these two
pitchers going we'll 1T Is but a question
of time when Connie MackS team will be
in the lead again. for there is no ques-
ton about II being by far the strongest
team in the race.
1t may be that arifiith will be forced to
continue trying to develop Cashlon into
most compels him to make another
effort with the big fellow, who for time
gave promise as a regular because OF his
hitting. but who fell down badly when
worked every day in the outfeld. There
is no doubt that Cashion has the physique
and the stuff to make a great pitcher,
but he must learn to control the ball be-
fore anything can be hoped Tor from MIN
as pitcher. There have been instances
on record where pitchers have come over
night in that they gained control rather
unexpectedly, and Cashion may have
such an experience. though he has not
given the slightest sign of 1t in the sew
eral trials he has had this spring.
While there can be no complaint over
the deal which brought Moeller and Fos-
ter to the Nationals 1t must be source
of regret that Jack Lelivelt was not kept
on the team. Lelivelt. VINO seems TO
have been absolutely cured from the all
ments with which he suffered during his
engagement here is hitting like fend
in the International League ~ aver
age is close to the 800 mark and the
older the season gets the less are the
pitchers there successful in fooling him
Lelivelt would fit into that right neid
beautifully this year. for as hitter ne
hasn't an equal on the team. and now
that his legs are sound again ne wouin pc
fast enough to cover all the ground that
that position requires. at least when the
team is at home.
notwithstanding the fact that 1t is
given out. apparently automatically, tnat
all negotiations for First Baseman Can
dill of the Montreal club have been
dropped by Manager Griffith 1t Is. never
theless, true that there still remains a
slight chance for the local club to Sc
cure this player. Grifith's ADVANTAGE
lies in the fact that up to date
he has made the highest bid and
while this has not been accepted there
are reasons for believing that compeu-
ton for the player will not be as great
a. hos hna 4
son for this follows: When Griffith made
his final offer for Gandil. which was
much higher than. anything that had
been offered. the Montreal club dis
tributed q copy OF. the oner to an the
in the hope that the rivalry for the
PLAYER would be stimulated and that his
price would go up. But this proved
miscalculation and instead Of the bidding
growing livelier every club ceased nego-
the old game of being used to lift the
price. Finally. 1t Is said. the Montreal
club wanted to consider Grimth's prop
osition. but he. too, withdrew from the
bargaining and at the present ume no
effort is being made by any club to Sc
cures Gandil. 1t is figured that Mon
treal will be more anxious to sell now
than was the case and that GRIMM
stands a good chance to land the player
at his original figure.
1t has frequently been argued that
Johnson would be unbeatable II he would
drive batters away from he plate with his
fast ball. but Johnson has always been
fearful to do this. knowing that should
he hit a batter it might prove fatal.
There Is nothing pugnacious about
Johnson. and it hurts him as much as
the player he hits when an accident hap
pens This was proved yesterday, When,
after hitting Martin, he became entirely
unnerved and lost his effectiveness. 1t is
not In the big fellow to take that sort OF
an advantage over batters. though there
are a lot OF pitchers who owe much OF
their effectiveness to the fact that they
do not hesitate to hit a batter when ne
crowds the plate on them.