Evening star., 1917-03-30
BY DENMAN THOMPSON.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


day should mean something In Maurice
Crafts life. This rising young pitcher
molly is six feet two and still grow
lingo is to be sent seven innings against
a real major league team. ana upon
what he shows will depend to some ex-
tent what disposition will be made of
him this season. He should be primed
for the test as he has not been IN the
box since last Saturday, when he heid
Memphis runIess for three innings II
Griffith goes through with his an
announced plans he will start Waiter
johnson against Cincinnati and yank
him at the end of the second round,
leaving Craft to finish the contest.
Craft has the stamina and is cool for
a person of his years, but whether he
can get the ball over and still fool
the enemy remains to be seen
Shortly after breakfast this morning
Manager Griffith called his players to-
Eether for an executive session. at
" hich II was impressed upon them
that they would have to show more life
and dash on the diamond. The Reds
outhustled them yesterday. and as a
result showed to much better adVan-
tage than in the initial clash between
men have become liStlesS in the last
few days, and it is his intention to
wake them up. Signs were gone over
at the meeting and young Craft given
an carful about what to serve up TO
the various members of Mathew son S
crew.
Following the game today the play
e1s of both teams viii hustle back to
the hotel for their togs and proceed
Immediately to the station to get the
train for Cincinnati 1t is due to ieaNe
lat 5:45 o'clock, but arrangements have
been made to have 1t held for fifteen
minutes if necessary.
Sam Rice shows great aptitude Is a
first base pupil. but will have TO go
to school a long time yet before ne
can graduate. Having attended gram :
mar school as a pitcher and high schooi
as an outuelder. Sam has entered
college a the initial sack, which means
he has taken mp so many SuhJectS ne
cannot afford to cut any classes AS
n box artist sam was trained to throw
one way, as a fly chaser anotheri ana
now a vet different manner of pegginS
must be mastered. He is progressing
well in this but is way back in the
chapter on tieIding ground balls and
low throws and has not even opened
the book on tagging runners. II
cannot he said that sam is good or
had on putting the ball on a foemah
SCanDPrlng pack TO MS HdSf9oNn' do ~
has not tried it yet. However. sam
could not he expected to PICK up an
the fine points of first sacklng IN flVc
games and besides few of them look
any too good compared with Hal
Chase.
Aiusmith and Leonard participated IN
A somewhat unusual double play IN the
sixth inning yesterday After ron,
Griffith had been hit by pltched pan
he took third on kopfs single. SIGoo i;,, .
hopped one down the third base line
to leonard who got it back to the
Mate wards ahead of Griffith. Ainsmith
chased Griffith back toward thlrd'
where Leonard took his snort loss
tagged Griffith and then took high
dive and caught Kopf sliding into third
This spectacular play was roundly ap,
nlauded by the 800 odd fans who hfaNed
the chilly winds to witness the contest
NcKetchpin's hit in the second, W which
contributed to the Reds third run. was
an ordinary fly that Shanks would have
gobbled with ease had he not lost II IN
the sun Howard mentioned inns lact
when he returned to the hench. out
Griffith also told him something. ana 1t
;s safe TO predict that Howard Will have
his sunelasses with him this afternoon
If Grifith's players fail to hit well this
season it will not be through lack OF
xeapons The result of the visit to the
bat factory here yesterday was an Or
der for some three dozen sticks of va
rious shapes and weights. including two
"nolice billies" for Eddie Foster. John
son. Milan. Rice, Mcbride and Shanks
were among those who ordered clubs
made of Majagua wood, grown in Cuba
"Homesfck Heinie" Groh, who jumped
the Reds in Paducah. Ky, Wednesday y
TO nav a visit to his fireside in Cincin-
natl, reioined the team here yesterday
and appeared at second base. but his
mind did not seem to be on the game
Shean in the sixth inning.
T-poo receipt of a request from Presi-
and he was lifted in favor of Dave
dent Fairweather OF the Des Moines
club to send Ed Flaherty to Iowa. Grif-
fifth yesterday telegraphed to Man
ager' Ray Morgan of the 1anlgans al
Rocky Mount. y. G.. to send Flaherty
right on to Washington. where trans
portation west awaits him.
Another communication of interest was
a cablegram from Merito Acosta, in
cuba. requesting that ticket be sent
to get him to Washington. GriH i'm
mediately took steps to bring Baldo-
nero to the states but what he will dc
with him then is question. The Wash
ington pilot has no intention of carry
ing him and Cantilion does not want
him, having obtained Horace Milan
Griffith says he anticipates having nc
trouble in placing the little outfielder
however
By sneaking runs over in driblets
one to an inning, Cincinnati obtained
revenge for the defeat il suffered at the
hands of Washington in Memphis. The
score was 5 to 4. but with errors omit
ted it would have been ( to ! Wash
ington's way. as C;riiiith's earnest ath
Ietes were entitled to the markers cred
tied to them, while the enemy earned
only one run and it was tainted.
Jim Shaw labored for the first five
innings in which he allowed but three
scattered hits although two runs were
registered during his regime. George
pumont then took up the going, yield
! ing five hits in the three and one-thlrt
rounds he ofiiciated-
| Washington got the jump on Matty
| men by taIlying thrice in the curtain
raiser thanks to Elmer Smiths trust1
mace With Leonard disposed of, Eos
| ter was safe on kopfS error. Eddie
| raced to third on Milan's single TO cen
| ter but was run down between hom'
| and third when Groh whipped Rice:
| Offering to Catcher Huhn. Smith the1
| laced one of Schneider's choicest hook!
| over the right-field fence, Milan ant
Rice trotting home ahead of him.
ShaW's single in the second wa!