Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-28
TEAM IS SHOWING
VERY POOR FORM
Few characteristics of Good
Ball Club Evidenced by
the Nationals.
TWO REGULARS AWAY;
OTHERS DISCOURAGED
The Washington Players Seem
Helpless Before Athletics.
Comment and Gossip.
BY j. ED GRILLO.
Special Dispatch 10 The Star.

special DiSpafrh 10 The Star.
4 PHILADELPHIA. May oS-1t has
been many day since a Washington ball
team looked lamentably weak as did
the Nationals yesterday when they went
down twice before Mack's Athletics with
out so much as offering respectable re-
sistance. If ever a ball team looked as
II the bottom had fallen out of it. it was
the Nationals. The men couldn't hit, their
helding was weak and display of judg-
ment was entirely absent. In summing
up this criticisms. If anything has been
overlooked. it also goes. The efforts OF
the Griffith forces at the bat were nothing
short of ludicrous. A gang of sand lotters
| would have made a better impression,
and whef, in addition to this failing, the
weakness of the pitching as we'll as the
catching is taken into consideration
there is no occasion for going any farther
| in effort to explain how it hap
| pened.
Two hits in the first game and seven
| in the second show the manner in which
the Nationals stacked up against Plank
| and Bender. Had the two veteran pitch
ers been facing Blind Tom aggrega-
! ton they could not possibly have had
| easier sailing than yesterday. 1t was
| nothing more than an outing for them,
| and when 1t came to getting runs for
| themselves it was the easiest kind of
| proposition, for the pitchers Griffith
| sent to the slaughter has much chance
! as pound of butter in a bake oven.
| There was one exception in this respect.
| however the Hon. Nicholas Altrock.
who pitched the final three innings
/ of the second battle, after the Athletics
| ninss. Nick put the brakes on the
| Athletics; he stopped them from hitting.
and really appeared to be the best pitch
| err. barring Johnson. that Griffith can
call on.
| The final game of the series is slated
! for today. and IT should behoove the well
wishers of the Nationals to pray for rain,
unless they have the assurance that
| Walter Johnson will pitch, for he appears
to be the only one of Griffiths twirlers
who can consistently deliver victories.
Three innings without allowing base
hit being scored on was Nick Alt
rocks record. He broke into the game
in the sixth and the scoring of the locals,
which up to this time had been going on
at a furious and constant gait. ceased
Nick. the old master of the pitching art.
though long since considered out of the
that he still knows how. If any one of
those steel-armed youngsters whom Grif-
fifth is carrying had Nick's head and
knowledge Griff would have good
pitching staff. Nick, though his arm has
long since seen its best days. can still
deliver Perhaps ne could not so the
entire route of a grueling battle, but
for what distance he has been asked to
go he still shows himself to be an artist.
Some day conditions may force Crit
fifth to start a game with Altrock pitch
ing. and the chances are that it will be
proved that. barring Johnson. old Nick is
the most reliable one of the twirling
staff
Engel and Gallia. who performed in
the first game. were both far from any
thing that could be termed right. Engel,
who has not worked for a week, was
both wild and apparently unaccustomed
to being in the center of the diamond
Besides giving passes and being hit hard
at opportune times. Ensel made a
desperate balk. making a motion to
| throw to first and then holding the ball,
The play would have called for censure
| for some schoolboy. let alone a Young
man seeing his second year in the
American League. Gallia was wild and
| Ineffective. though he got away through
several innings when he should have
| been pounded. Old Tom Hughes had his
worst day of the spring The Athletics.
| who usually find him the hardest kind
| of a proposition to solve. Toasted on his
| delivery all the time that he was on the
! rubber.
| Whether it was because the pitchers
did not give the proper attention to the
| base runners or ii happened to be d bal
| day for Ainsmth and Henry, the fact
| remains that ii has been some time since
| an opposing team took such liberties OF
| the bases as did the Athletics Yesterday.
and got away with it. They ran at will
on Ainsmth in the first game. and they
| did not seem to take any cognizance of
| the fact that Henry behind the bat
| in the second. so just kept on running,
| stealing nine bases in the two games.
| No team was ever In a worse batting
| slump than the Nationals Almost any sort
l of a pitcher could beat them these days,
and there is really not a man in the
lineup who is hitting to form Moeiier
| appears TO be suffering the worst of any
| of them. He has been striking out with
| alarming regularity lately. but in that
| respect does not differ much from some
| of his teammates.
Joe Gedeon was in evidence twice yes
| terday In the second inning, when Old
| ring tripled to right. the ball was thrown
| TO Gedeon and got away from him. Old
| ring probably could have scored easily
| had not the ball hit him and stunned
1 him. To make sure that he Id not run,
| Gedeon sat down on him while Mcbride
| retrieved the ball. His next stunt was
| 10 render one of the spectators in the
| left field bleachers unconscious. foul
| fy was hit into the stands. for which
! Gedeon gave chase He did not discover
! that he was so close to the low fence
/ which separates the hleachers from the
| PLAYING field so had 10 jump over 1t to
| prevent being hurt After leapins the
! fence he went headfrst at great speed
into the crowd. His knee shot into the
/ stomach of an innocent looking fan. and
/ the fan went down and out. but revived
sufficiently to allow himself Ia he escorted
out Of the ball park. Gedeon was not
| Aforementioned by either experience.
/ Griffith Will probably pitch George Null
! lin against the Athletics today. Mack.
/ having exhausted his pitching staff, VIII
! probably start over again lay sending
| Brown who beat the Nationals saturday.
| right back. If Johnson is not use6 today.
| and il is not likely that he will. he is
expected 10 pitch the first game against
Boston Thursday at Washington.
| Griffith has purchased another outfield-
err His name IS Spencer. and he is play
ing with the Petersburg team of the Nir-
| ginia League just when Spencer will re-
i port has not been decided upon. He is Il
/ left handed hitter and. according TO re-
ports. has been hitting like house on
fire down in the bushes
/ That the crippled condition of the team
Y nod