Evening star., 1914-08-10
|[LLUCK PURSUES
STAR OF GR|FFMEN
Walter Johnson Is Never Fa-
vored With Many Chances
From Dame Fortune.
NATIONALS GET FEW RUNS
IN CONTESTS HE PITCHES
Attempted Squeeze" at Wrong Time
May Have Prevented Scores Yes
terday-0ther Gossip.
BY j. ED GRILLO.

CHICAGO, August 10.-The luck that
Walter Johnson is playing in would
discourage a less sensible individual.
Regardless of how we'll he performs on
the slab recently it has seemed impos-
sible for him to win ball game. On
but few ccasions this season has his
team given him the offensive support
that pitcher requires to hold up, his
end. and of late games which johnson
should have won easily enough have
been tossed off by ill-advised inside"
tactics.
Whoever suggested the squeeze
play with the bases full in the ninth
inning should never venture to use
his Judgment again With no one out
it was possible to score the winning
run even if a double play had been hit
into on grounder. There was the pos
sibility of base hit, of course, and
long fly would have served the purpose.
But the squeeze play under the circum-
stances was the worst thing that could
have been attempted What is more, the
signal must have been open. for Schalk
deliberately called for a pitch out on
Shanks: he then had an easy time
touching Foster and making a double
play on Mitchell
In the first inning it was not so bad
to attempt squeeze. for one run al
ready had been scored, and had the
squeeze gone through it would have
been proper enough But in the ninth,
with the score tied. the squeeze was
the worst thing that could have been
suggested.
Had the playing field been dry. neither
Gandil nor Morgan would have been
thrown out at the plate by Coombs,
though that young man will undoubtedly
be given credit for having made two re-
markable throws. each of which saved
the game on two different occasions. But
1t rained hard for more than an hour be-
fore time for the game rolled around and
the field was soft and bosgy all day, es-
pecially around third base. Gandil and
Morgan in making their turns for the
plate at third slipped far from their
course, and lost yards of ground. Neither
Schalk after getting the ball yards away
from the plate had time enough to re-
turn there and touch the runners as they
came in.
When Collins singled in the eleventh
with Weaver on second. the latter ran to
third and stopped there. though Mitchell
temporarily fumbled the ball. Weaver
had seen what happened to Gandil and
Morgan and he took no chances He, of
fly which Schalk hit to Moeller.
Mike Mitchell got back into the game
yesterday and he Immediately made his
presence felt His triple in the first in
ming gave the Nationals their only run of
the game, and his safe bunt in the ninth
paved the way for filled lot of bases,
though this state of affairs was not taken
advantage of. At the rate Mitchell is go
ing, it is hardship on the team to have
him on the bench.
Faber. who had been given a good rest,
pitched very creditable game but did
did not deserve to win it. He was hit
but the stupidity of the visitors helped
him out of the several holes he got into
during the closing inning of the game
Eddie Ainsmith. it is understood. is not
to be reinstated until next Thursday,
which will be two full weeks since the
Detroit incident. Eddie is badly needed
right now. for he was hitting at his best
when he was put out of the game.
johnson was hit safely but four times
in ten innings. and two of these blows
came in the first inning and netted run
when Foster failed to handle Schalk's
sharp grounder cleanly. In the eleventh
inning Weaver and Collins hit safely. and
even then Weaver should not have scored.
for the throw Moeller had to make was a
short one.
1t probably will be Doc Ayers in the
final game today, but Doc is much like
Walter Johnson in that he does not get
offensive support from his teammates.
Regardless of the fact that johnson
has lost many games by reason of de-
cidedly hard luck and batting weakness
behind him, he does not seem to be in the
least affected thereby. and comes up
smiling after each defeat. Johnson real
ICES that luck is against him. and he does
not propose to worry about it. 1t is his
teammates who are most affected by his
i'll luck They feel that they are not
doing what they ought to help along
such great pitching.
1t rained continually up to the time
that the game should have been called
3 o'clock-and then the field was
sea of water. But the corps of men
went to work on it. managed to get
the water fairly well off, and then
something like ten barrels of gasoline
were distributed about the skin of the
diamond and ignited This had the
effect OF drying out the top soil. and
by O'Clock the teams were able to
get the field and start the game.
of course, it was soft and soggy un-
derneath, but the game could be
played But for the Yafn the largest