Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-16
GRIFFITH WILL GIVE
CASHION REAL TEST
Means to Find Out Just How
Much He May Expect
From the Big Fellow.
BY J. ED GRILLO.

nOuncement brought smile TO the Old
Fox's face. To be prevented from play
Ing games at this time is greatly to his
liking. for the very good reason that his
team is not intact and that he hopes to
| be in better fettle later in the season.
The extent of the handicap which the
team is shouldering by reason Of the alb
| sence of Foster and Gandil is best rea
lized when one sees the team in action.
1t is really remarkable that it has made
as good showing on this present trip,
| on which 1t has won majority of its
games. If the team had been intact
| there is no doubt that it would now be
I leading the procession ana have some
| thing to spare.
| Griffith is plainly anxious to be sue
cessful during the remainder of the west
ern trip for he wants to be fortified when
/ the long series with the Athletics rolls
around. in which seven games will be
played To get good break in these
games would mean much to the Nation
ais. but to have the Athletics take a
majority of the games might put the
Washington team out of the running so
far as the pennant is concerned.
There is but one hope for the Nationals,
| and that is that Carl Cashion will buckle
down and do good work. If he cannot
I deliver the eoods the teams chances are
-,
| with only two reliable pitchers-Johnson
and Groom-which is not enough to carry
| team through hard campaign. The
next time Cashion pitches he will finish
the game, regardless of what the result
may be- This will be done every time
| he goes on the rubber until it is abso-
| lutely proved that he lacks the ability
to make good in this company.
I am going to find out just what is
in Cashion, and l am going to do it
right away, said Griffith this morning
There is nothing to be gained by wait
ing with him any longer. If he can make
| good We are all right, but if he is a fail
ure we might as well know it now as
| later on. My personal opinion is that
the big fellow will make good pitcher,
but he will only do so if he gets plenty
of work, and he shall have it,"
One of these days. and 1t may be very
soon, Griffith is going to give Nick AL
| trock a chance to pitch a game. There
| Is a chance for the veteran regaining his
| cunning. for his arm is stronger now
| than 1t has been in years, and he Is
confident that he can make good. There
| have been other instances where pitchers
who were thought to be all through have
| come back, and Altrock, with his knowl-
edge of the art is sure to stand good
chance. Falkenberg of Cleveland for in
| stance, was supposed to be buried In the
minors for the remainder OF his career,
| and yet he has come back and won every
| spring. and gives promise of being that
| teams most successful twirler One ad-
| vantage that Altrock would have Is that
! he knows how to pitch and has perfect
| control. All there is to the average
pitcher is that he has something with
| which he fools the batter and that
| something is not always natural ability,
but knowledge of how to pitch.
That Walter Johnson is the best draw
| ing card in base ball today has been
L
| that he has been advertised as working
!. the crowds have increased enormously.
In Chicago last Saturday, for instance. |
was told that crowd of probably 700
has been considered remarkable. and yet
johnson drew 5000. who sat through the
| chilly hours watching his marvellous
pitching. What was true of Chicago was
also true of ST. Louis. The crowd on the
/ final day when johnson worked was be-
tween 5000 and 5000 while on the
previous days it was hardly over 3.cOO
Johnson is the talk of the base ball
world. Every city the team goes to
| finds people anxious to see him. and
there are innumerable inquiries by tele-
phone and letter requesting to know the
day that Johnson will pitch.
There Is no doubt that johnson as an
individual draws many times more than
| his salary calls for. He is one of the
! few players who even II he were on
losing team would still draw people into
the ball parks to see him perform.
/ The few innings that Gandil played in
the final game at ST. Louis didn't help
| his sore too much. 1t was swollen again
yesterday morning, but mended during
the day. and he expects to ne able to play
regularly from this out.
!! Shanks is the most improved base run
ner on the team. He has learned the
art of pilfering, and must now be num-
bered among the cleverest of base run
~ t.{y. h. Il ,1ro
the delayed steal no less than five times,
while on several other occasions he has
drawn throws from the catcher when on
second and has easily reached third
Shanks is not particularly fast of foot,
but he gets the lead and takes Advantage
of the opposing teams shortcomings. II
he would just learn to hit more con-
sistently he would be a really wonderful
outfieIder.
When it comes to having patience Crit
fifth is well supplied. Though none of his
young pitchers, barring Engel. perhaps,
has made good. he still believes that
they will be of help to the team in time.
Gallia, for instance. has become the abso~
lutte property of the Washington club.
The amount still due the Kansas City
club has been settled, and Gallia now be-
longs to Washington Griffith figures
that the day will come when Gallia will
make his mark. He insists that he has
enough stuff to make pitcher and that
all he needs is the necessary experience.
| which Griffith says he will he gets.
Nor has he given up all hope of Boehling,
laying his failure to the fact that he
doesn't know Low to use what he has.
Ray Morgan has developed into one of
the best second baseman in the league.
Barring Collins of the Athletics, 1t Is
questionable If any of the other teams
have as valuable player in that posi-
ton Not only has he learned to field
satisfactorily. but there is hardly more
| dangerous hitter in the lineup than the
Baltimore boy, and the fact that he is
i constantly improving is particularly en-
couraging.
If it is possible for Griffith to SO manip-
ulate his pitching staff he will have john
SON on the mound Friday. May %. when
the Nationals will play the Athletics in
Washington. He is anxious to get good
start in this series and figures that John
son Is almost certain to gain a victory
over tho Ma"f. mon VIII n he 7 a. q I'd