Evening star., 1917-03-05
BY DENMAN THOMPSON.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
AUGUSTA. Ga, March 5.-The fair
weather Capt" Mike Martin has been
so earnestly wishing for arrived today,
the players of the Washington club
awaking this morning to find the sun
streaming into their rooms. Accom-
panying the clear skies. however, was
young gale, and the cold wave pre-
dicted by the weather bureau saved
the forecaster's reputation by showing
up on time. When the boys sat down
to breakfast the mercury in ther-
mometers outside the hotel was hover
ing around the freezing mark, and all
hands donned overcoats for the trip to
the ball park at o'clock. Some of the
athletes braved the chill winds and
'hoofed' it to the field, but a majority
of the players boarded a street car.
There was a thin coating of ice on the
puddles around the edge of the park.
A blazing fire in the stove in the CEN
ter of the dressing room made the club
house comfortable and the athletes
were in no great hurry to leave it's
cheering warmth for the windswept
playing field. Before the men got out
on the field Capt. Martin called an ex-
I'ecutive session and read the riot act
to the boys. Some of the younger men,
hers of the squad were skylarking
around the hotel last evening and this
morning. After breakfast a number of
them tried some "close harmony" in
the parlor at an hour when many
guests of the establishment had not yet
arisen. All promised to be good in the
future and Mike sent them hustling out
onto the field to put them through their
PAGES.
The condition of the diamond gave
evidence that it can stand lot Of
punishment Aided by the wind and
sun. it already had begun to dry out
and by this afternoon was in more than
fair shape. considering the heavy rain
of yesterday. Not SO much could be
said for portions of the outfieId, how
ever. the garden in left resembling a
miniature swamp with the water stand
ing ankle deep.
Martin shooed the boys to the ex-
treme limits of the outfieId in right
and center in order to give them the
advantage of the protection from the
Chariottesvflle breezes'' afforded by
theN fence. All wore their sweaters
and after tossing the ball about for
hfteen minutes some intensive work in
the shape of fielding bunts was in
dulged in. following which the ath-
letes took the customary jog around the
park before going to the showers.
Two large holes on the fringe of
the infeld. left there after the dia-
mond had been raised, before the squad
arrived, still were unattended to today
custodian of the turf to have them filed
instanter, being fearful some of the
boys might turn their ankles as a re-
suit of running into them. The play
ers did but little work on the dia-
mond this morning, for fear of
cutting it up in its soggy condition.
1t is in need of a good ironing, and
Martin is going to endeavor to borrow
the city's steam roller for the job, the
one-man-powe contrivance at the
park being too light properly to do
the work.
George Mcbride arrived in camp last
night, ruddy-cheeked and down to
playing weight. He came here from
Hot Springs, Ark, where he spent two
weeks taking the baths. George SAYS
the weather there has been bad, the
Brooklyn Nationals not being able to
get in a single workout up to tn time
he left Saturday. According to Mac the
biggest crowd in the history of the
resort now is at Hot Springs, many
of them attracted by the racing, which
is scheduled to open Wednesday. The
train he came on encountered heavy
snowstorm at Memphis Sunday and he
said he was not surprised to find the
weather cold here. Mac did not get into
uniform this morning. but was out
cavorting on the field with the players
in the afternoon.
Sunday was an exceedingly quiet day