Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-21

feet away from the plate so as to be out
of danger in the event that there should
be a. wild pitch To be hit by one of
Johnson's fast balls is of course not a
pleasant sensation, and the players do not
care to take any chances.
Ut is doubtful If there is another man.
ager in either major league who is held
In SO high esteem by his players as Crit
fifth. The Nationals swear by their
leader simply because he shows no favor
itism. All the players are treated alike
The fact that player is a star does not
exempt him from any of the rules, nor is
he given any more consideration than
some raw recruit. who is here for trial:
Then, too, Griffith has the faculty OF
getting players best efforts. 1t was
because of his ability to do this that his
team was so unexpectedly successful In
the last campaign.
Unusual as it is, there are some mighty
good hitters among the Nationals pitch
ers this year. Walter Johnson and carr
Cashion are among the danger batters
of the team. Tom Hughes must not De
held too lightly, and both Gall1a ana
Boehling are really good hitters Dro-
han, one of the recruits. hits well, ana
when any of these pitchers are in the
lineup an opposing pitcher will find
himself making serious mistakes by p'ir.
posely walking batter to get any OF
those mentioned to face him.
If it were not for the fact that Dan
Moeller is followed in the batting order
by Eddie Foster he would have better
chance to make base-running record.
But Moeller seldom attempts to make
clean steal. He is always playing the
hit-and-run game with Foster, thus leav-
ing an opening for his teammate to hit
through. It was this splendid combina-
ton of inside ball players that proved
SO extensively strong in the last race.
No other two players in the league work
so well together as this pair. They un-
derstand each other perfectly, and when
it comes to placing the ball into a certain
territory which has just been vacated
by an infielder Eddie Foster is absolutely
in class by himself.
The fact that Griffith has no intention
of making any changes in the Nationals
lineup is figured to prove a big adva1-
tage to the team. Having played together
for a whole season, the players under
stand one another perfectly. and the
team work should be much improved as
a result of this experience While Crit
fith's players are not hampered with a
lot of confusing signs, they nevertheless
play as good an inside game as any of
their rivals, but the systems are simple
and are mostly successful because the
players are taught to use their own judg-
ment.
The games between the Regulars and
Colts are well worth seeing. Unlike the
average practice games, there are no dull
moments in these contests and the play
ers put forth their best efforts. These
games are absolutely on their merits now
that Griffith is allowing the pitchers to
use curves and any other deceptive shoot
they may have, and the team which wins
deserves the victory.
or course, the players are enjoying the
games as much as any one, and the prac-
tice they are getting is putting them In
fine condition without their realizing the
amount of work they are doing.
The strenuous part of the work always
comes after the game, when Griffith puts
his players through a half hour of the
hardest kind of fielding. practice. After
playing a full game of ball and then hav-
ing to hustle around the in and out field
for half an hour there is no one able to
whistle a lullaby.
Connolly has been showing some signs
of his real batting ability of late. He is
undoubtedly a splendid hitter, and in this
respect would help most any team. But
as fielder the little fellow does not class
very high on either flies or ground balls,
He is fast on his feet too, and If he ever
learns to field would prove great ball