Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-11
BY J. ED GRILLo.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


ington club after a conference with Man
ager Griffith last night. The first base
man and his manager were closeted fol
fully an hour. after which Flynn emerged
from the room. his face wreathed ir
smiles. That he was we'll satisfied with
the contract rendered him was apparent
81 have been well treated. and am more
than satisfied" said Flynn. Il am in
better shape this spring than 1 have
ever been before. and l am sure II
make good" Milan Is now the on!
player who has not signed. and the
chances are that he will be in the fold be-
fore night Griffith is to have a talk
with him this afternoon, and since both
sides contend that the difference between
them is really but slight, there is no dan
ger of Milan doing anything but affixins
his signature.
While it Is still cool. the sun is shining
brightly today, and the entire sqnaa
worked out twice. Griffith has divided
got on the field at 10 o'clock this morn
ing and the second came an hour later.
The same program held good this after
noon. This scheme makes 1t possible Tor
the players to get good batting practi ice,
as the pitchers are so divided in the
squads that those who pitch to the bat
tiers in the morning have to chase the
balls in the afternoon, and vice versa.
Ali the pitchers. twelve In NUMBER, &c.
a chance to work out from the slab In
this way and the batters will get a
chance to face fresh pitcher every nj
teen or twenty minutes.
Kid Foster and Herman Schaefer are
now the only absentees and both are eX-
pected to roll in some time today. Car
ence Walker and Tom Long got here yes
terday Long is much improved in ap-
pearance He is several pounds heav-
Ter than he was last, fall and says that
his health is perfect now. 1t was claimed
last fall that the reason for Longs rather
weak showing was caused by his lack OF
health. and it Is expected that he VIII
show to more advantage this spring.
Griffith called his players into his room
this morning to give them short talk
on some matters of importance. After
they had all entered he picked out Gag
nier and said. after having closed the
door. II want to talk to the players on
some matters, and | wish you wouio
leave the room" Gagnier was dunfp,
he was a player. Grifhth saw his mis-
take, and the players gave him the laugn n.
With so many new men In the squad 1t
VIII take several days for Grfmth 10 De
able to recognize all his players. he
paper photographers who are with the
team.
Unlike former springs. Walter Johnson
reported here without having as mucn as
touched a ball since he returned home
after the close of the last season. Here
tofore, johnson has pitched for weeks De
fore reporting, and. SO far as his arm is
concerned. was Always IN fairiy go6o
This spring he appears to be much light
er than usual, but he holds that he al
ways gains when he starts to work. wal.
ter has been working on his farm All
take a very careful preparation, starting
TO work out slowly. and continuing easy
work for a week before he will make an
effort to put anything on the ball. he
believes that he will not be handicapped
by illness Of any kind this spring, as he
feels in tiptop shape. Griffith will use
Johnson but seldom in the exhibition
games. He will undoubtedly work in one
Of the games the Giants are to play in
Washington. but is not to be seen before
that time.
Walter Is pleased with the selection Of
Charlottesville as the teams training
grounds. The extreme south has never
agreed with him, and he believes that as
he will not experience q change OF CHI
mate after leaving here he will open
the season fit to do his best work.
Gagnier has been on the reserve list
OF major league clubs before. Both the
Cubs and Sox had him, but never gave
him a trial. and now that he realizes
he Is to be given a chance to show
what he can do he is immensely
pleased. 1t Is generally conceded that
rs fielder Gagnier has out few equals,
though there appears to be some doubt
as to his hitting proclivities. This,
however,. Is not worrying him. He feels
that now that he has a chance to gain
q major league position 1t will not be
the fault OF circumstances Il he fails.
Neither is hardly out of his teens. but
both showed remarkable ability last
season. and Griffith will have a good
line on them before the team returns
home. Sheer Is easily the shortest man
on the team. but he is sturdy built
lad. much after the style of Knabe of
the Phillies.
George Mcbride. like most ball play
ers. is great admirer Of Walter John
SON, and 1t is his fondest hope that the
time Is near when Walter will have a
winning team behind him. Il would
Just like to see what sort of record
he would establish II he was with a
this year" said George. 1--WE made
one trip last year to five cities OF the
circuit. and We lost all but five OF
them, winning one In each city, and
wNtoI wa the IeIlOW VINO turned the
trick. II is easy to see what would
happen II he had a team behind him
which could get him a few runs. He
would not lose more than a game or
80 all season. Walter was sick last
spring and this caused him to lose
games which ordinarily he would have
won In a walk. Let him be at himself
this year when the season opens and
he will have the greatest year OF his
career. for Walter Is a better pitcher
today than he ever was. No man
has benefited more by experience than
he"
Spencer IL not as big a man as reports
led one to believe. He Is four or Ave
inches shorter than Jack Flynn and does
not weight nearly as much. There is a
great variance Of opinion as to Spencer 5
saw him play In the Eastern League last
year considered him the superior of any
man Griffith has for the position. while
others do not figure him at all. Spencer
proposes to show that he can hold his
own, so that the fight for first place is
very apt to wax warm.
Carl cashion has completely recovered
from his cold. and worked out with the
squads today.
Joe Engel Is undoubtedly the youngest
ball player under contract to any major
league club His father paid him a visit
here yesterday and divulged the fact tina,
Joe will celebrate the anniversary Of his
nineteenth birthday next Tuesday. Though
still In his teen. Joe compares favorably
with the big pitchers on the team, and
there 10 no doubt that In few years he
viii pass most Of them in the matter OF
size
Dan MoNller dis,ocafed his shoulde,