Evening star., 1915-03-15
BY j. ED GRuLO.

/ utility purposes. hu; it would not be
/ at all surprising If in due time he dis
! posed of every one of the new out
/ fielders. despite the fact that many
| mplimentary things have been writ
! ten of these athletes.
| Selecting playing material is a cold
blooded proposition for any manager,
| and Griffith has his own ideas as to
| the sort Of ball players he wants to
, work for him. While he says that sew
eral of the young outf1elders have
| shown satisfactorily to date. he will
not pass on them until later on, after
! he has seen them face some hlgh-class
, pitching. When Boehling and Johnson
i! get on edge and give the batters every
thing they have, then Griffith VIII pass
! Judgment on the youngsters ihcy
have not only got to show dfSposi-
! tion to look good even when facing
(; stars, but display nerve and aggres-
| siyeness. or they will not be retained
No player can work under Grliiith y
who has nothing to recommend him but
| a good batting average. There must
| be intelligence. speed. fielding and
/ throwing ability, combined with the
! batting p-oclivities, before Gr1fhth
/. will invite them to his roster, ana II Is
! this very fact that makes the iuture
| of some OF his young men look du-
! bious.
! So far as Rondeau is concerned there
/, has not been {; chance to get any sort
| Of reliable line on what he amounts
/ to since he has been here He appears
F.! to stand up well at the plate. but has
| made but one hit in the practice games
| This, of course, cannot oe taken as d
correct criterion of his ability as bat
| ter for he may not hit up to his standa rd
/: until the pitching is done along mid
season lines. But Rondeau has shown
no aggressiveness. His legs have both
cred him and he has not been able to
show speed And. all in all, Griffith is
no wiser as to what sort OF player Joe
cantillon turned over to him than he
was before he reported
| But in time he should come 10 some
! conclusion. Within the next three weeks
he ought to know whether Rondeau can
improve the Nationals outiield. Massey
is likely looking, but after all, when YOU
sec the three men who have held those
positions down for the past three years,
it becomes plain that it will take more
than the acquisition Of some ordinary
ball player TO take any of their places
Though it was believed that Manager
Griffith would allow Walter johnson to
pitch In batting practice after the season
gets under way, 1t seems he mas no III
tention of doing SO. Griffith argues tllat
inasmuch as Johnson has cohtroi ana d
good strong arm, he is not benchted by
pitching any more than he has to by
| taking his regular turn on the rubber
| and keeping himself ready for emer-
Scncies.
III walter pitches to the batters on
! DAYS he is not slated to pitch. it will
! lust near that We cannot call on him iii
! tho event of an emergency during the
/ closing innings OF the game, Said Grit
! filth. II want to have him ready eFcrS
day that he is not working for himself.
so that If anything goes wrong with
pitcher he can step in and hold the op-
| position and win game do not IN
| tend to overwork Walter this year any
| moro than I have in TIE past. The only
time I would ever push him would be If
the pennant we're in sight, and 1t would
| be to his and all the other players in
tcres:s to win few games in a ro" But
pitcher of such ability as johnson
must be nursed along If the club which
employs him expects to retain his best
services for a number of years. Walter
pitches a. lot Of games every year, but
| work him with plenty Of rest between
! games, 50 that the strain does not affect
| him
; All thugs considered, the Nationals
| have Jared better here than have many OF
the teams which have gone to the eN-
trcnlc south to do their training. The
! latter were interrupted by the weather
OH several occasions last week, while the
| G;rinmen did not miss a working day
| The prospects here are very good right
/
! and if il does not rain for, say, three
! days. the players will not get a setbach
| If they have to stay indoors for a day
After ball players reach a certain stage
| OF their preparation d rest now anC
! then does a lot of good. The Off da,
! yesterday, for instance, is expected tt
! instill new life and energy in the mer
! during today's practice and games
! Eddie Ainsn,tl, has been one of the
fastest runners in base ball ever sine.
he broke into the game. This spring tn,
big catcher appears to have more speed
| than ever before and it is picture tt
see him circling the bases at top speed
| Manager Griffith. who has had man.
years experience in base ball and ha.
seen all the players of renown during tn,
last two decades or more, Is of the opin
ion that Ainsmith can score from secont
base on a base hit in faster time than an,
player that ever lived, and the game ha
had and has today some very fast men,
There is no question that good run
ners often put themselves out of II b,
| working too strenuously in running be
fore their limbs are properly trained
Griffith has put the ban on any Of hi
speeders doing lot of running
lowed to cut loose for some little tim
yet. He wants them to jog along for
| couple of weeks. and then when the
are in good shape he will let them Gu
|
Charley-horses and other af1ictions q
the muscles of the limbs are the resul
of overindulgence In running befor
the limbs have been properly hardened
| Griffith argues.
Cigarette smokers are to be absolute
ly barred from the Nationals Will
Manager Griffith is in charge. He be
lieves the cigarette is the cause o
players downfall. and he has gone g
far as to instruct his scouts not t
make any effort to obtain those VIII
smoke cigarettes.
It don't want any cigarette f1ends OF
nv ball club said Grifhth the othe
day" They have been the ruina
tion of many a great player. and
for one am against an athlete VIII
smokes them. have told my scout
that when looking over a player TIL
coming season they shall first of al
determine whether he smokes cigar
cites, and if he does 7 want them II
Cobb
But eleven days more Of training re
main to he done here before the Ma
tionals Hill start FOR Washington tt
finish up their preliminary work
and April Il trip will be made to Gin
cinnati, but with these exceptions thu
Grlnmen will appear at home for some
time before and after the season opens
Strenuous as has been the past weel
down here. the real hard work, ane
1t Is for just two weeks before the
season opens that Griffith believes ii
lpushing his charges to the very limit
BY that time the players can stand tile
strain of haFd work without endanser.
ing their future, and Il Is to make this
| 10 y,,,t