Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-15
BY. j. ED GRILLo.

Before Clark Griffith can expect to
ne must add considerable strength to his
pitching staff and incidentally improve
his team batting.
But the pitchers are more necessary
than anything else A team which is as
strong defensively as the Nationals are
when the club Is intact needs only high
class pitching to put it in a race. 1t is
not a team now which will average lot
of runs per game. but it is a hard one
to score against if it has good pitching.
and this gives it great advantage over
teams which outclass it in hitting.
Give Griffith two more consistent per
formers on the rubber and he would still
offer all his rivals a hard fight for first
place Even if he should be fortunate
enough to have Mulin round into his
best form he would have a chance, but
in figuring on the future he must have
more good pitchers and additional bat
ting strength either in the ont or in
field
Ball players who fit in SO as to make
team a winner are not picked up every
day. A club is fortunate when it can
pick up on an average one competent
man a season. Cantillon during his stay
here of three years picked up Johnson,
Milan and Mcbride. which trio for years
formed the only nucleus Washington
could boast Of McAleer found nothing
worth while during the two seasons he
managed the team, but he left likely
lot for Griffith, for it was he who brought
the fold before he severed his connec-
tons with the club. Under Grifhth's re-
gme but one valuable player has been
added. He is Gandil. whom Griffith pur-
chased last season and who filled the
one gap which for SO many years ex-
listed on the team. Since that time Grit
fifth has not been lucky enough to bring
any more stars to the team, though he
deserves credit for having developed some
of the youngsters he inherited with the
position.
He has made every effort to better his
team however, and is doing more siren
uous work in this direction now than
ever before. Both Scouts Kahoe and
ent time scouting the country over in
search Of playing material. and the
teams future depends almost entirely
on what success they may meet with on
their search.
It is, of course. only natural that GER
tain pitchers should be more successful
against some batters than others. but
yet it is most remarkable when a pitcher
faces a batter many times every season
for five seasons and holds him hitless-
something that Jim Scott, who pitched
for the White Sox in the first inning yes
terday. has done to DOME Bush. the De-
troit shortstOp. Five years ago Scott
broke into the game 1t was the same
year that Bush came up and on innumer-
able occasions Scott has pitched against
the Detroit team. but on none of these
has Bush ever succeeded in getting a
mark in his base hit column.
The official statistics show Callahan s
finger to be holder Of another unique
record in competition with Jennings
crew. Once only during five years of
fighting have the Bengals trimmed Scott,
and that beating was registered April 10,
1911. at Detroit, snowstorm helping to
overthrow the Wyoming chap. Eight in
nings were played with the rival forces
fioundering about in snowfakes of the
dripping species and when time was
called that the hose might catch an
2 to 1. Four hits, all singles. were made,
Davie Jones getting two and Cobb a
pair. Both runs followed errors by Andy
Mcconnell. Since that day Scottie has
1t has always been argued that when
ever a pitcher can stop Baker and COL
Inns from hitting. the Athletics have a
hard time winning. Furthermore, it has
been charged that both of these great
sluggers are greatly handicapped when
facing left-handed pitcher of ability,
and this seems to have been proven in
the last two games, when the Cleveland
team used Mitchell and Gregg, two crack
ing good southpaws. against the Athletics,
and after losing one game after thirteen
innings of grueling battle, won the
second by q 3-to-O score. These two left
handlers put q stop to the terrific hitting
of the leaders in the race. and conse-
quently robbed them of their greatest
asset. Prevent pair like Baker and COL
Inns from getting their daily safe drives
and the team which looks like a world
beater suddenly becomes weak.
Nothing helps ball team like hitting.
Not only does hitting disrupt the op-
posing team. but it gives the players a
lot of confidence and courage, and as
sures good work in every department. II
it were not for the pleasure that ball