Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-04
AYERS IS ONE Of
GR|F!F'S BEST MEN
Is Fast Proving Himself the
Most Consistent Pitcher
on the Staff.
NATIONALS ARE AFTER
FELCH OF MIL WAUKEE
He Is Said to Be Cleverest Outfelder
in the Minor Leagues.
Other Gossip.
BY J. ED GRILLo.


sistent twirler on Griffith's pitching staff
He always gives good account of him
self. regardless of what the conditions
under which he breaks into the game NAV
be. and he has shown so We'll that his
dence in him. Just how many games
Ayeres has saved by relieving some
other twirler who found himself falterins
number. beyond doubt.
The most encouraging feature of Ayers
work is that he is equally effective
against all teams. 1t matters not which
club he is asked to face. he can usually
De relied upon to hold it well in check.
Furthermore. he seems to improve as the
season progresses. and yesterday he add
ed to his brilliant performances by stop
ping the Maps when they seemed to
have solved the shoots of Engel in the
nth. Had Ayers had his Just dues he
would not have been scored on in this
round, but an unfortunate error on what
mlght have been double play allowed
couple of runs to come home after he
had relieved Engel who had stationed
the men on the bags
Johnny Blair's future is in doubt so
1ar as the Nationals are concerned Jack
ternatioEal League team. has filed com
plant with the national commission for
Blair. claiming that the youngster viz
tually accepted terms with him before he
ever signed with Griffith. Griffith and
the player were notified to this effect
yesterday, and the two got together and
wrote a defense, which has been for
warded to the base ball tribunal for con-
sideration. There is no way to predict
the outcome of the tangle. for it is not
" a of e1a
have. Blair was obtained a few weeks
ago from the Martinsburg. w. Va. club.
and gives indications of developing into
handy outfielder.
Schaefer was charged with a couple
of errors principally due to the fact that
he has been out of the game so long that
he will have to go through course of
training and practice to fit himself for
such emergencies as may force him to get
into the Lineup. 1t is not to be expected
that player out of harness nearly all
the season can jump into a position and
fill it satisfactorily. At the bat Schaefer
was all right. He got one hit. and twice
thereafter reached first on errors. Wally
Smith took his place at second, and while
his fielding chances consisted of but one
put-out, he got hit the only time up.
1t Is the intention to pitch Joe Boehling
In the third game of the series today.
here did not suit Manager Griffith by any
means. and he proposes to have another
look at the southpaW against the Maps
TO-DAY, 1t is more than likely that Morton
will do the twirling for the Maps. while
it is the general impression that Walter
johnson will pitch the final game mere
Wednesday.
Wednesday night the team. barring
few pitchers who will be sent on to
Chicago will leave for Decatur H..
where an exhibition game is to be PLAYED
Thursday. The game will be called
about 80 in the afternoon, so that the
players can get an early train for Chi
cago. where double-header is slated to
be played Friday.
Mike Mitchell added three hits to his
total yesterday. thus continuing the re-
markable stickwork which has char
acterized his play since he Joined the
team. Mitchell has played ten games
of ball for the Nationals, during which
time he has made sixteen hits and is
charged with forty times at bat. giving
him a batting average OF exactiE .fup'
which, no doubt. makes him the leader
of the league. Nor does ms patuns ap-
pear to be a flash in the pan. He has
been successful against both right and
left handlers. and it must be said to his
credit that he Is hitting hard. There
are those who argue that Mike will
find it a more difficult matter to get base
hits after he makes his first trip around
the circuit, it being claimed that he
pitchers will be wise to him. and make
his work with the bat more strenuous
But Mitchell has always been a hitter
above the ordinary during his entire
career in the big leagues, and. while he
slumped with Pittsburgh, this probably
was caused by the fact that the entire
OH
is doing the best hitting on Griffith's
team, and he is playing up-to-date, fast
ball in the field. too.
An effort is to be made to obtain the
services of Outfelder Fetch of the Mil
waukee Association team, who is regard
ed as the best outfielder in that league,
and is credited with having made better
showing to date than Chappell did last
year with the same club. Scout Mike
Kahoe left for Milwaukee yesterday to
look Fetch over and. incidentally. to
make deal for him If possible. 1t was
reported some few weeks ago that the
White Sox had line on Felch. and that
Bodie and several other of Comiskey's
players were to be sent there in eX-
change. but Griffith seems to have the
assurance that that deal has fallen
through. and he has sent kahoe to the
Brewery city to see how matters stand
and what chance there is for the Ma
tionals to get Fetch. who is said to be
one of the most natural hltterS to break
into fast company this year.
ANY infielder making errors on the local
field should be excused. For some I'M
accountable reason the infield is not being
rolled these days. but is only dragged.
leaving the surface rough, so that ball
is apt to bound in most any direction. 1t
Is merely case of guess work for the
inielders here, and this. no doubt &C
counts for many OF the errors.
1t develops that Larry Lajoie has no
true that the local club asked for waivers
on the great veteran, this was done to
find out If any Of the other clubs wanted
Larry. They all turn him down for the
very good reason that his contract, which
still has two years to run, calls for 5000
per year. which is too much money to be
paying a player who is going back But
this fact does not mean that Lajoie is in
danger of being released outright and
Internationally, for he Is said to have
an iron-clad contract which has two more
years to run and is worth exactly $4,000.
so Larry is not worrying. He works out
with the Maps every day and holds him
self in readiness for anything that may
be suggested in the way of filing any
position.
In the fourth inning yesterday, when
jackson had been given a life on an err
ror. Chapman hit a terrific liner at Fos-
ter on the hit-and-run play, which Fos-
ter caught and instantly threw to first.
Jackson was full ten feet from the bag
when Gandil caught the ball, but much
to the amusement of the players and