Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-05
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
| CHARLOTTESVILLE Va, March o.
II condition counts for anything Bill
cunningham has that second base berth
cinched. Appearances have been most
encouraging SO far as Cunny is concern
ed when lie reported here but he is CIV
ing substantial proof by his work in
practice. He caused Manager Griffith
to open his eyes more than once by his
brilliant fielding of bunts on the gymna-
SUM floor
| For fully half an hour Cunny went
| from one end of the. gymnasium to the
| other and picked up grounders as if it
| were midseason. He seemed to move
| about faster than ever he did before,
and when it was all over he was not
taking long breath. If this improve
ment in his condition means that his bat
ting. too, will be better. then there need
be no fear about second base the coming
season, for none of the others are apt
to beat Cunny out of the job. Yesterday
was the first time that Griffith ever saw
Cunny in action and he could not dis
guise his pleasure at the way the young
ster. handles himself. Cunny was one of
| the first to appear in uniform and he
was among the last to leave the gymna-
| SiuiI dlteI one HOur VI COIlStdHl WI n
After he had tossed with the pitchers
| for three-quarters of an hour Griffith got
| bat and batted grounders to Cunny,
Morgan. Henry and Williams, and he
kept them on the jump. Even If the
| weather had permitted outdoor practice
| It is doubtful If the players could have
done more work or been more benefited
| than they were by their initial work
out yesterday.
That Griffith proposese to give his pitch
a 4.
denced yesterday when all of the young
Sters lined up for the first Warmup.
Griffith watched every one of them care
fully and without exception picked out
flaws in some part of their delivery. He
was particularly interested in CashiOn.
He had never seen the big fellow before
and after watching him warm up for a
| little while he ventured the opinion that
Cashion had been doing some work be-
fore reporting. In this he was correct,
| for Cashion admitted that he had. Crit
| fifth thinks that Cashions greatest fault
Is that he does not get the benefit of his
body when delivering the ball, because
| his arm is delivering the ball before he
has finished his step. This is one fault he
proposes to correct. Griffith Is part1cu-
larly anxious to make winning pitcher
out of Cashion- youngster of his great
size should be pitcher and when he de-
velops he will be a good one If that
| fellow don't develop into star l miss
| my guess" said he. HE is ideally built
coaching to make him a winner
1t would not be at all surprising to see
Allen. the West Virginia recruit develop
and easy delivery. but he seems able, to
| put a lot Of stuff on the ball 1t is, OF
course. too early to give a correct line on
his ability, but he looks promising on
what he has shown. 1t may be different
when he faces batters. however. Joe
Engel is another of the recruits who
| makes good impression. Akers is. per-
haps. the only one in camp who has any
weight to take of and for this reason he
| ia not taking any chances with his arm.
Boehling. Guy, johnson and Musser. the
other youngsters, all seem to have the
| natural motions of pitchers. Walker and
Hughes, the two veterans of the stan.
seem to enjoy the indoor work and both
worked necessarily for over an hour, but
were careful not to let their arms out.
different appetites than students of col
! lege and Mrs. Saunders, who is under
| taking the contract to feed Grimth's men.
CAME to this conclusion after the first
| day the squad had been here. Griffith,
who personally supervises the food. was
giving instructions as to the amount oil
beef that should be broiled. and Mrs.
Saunders felt sure that a mistake was
| being made for the amount seemed
enormous. but before the meal had been
finished all the meat that Griffith had
ordered had been devoured, while large
chunk from the larder had to be brought
| in for relief. The teams hostess later
explained that she would have a better
idea of ball players gastronomic proclivi-
| ties in the future.
! Alva Williams is not an idier. He. like
most successful ball players. loves to play
ball, and Griffith actually had to order
i him off the floor before he would quit.
Williams is down to playing weight and
| in excellent condition and he wanted to
| cut loose at full speed at everything he
| tackled He handled several of the
pitchers for an hour and then INDUCED
/ in some Strenuous fielding practice on
| the floor of the gymnasium.
Henry, Ainsmith and Williams handle
| the ten pitchers who worked out this
morning each taking three. 1t was quite a
| sight to see ten twirlers warming up to
three catchers and the crack of the mitts
brought back recollections OF the summer
time. OF course. none of the pitchers
| was allowed to let their arms out and
yet several of them seemed to have great
speed with the slightest exertion.
Two or three hours of sunshine would