Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-19
TEAM SHOULD Be
READY APRIL "A
Little Reason to Think Nation
ais Will Not Be in Shape
When Season Opens.
COLD WEATHER CAUSES
GAMES TO BE POSTPONED
Players Are Sent Through a Hard
Practice, However-Griff's
Youngsters Cost Little.
BY J. ED GRILLO.


far south, may be further advanced in
the matter OF playing condition than are
the Nationals at present, there is no
reason for believing that Griffith's team
will not lineup April IA fit to do itself
Justice. Considering that the players
have not been able to get as much real
work out of their stay here as was ex-
pected. much has been accomplished. The
team, OF couve, is not yet In its best
playing shape but it is not far from 1t
and in the nsxt three weeks is sure to
show lot OF Improvement.
Being an aggregation made up mostly
of young chaps, the teams training Is
not near as strenuous task as 1T would
be II majority of the players were
veterans. A youngster can do more IN
a week of training than an old hand can
hope to accomplish in a month. 1t Will
be just three weeks from next Tuesday
that the season will open, SO there Is still
plenty Of time for the practice the play
ers need. Furthermore, 1t may prove
beneficial to have the men prepare them
selves slowly. To rush them in the early
weeks Of training might have the eject
of drawing them too fine and would re-
suit in their growing stale soon after the
middle of the campaign is over.
While it is no doubt possible to advance
a lot of arguments showing there Is no
chance for the Nationals to win the PEN
nant the coming season, when the bare
facts are considered the team must be
thought to have an excellent chance.
Based on its showing In 1913, it seems
to be better fortified this year. Besides
the fact that there were absent from
the lineup several of the best players for
long periods last season, the team also
had 70 contend with several batting
slumps of usually reliable hitters. So
far as the pitching staff Is concerned, 1t
is hard to believe that it has been weak
ened. The loss Of Groom should be more
than Offset by the improvement several Of
the youngsters have shown. Johnson and
Boehling made it possible for the Ma
tionals to finish second last season. This
pair Of pitchers Is still with the team,
and 80 far as Boehling is concerned he
ought to be better than he was. while
johnson, of course, can be relied upon to
keep up his high standard. But this pair
is apt to have some very competent as
sistants, which they could not boast of a
year ago.
Two or three of the young pitchers have
shown enough even this early to war
rant the prediction that they will hold
their own. Furthermore. Foster and Nor
gan are entirely different ball players this
spring from what they were last fall.
Shanks and Moeller, too. give promise
of doing more effective work with the
stick than ever before. Any one familiar
with conditions must come to the opinion
that the teams chances this year are
much better than they were last.
The cold snap, which reached here
early yesterday morning. caused quite q
switch In the training plans, in that no
games could be played. 1t was believed
could be pulled off In the afternoon, but
the Thermometer fell during the day and
the cold wind increased in velocity. To
have played games would have been out
OF the question. for there would have
been danger of the players freezing stiff
between innings. but the cold spell did
not prevent the Regulars from putting In
hard days work. For an hour and a
half in the morning Griffith had them
batting and running around the bases,
after which nearly half an hour was put
in at. an outfield practice. This same
program was carried out in the after
noon, SO that no time was really lost.
1t depends entirely upon the weather
as to what will be done today. though
If the field remains dry it Is sure to be
worked on by the squad. If conditions
are such that games can be played the
Vets and Colts will clash III - morning,
while Virginia will very likely be played
in the afternoon.
That Manager Griffith intends to de-
pend to some extent on the hitting pro-
clivities Of johnson, Cashion and Boeh-
ling seems to be indicated by the fact
every batting practice. All three are
natural hitters, and it is believed that
with practice they will improve in this
respect, and thus be able to help their
own games with few timely wallops;
they would also be available to do a little
pinch hitting. Johnson and Cashion have
filed these positions before and, now
that they are being given a chance to
do lot Of batting in practice. they
ought to be more valuable than ever be-
fore. Nothing is more helpful to team
than to have pitchers who are likely to
hit Whenever a weakling with the bat
is performing for u team the bottom of
the batting order Is absolutely of no
help in an offensive way; thus hitting
pitcher would naturally be Of special
value to the Nationals. who, at their
best. cannot be classed as hitting
team
Now that the players have become
more or less hardened by the daily
work, considerable attention is given to
their speed. Milan and Moeller. the
teams two best base-runners, did lot
Of sprinting yesterday, tearing down to
first base at top speed whenever they hit
the ball, and then completing the journey
around the bases at q good clip. Both
displayed good speed in these trips. Ed
die Ainsmith. however, is no doubt the
fastest man on the team when 1t comes
to circling the bases. Griffith contends
that there Is not u player in the Ameri-
can League. Neither Cobb nor any Of the
other fast men barred, who can score on q
base hit from second with the speed of
Ainsmith. 1t is rare to find catcher
who can run. 1t is argued that the
STOPPING position which all catchers take
behind the bat kills their speed but to
date Ainsmith does not seem to have
been affected thereby.
Herman Schwartz, >the big Brooklyn
.toungster. while he is hardly to be con-
ddered for this years pitching staff, is
picked by Griffith to make a great slab
man some day. This boy is scarcely out
Of his teens, but il of immense build, being
six feet three and weighing about 100
pounds. He has a free, strong motion
and lots Of speed, but. Of course, lacks
the experience which all pitchers rely
on. When Schwartz reported here he
had no more idea of how to throw q
curve than he had to fly, yet under the
guidance of Griffith and Altrock, he Is
now bending them, and by the end of
the season ia apt to have command Of q
very deceptive curve ball.
Considering the fact that Griffith pur-
chased and drafted but few of the young
fellows brought down here this spring,
n ia remarkable how many Of them give
promise of making good ball players.
what is most encouraging about the
squad of youngsters Is that none Of them
cost the club a lot Of money. few
were drafted. others we're secured by the