Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-12
NATIONALS PLAY
POORLY At HOME
Team Shows Only Occasional
Flashes on Its Own
Grounds.
DOES BEST WORK ON
RIVALS BATTlEGR0UNOS
Fight for Third Place Begins
Today. When Chicago
Makes Debut.
BY J. ED GRILLO.

While no good reason can be advanced
to explain why the Nationals play such
miserable ball on their own grounds, the
fact remains that with very few eXcep-
tons the teams exhibitions on it's own
grounds have been far below its real
standard.
For some unaccountable reason the
team always looks 10 per cent stronger
on the road than it does at home. 1t
not only plays a high grade of base ball
when away from home, but it displays
much more life in its work. The showing
of the team since it has been at home
has been worse than that of any Wash
ington team in recent years. The entire
bottom seems to have fallen out of the
aggregation and if ever a team gave the
impression that it was headed for the
second division it is the Nationals.
Hitting such as the locals have been
doing of late would not do credit to anna
teur teams. The fact that several OF
the rockies on the Detroit staff made
them look like novices does not mean
that Jennings has any promising pitchers.
Most any sort of q twirler might have
been just as effective, for no team was
ever in "a worse batting slump than the
Nationals are at the present time.
1t is true TIL the team has been badly
crippled, but aside from that its work
has been abominabie, on the whole since
1t returned from its last trip. Though
while on the road the team was In even
worse shape than it is now it played far
superior ball than 1t has since il returned
to it's own grounds. Just what causes
these slumps at home no one seems able
to explain. Surely it cannot be blamed
on the hot weather. for 1t has been
rather cool here ever since the team has
been scheduled at home. Nor is there
any dissipation in the ranks, for it can be
truthfuily said that Griffith has an ideal
behaved lot of players, but the fact re
mains that the team never plays up 10 IT'S
standard at home. Not only has the hit
ting fallen off to virtually nothing: nut
barring the games which Walter johnson
has worked in, the pitching has been Ia
mentally weak The apparent iistiess-
ness which the players display is the d.
rect result of the batting slump, for when
a team is not hitting 1t seldom plays up
to its standard in any other respect.
Yesterdays defeat dropped the Ma
tionals into fourth place. Chicago. which
will be here for four days. managed to
take third place away from them, ana
the Sox are pretty sure to strensLnen
their hold on that position during their
stay here unless there is great improve
ment in the Nationals playing.
The most interesting series of the pres
ent season starts at Philadelphia today
when Cleveland opens a four-game series
there This is by far the most important
series that has been played this year, Tor
1t should give some idea whether the Attn
letics are to make runaway race OF IL,
or are to have a real contender in the
Maps. Cleveland did not show as we'll
In Boston as they did previous to going
there. and Philadelphia suffered the
first defeat after winning fifteen con-
secutive games.
On his showing here Dauss, the young
pitcher of the Tigers. is one of the finds
of the season. The youngster won TWO
of the four games his team played mere,
and he was absolutely master of the sit
uation on both occasions. 1t may be that
Dauss was benefited by the fact that ne
was up against team which is not mt
ting balloons. but there Is no setting
away from the fact that in the games
here he appeared to nave lou OF aoin's =
What is true of Dauss is also true OF
House, who finished the game which
Johnson won from the Tigers In 1act,
Jennings seems to have picked up some
likely looking pitchers. though or course
it will be best to judge them after they
have faced ball teams which can hit.
Dan Moeller's batting slump IS the
worst he has ever encountered since ne
became a member OF the team: Ever
since the team returned from us HiSt
trip Moeller has ceased TO connec. VIII
the bah with any degree or certainty.
There is no doubt about his ability as a
ball player when he is going rlsht ana
it might be a wise move to give MIN a
few days rest on the bench until ne re-
covers his stride
Eddie Foster expects to be in the line
up next Monday. He is gradually gettlng
himself in good condition again ana Is
showing it in his practice stunts every
morning and in the practice previous 10
the game.
The most realistic reproduction of a
ball game Is shown by the Jackson board,
which will reproduce the Cleveland
Washington game at the National Thea
ter Sunday. This board has been CIV
ing demonstrations here for the past few
days and is undoubtedly the most per-
feet piece of mechanism of the kind ever
produced. A ball game is reproduced in
such manner as to leave nothing to the
imagination.
Joe Engel was given the worst drubbing
of his career yesterday in the second in
ming, when Detroit scored seven runs off