Evening star., 1918-03-31

Furthermore. Rice is in. splendid
physical shape. Before coming to Au-
gusta he spent two weeks boiling
OUT at Hot Springs, Ark. is as hard as
would remain so until such time as
he would be required to start his Army
work.
Just when disposition of Rice's case
will be made is q question. The player
may get a ruling from his exemption
board tomorrow, but. this is unlikely,
as he has not actually been summoned,
and will not be before the four days
from April 5 to April 8. He is in no
way connected with the call Tor the
which is expected to be made some
time within the next two or three
months. The district in which Rice
lives has not yet sent its full quota
the various cantonments. There re-
main 14s men to go from his home
and the vicinity Of it. and Rice stands
11sth in the order Of liability Of the
Rice undoubtedly will be notified in
plenty Of time to report for the open
ing game of the season, April Is. and,
while he would be at a little disad-
vantage in facing Thoroughly prepared
pitchers by reason of the interruption
in his training. 1t would require only
a couple Of weeks for him to attain
the same relative degree Of proficiency
in batting as the men who have con-
tinued to play the game every day.
Prospects for the Nationals finishing
at least as high as third in the league
race II able to present their strongest
front throughout the season could be
speed. strong defense. good pitching
and dangerous. though by no means
heavy. hitting power. The club in the
matter of balance would not be ex-
lad hx,n nth ir,f fIa Yno
cept possibly the White Sox. Comiskey's
champions have escaped almost un-
scathed in the draft. while every other
club in the league has been hard hit.
the coming season. it will be stronger
by far than that which represented
Washington in 1917. the addition OF
Lavan at short and Bert Shotton In
in admirable style. On the other hand.
neither Cleveland nor Detroit, which
finished ahead of the Nationals last
year, will be as strong this season.
hard blow for the Indians, and If. as
reported. Ray Chapman. one Of the
best shortstops in the business. a 300
hitter and the leagues leading base
runner. also goes, the Sixth city outfit
will be lucky to finish in the first di-
vision. much less third place.
The loss of Howard Ehmke alone. is
enough To spell disaster Tor the Tigers.
What Jennings has needed for cham
pfonship outfit for years has been a
capable pitching staff. and. with the
youthful right-hander who rapidly was
forging to the front as a star mounds
man now in the Navy. only the de-
velopment of couple Of real phenoms
at Waxahachie. Tex. will save De-
troit from slipping in the matter of
percentage. for games won and lost
this season, despite its powerful at
tack.
The Boston Red Sox. which last sea-
son gave Chicago q good run for its
money end finished in the runner-up
position. has lost more stars due to
the war than any club in the league,
but it also has acquired greater num-
Der of them by sales and trades. and
for this reason. and the fact that an
excellent pitching staff remains. de-
spite the loss of Shore and some lesser
lights. Harry Fraxee's club again fig-
ures to furnish the most contention
for the White Sox. Manager Barrow
now has some problems to solve In ar
ranging his infeld. however, .and, il
Johnny Evers 10 unable to stand the
gaR at second base. tinkering with
First Baseman McTnnis and Catcher