Evening star., 1915-03-09
WEEGF1MAN NEVER RETURNED
ADVANCE MONEY TO JOHNSON
Six Thousand Dollar Check of Federal
League Did Not Travel Back and Forth
Between Coffeyville and Chicago, as
Reported-Other Gossip
line on the ability of the various new

7 line on the ability of the various new
candidates.
If Rippy Williams will not take any
daring chances with his arm until later
in the season he gives promise Of
being good thrower again this sea-
son. His throwing this spring is an
Improvement over anything he has
shown since joining the team. and If
he goes along slowly from now until
he gets his arm in fettle the chances
are he VIII have a better season, as
Tar as throwing is concerned, than he
has enjoyed in some time.
The fraternity house in which the
regular players are staying is in
charge of Dennie Hinton of Washing
ton, who is making things comfortable
for the players.
Griffith has had five tarpaulins shipped
from the Washington ball park to be
used on the local field. Every night
boxes are to be protected against
dew, rain or snow. as the case may be,
and It is figured this will help to
have the team put in more time on the
To look at Eddie Foster when he ar
rived here led to the belief that he was
nnnmhere nn3inds errsias from fifteen to twenty
stepped on the scale, stripped, yester-
day morning he tipped the beam at
1913 pounds-less than he has ever
Telg1ea Tee fea, a. this Eos season Of the year
Nationals he weighed 1852 pounds. He
never has any trouble getting himself
IN shape, however, and he expects to
have an easier time this spring than
ever before.
Clark, the Rockville southpaw, is d
bit too young and inexperienced to be
ng,tred on for this years team. The
.ff,fT
when he fills out and gets his growth
he may nrove to he good pitcher
1t will be remembered that after
n,a king a brilliant start last year
Doc Ayers suffered severe slump
during the closing weeks of the sea-
son: This has been attributed to his
taking on too much weight the latter
spring. and Griffith has given him in
structions to stay in his present con-
dltlon for the remainder of the season.
Doc IS apt to have very good year,
lor ms arm appears to be at it's best
and he is gradually getting himself
into state where he will be able to
do a lot of work.
All of Griffith's pitchers are of good
size. barring Clark. who still is in his
teens: Bentley and Harper have grown
INTO big men. Shaw Is as big as ever,
and Engel numbers with the big
n't"hers of the team. Thormahlen,
though not yet nineteen, is a trjfle
more than six feet. and he is sure to be
hie fellow when he attains his full
growth.
Milan has ambitions to lead the
year. The Linden sprinter is much
lighter this spring than he has been in
some time. and he expects to have all
his old speed. Milan was out of the
running last season. due to the en-
forced idle spell he encountered as the
result of the injury which kept him
out of the game for long while The
year before he led the league with
eighty-eight pliers. and he is ambi-
tious to beat this mark
With eleven pitchers working out
twice a day. Griftith's three catcaers
are getting their share of the practice
Each pitcher works out about twenty
the catchers going steadily for two
hours morning and afternoon. What is
more. when the team pra ctices outdoors
the catchers will have to do a lot of
work behind the bat in addition to al
ternating. at the plate during the vari-
Gus iniield practices. 1t is the catch
ing department which does most Of the
labor during the training season, and
that is why it is essential to have
strong men, something that Griffith is
long on in Henry, Ainsmith and viii
liams.
Griffith plans to give his players all
the batting practice possible just as
soon as conditions get SO that the en-
tire day can be spent on the playing
field
In addition to a couple of hours bat
ting practice, there will be a revival
of playing games both morning and
afternoon, and by that time most of
the pitchers will be able to cut loose,
and batting eyes will have to be alert
if any sort Of hitting is to be done
With the seasons opening still six
weeks away, there is no reason why
the team should not toe the mark In
first-class shape; but it Is annoying to
have plans here interfered with be-
cause Of the inclement weather. which
seems TO have opened up again for d
spell of the real base ball kind. Just
soon as matters can be arranged
Griffith will get up two teams and have
game played every morning, and
later games with the Virginia nine are
to be played the majority of the after
Moons.