The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-20
FIVE VETERANS TO
 RETURN TO FOLD ON
 THE PITCHING STAFF
Red Smith to Be First
 Catcher-Derrick, Lind
 say and Clarke Sure of Regular Berth In Infeld. MOley Expects Good Team
By JACK RETHEA

DN-sDS%N per-than he has ever been in his nine years as a Southern pilot. The Bar ons heretofore have always had trouble with the pitching staff, the hurlers either were not or there were too few of them. This condition will not pre- vail this year, for Moley has retained his shooters intact. Grimes, Johnson, Black, Perryman and Robertson. again will cavort at Redwood Field and un- less they have a radical reverse in form from that displayed last year will win majority of their games.
 The hurling department this year will be the strongest department of the Baron team and will offer great de- fense, one against which many clubs will break their offensive power Con sider what it means to a club to have five pitchers, anyone of whom is al- ways more liable to win than to lose. Last year Black won F and lost 10 games, Robertson won 22 and lost 13 Grimes won IF and lost IS, Johnson won 19 and lost Is. while Perryman fin 20 starts won seven and lost six
 There is not another staff in the league like it and Moley quite justly has devoted but little attention to strengthening here. He has two recruit pitchers to report, but the way of a
 
 years veterans from his post will be exceedingly hard.
 TWO RECRUIT PITCHERS The Birmingham club secured Pom der from the San Antonio club in the Texas league and will give him trial. Ponder is a big right handler and with a club that finished second won l2 and lost of his games. He struck out ll6 men and gave 43 bases on balls Moley thinks there are possibilities. Tho other recruit pitcher comes from the pennant winning Burlington club of the Central association. His name Is Miller and he, too, is a right handler. His record shows that he won 22 and lost 10, which is no mean leat. The veterans on the staff will be kept hust- ling and 1t looks as if Moley will have good man to jump into fire should any of his veterans go wrong or fail to show last seasons form.
 So much for the pitching staff which 1 Is just 50 per cent of a team s ability to win.s Unless Molesworth has unusually hard luck, and 1t is hard to see how Dame Fortune could be any rougher on him than she was last year, he should be all right in the box
 Behind the bat the situation is not so assured. The first catcher will un- doubtedly be Red Smith, with Nash vile last year, and secured in the deal whereby Roy Ellam went to the Vols as manager. Last year Smith partici- pated in 71 games, batting .24S which is not so bad for catcher and field ing .96S, getting 49 assists. Smith knows the league and under Moles- worth should develop into a reliable worker As hitter in pinches he is more feared than any other man in the league.
 From all reports, Molesworth has un- covered something in the person of Clare, who comes from the Oleon, N. Y, club in the Interstate league. Clare has an iron whip and can shoot 'em to second on line. In "A games he batted 29S, hitting for a total of 73 bases in I'll times at bat. His fielding percentage shows .982 with III putouts and 42 assists. An other catcher who is expected to show is Hauser from the Evansville club in the Central league He bats .258 in 126 games with 106 hits in All times at bat
 He fields .95S with 160 assists, which gives ample testimony of his arm. Tn one of these two Moley should have an excel lent assistant for Smith. Jordan, in the Georgia State league last year. will be given trial. He is a brother of Otto of Atlanta fame. He had a good year. batting 29S and fielding 95S, but it is l doubtful if he is ripe for the Southern as yet.
 DERRICK FOR FIRST BASE Moley had been rather up against it l for first baseman, but the announce ment last week of the purchase of Fred l Derrick from the Portland club of the Pacific Coast league furnished an ideal | solution of the situation there Derrick i is an extremely clever fielder and batted l .250 in 1S3 games. He should whang the ball for at least 300 in the Southern with 1 a 140-game schedule. This leaves Car | roll for other work. Coyle. 1t is said, will not report and it is not probable that | lie would have been retained had he done so. At the keystone Danny Clark, the | youthful wonder of the league last year, l will again appear
 | The shortfield furnished another prob
 lem for Molesworth but this, too, has | been met and overcome Moley has se- | cured O'Raurke and Caton as candidates l for this position. Both are said to be ex- ] cellent men with good arms and heads. | O'Rourke. particularly, is there with the artillery and can peg from his knees | the Wilkesbarre club of the New York | State league. In 116 games he batted .274 1 and made 353 assists and 299 putouts With only 49 errors giving him an average ! of .93O a sweet showing. At third, Bill
 Lindsay comes back It is needless to | say more.
 | The cutfield will probably be where Molesworth will want to do more strengthening than anywhere else. He | has but two reliable men and possibly
 one should anything happen. Coombs will fill left field. while the right and center gardens will lie between Charlie Carroll. Hartle, Singleton and Meusel. l Carroll is certainty. which narrows the 1, field to two. Meusel looks sweet with a swatting score of 327 with the Elmira [ club in the New York State league. He will not bat anything like that in the 1 Southern, but a gardener with an av- | craze of .327 anywhere is worth looking over. Hartle wis given trial here last yeer and did not make good He was sent to Ft. Wayne in the Central league, where he was bear. Hartle batted .29o 1 with fielding average of 964. Single ton. too, shows promise and might have 1 the makings of a gardener in him. He
 comes from the Burlington club in the l Central association with 2s5 and .9S0. AMATEURS TO GET TRYOUT 1 A number of city leaguers will be given ] trials and Bill Schwartz, a first base-
 man who graduated from the lots of Bir- | mingham into professional ball will be