Evening star., 1915-11-14

tage in right field, and might improve
l in his fielding when worked In the gar
dens regularly.
With Fournier in the lineup. in addi-
| ton to a hard-hitting second baseman
this winter. much strength will be add
| ed and there will be good chance Tor
| the Griffmen improving their position
| in the race. It is certain that these
acquisitions also would stimulate IN
terest in the Nationals. For some un-
accountable reason there has been
| lack Of real interest In the team here,
though 1t has proved itself the most
capable aggregation that ever repre-
sented Washington in major league.
| Griffith realizes that his team has been
| slowly deteriorating and that he must
rebuild his forces II he expects to be
| real contender in the next campaign.
Wonderful strides have been made In
| this direction by the acquisition of
Judge and Jamison, and Dumont also
gives promise of helping the pitching
| staff. but it Is not to be expected that
| this trio alone can fll the gaps which
! exist. and it Is essential that Griffith
| obtain the players he has In mind to
complete regeneration OF his team.
If Griff1th decides to carry utility
outfielder, 1t will in all probability be
| this position. Moeller is too good a
ball player to turn loose. and yet he is
not consistent enough to play regularly
But with plenty of rest and used only now
and then Moeller is apt to prove him
self real star. He has lot of speed.
can hit at times, and is one of the best
| fielders Griffith can boast OF.
Shanks. Of course. might be given
consideration. for he Is a really won
weak a hitter to be counted on even
for the infield. Though Howard start
ed the last campaign by showing him
self to have bettered his hitting, he
of .242, which. of course. is much be-
low the standard required of q ball
player-in the outfield.
While last seasons combination of
Shanks at third and Foster at second
was fairly successful, there is room
for Improvement in that arrangement
by shifting Foster back to his position
at third and turning the second-base
job over to the young man Griffith
hopes to obtain this winter.
Just how many more games Johnson
and Gallia, and the other pitchers, for
that matter, would win II the team
were blessed with more batting strength
cannot be calculated. johnson last sea-
son lost six or seven games by 1-to-0
score, any one Of which could have
been won had his teammates been capa-
bic of Just a trifle more hitting. There
is hardly a better pitching STAFF in the
league than Griffith promises to have
next season, yet twirlers on other
teams have had easier sailing because
of the ability of their teammates to hit
and consequently score IN more runs; -,
present winter is going to see a lot of
trades made in both major leagues.
The American League clubs are going
to be more active in this respect than
hAf nd ho haa In IL
of deals in the National League in re-
cent years.
McGraw, of course. will be in the
market. and. while he has perhaps lit
some deals by spending cash. Higgins
of st. Louis made a most profitable deal
q couple of seasons ago with the Pitts
burgh club which allowed him to fin
ish third in the race. He already is
framing up lot of trades and deals
and he is sure to be found in the mar
ket
Griffith will be we'll supplied with
trading material. He has bunch of
players who would be welcomed by
some other teams, but have outlived
their usefulness with the Nationals.
Ball players, even those of mediocre
ability. are scarce. Griffith has several
who have had a few years experience
in fast company. and with a change of
other club.
But what the Nationals need most is a
fence-buster or two-batters who are
apt to clean up any time they face a
pitcher. Such an addition would make
the team pennant prospect beyond a
doubt. OF course there are but few
such players available. but Griffith is in
better position to make an offer of
playing material for them than most
any other manager in the league.
1t is understood that the hard-hitting
Heinie Zimmerman Of the Cubs is on the
market, Bresnahan having tired of fool
ing with the German. There is not a
chance for the National League clubs
waving on mmerman, but he is very
apt to be found with the st. Louis Car
dinals. for whom he would make a most
valuable man Miller Huggins could
handle Zimmerman better than fellow
with Bresnahan's temperament, and the
Cub slugger might be developed into a
real star with that team.
There are some very complimentary
things being said of Ed Charity, the
young catcher who will be with the
Nationals next spring. by the scribes
around the American Association cir
cult. Charity Is given credit for being
one Of the few young catchers who have
nerve enough to take a chance In a
pinch. He won many game for his
team by picking runners of the bases
with a throw at critical stages, and he
undoubtedly is one of the most natural
hitters in the game.
INDIANA IN THE VAN.