Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-26
national PITCHERS
GO SOUTH MARCH |.
Corps of Nine TWirIers to Get
Early Start in Practice at
Charlottesville, Va.
NEW YORK NOT EXPECTED
TO BUY MORLEY JENNINGS
Joe Villa Predicts Bitter Disappoint-
ment for Joe Tinker and
the Cubs.
BY J. ED GRILLO.

In a little more than a month the
Nationals pitchers, excepting Walter
Johnson, will start for Charlottesville
to begin their training. To be accu-
rate. Manager Griffith intends to send
his twirlers to the training camp
Wednesday, March l. There will be
nine pitchers in the party, Walter
johnson going to Hot Springs, Ark,
with Milan, about the first of March.
The pitchers who are slated to go to
Charlottesville will be Ayers, Dumont,
Shaw, Harper, Bentley, Rice, Hum
phries. Boehling and Gallia. 1t is like
ly that both Williams and big Ed Char
rity will accompany the twirlers and
do the backstopping in their workouts.
In the event that the weather should
not be of the best it will be possible
for the pitchers to work out in the
gymnasium, which has been done every
year.
About two weeks later the regulars
will report at the camp. and then the
real work will begin. 1t is the inten-
ton to remain there about two weeks.
and then come home and put on the
finishing touches in playing the three
National League clubs-Boston, Brook
Ign and Philadelphia-here. There will
also be some games with local college
eeamS.
Griffith does not expect to hear any
thing more from the New York club re-
garding it's wanting to buy Morley Jen-
nings, now that the Donovan team is
under the impression that it has Gedeon
to rely on. Jennings will be asked to
report here, Griffith being particularly
anxious to get a look at the youngster
during the practice period.
Jennings, however, has asked to be
allowed to remain at some southern
college, where he is physical director,
until late in April, but this permission
has not been given him, and Griffith
has told him that he was standing in
his own light by not reporting here as
early as possible, but Jennings has
never made a reply to that letter He
is expected to report in time, however.
Tommy Connolly of Georgetown fame
is pretty sure to be taken south with
the Nationals. While there has been
nothing brilliant in Connolly's show
ing, Griffith wants to look him over
once more before he disposes of him
becoming a good infielder with little
more experience, and he is very apt to
make a good hitter out of himself if
he works hard during the training sea-
son.
In his statement to Ban johnson Crit
fifth has produced so much convincing
evidence to show that Joe Gedeon has
signed an option to play with the Ma
tionals in 1916. for which he was paid
$500. that Griffith does not see a chance
for losing the player, despite the fact
that the New York club insists that it
has a clean claim on him.
Griffith expects to hear favorably
from Johnson within the next few days,
will ask the directors of the Washing
ton club to bring civil suit in the form
of an injunction against any club try
ing to play Gedeon.
In their frenzy to buy alleged star
or inflated franchises some of the mag
mates evidently believe that only two
clubs can win major league pennants
next fall, together with the right to
take part in the world series, says Joe
Villa in the Evening Sun.
Fourteen clubs must be disappointed,
and eight of them can't escape the
second division. Base ball is so uncer-
tain that clubs picked to win pennants
often drop to the rear because of acci-
dents or trouble in the ranks. Take the
Cubs. for example. Weeghman. the Chi
cred 100000 iron men to Taft and
Murphy. Weeghman feels sure that
the Cubs. managed by Joe Tinker. his
bosom friend, will win the National
League pennant. But outside of
Weeghman's set in Chicago. this belief
continue. too. as long as Tinker re-
mains fixed in the determination to play
Yerkes at second and Dolan at short;
at the same time depending on Minor
Brown and Reulbach to pitch in old
time form Yerkes, Doolan, Brown
and Reulbach were through in the
majors two years ago. If the Cubs,
therefore, do not finish on top. Weegh-
man, it is predicted. will find that being
major league owner isn't a soft thing
after all.