Evening star., 1919-03-21
MATTESONu|KELY'
TO Be A REGULAR
With Shaw Out, Nationals
Face Job of Developing
Three Pitchers.
H0vLIK A GOOD PROSPECT
BY DENMAN THOMPSON.

BY DENMAN THOMPSON.
| AUGUSTA, Ga. March 21.-It being
pretty well settled that Jim Shaw
will adhere to his decision to forego
professional base ball. for this year
at least, Clark Griff1th's prospects of
! facing the barrier April % with
| seasoned and we'll balanced pitching
! staff are none too rosy. With the
hefty Pittsburgher eliminated. there
remain only Johnson. Harper and
| Ayers Of the regulars who can be
| counted upon with any degree of GER
tainty, and at least one member of
| that trio, Ayers. judged by his work
last season, properly belongs in the
| doubtful class.
| In order to be fortified against
double headers. accidents and illness
| at least six trustworthy hnrlers
| should be available. which means
that three in addition to those men
! they can be developed from the
| squad now here is problematical.
! OF the lot Ed Matteson, the Dun
| kirk fiddler, undoubtedly has the
call. This veteran, who has seen
service in half a dozen leagues. has
u " lSe neAQ Oh D. eh.tN
while not possessed of natural abil-
! ity In such large measure as some OF
his competitors. knows how to make
good use of what he has. He DEM
onstrated by his work with the Ma
tionals in 1918 that he is to be
performer. his record Of 1.72 earned
runs per game allowed opponents
being exceeded by but two men in
the league, Urban F'aber of the
! White Sox and Walter Johnson, his
teammate. whose recosds were re-
spectively. 1.22 and 1.2S.
OF the fourteen games Matty par
! ticipated in eight went to a decision
that concerned him, and OF these ne
won five and lost three. percentage
Of 625, only fve points below the
mark set by johnson. with his twen-
ty-three won and thirteen lost. and
J far ahead of the other Washington
beavers. Shaw had percentage OF
571: Harper. .524. and Ayers, .439; %;
Matteson has made long uphlii
| fight for recognition in the MAJORS
and that he finally has won 1t is
great tribute to his gameness. There
are mighty few instances Of pitchers
at his ase-he will be thirty-five his
next birthday-battling for a berth
in fast company. Most OF them at
dropped into the bushes. Matteson's
great forte is control-and brains.
In the sixty-eight innings he worked
last summer he issued only nlteen
bases on balls and offset this with
seventeen strike-outs. Despite his old
Matteson is perhaps farther ad.
vanced toward condition than any OF
the other hurlers, and mas nary All
ache or pain.
OF the other aspirants for mound
positions Harry Thompson. the for
mer Toronto southpaw. stands the
best chance of being retained, from
present indications, not solely pc
cause Of his pitching prowess. put Gue
bat and his all-round ability.
Thompson has good speed and curve
ball with q wide break. His small
size may initiate against him in con-
sideration as pitcher, but he should
prove valuab BILE as a pinch hitter. now
that Earl Yingling has quit the game.
and is a fly chaser of ability. In
appearance and actions he greatly
resembles Charlie Jameson, the little
left-hander Griffith sold to Connie
Mack.
From a strictly pitching standpoint
Ed Hovlik, the sturdy son Of toll who
halls from Cleveland, seemingly has
something on the remainder Of the
bunch. Hovlik showed q lot of prom
ise last year. and Manager Griffith
made no secret Of the fact that he ac-
cords him a splendid chance to make
good in the American League. How
lik has quite an assortment of stuff
and an exceedingly rugged constitu-
ton. resembling Shaw in this re-
spect. Grif always has contended
that Molly Craft surely will arrive as
big Lacquer, and the boss is hope
full that this will be the year.
If Adrian Lynch goes through with
the resolution to forsake his inclina-
ton to loaf and can develop a curve
ball he should be able to stick around
all season. Lynch could not get go
ing with Atlanta, the heat in the
south taking all the steam out OF him.
but in the cooler climate encountered
in the International League he un-
covered q fast ball that stood him in
good stead. and with the weight he
has put on he should have speed to
burn this year. He wrencned his an,
kle yesterday and had to be assisted
from the field. but showed little i'll
effects today.
What Bill Harrington can do In the
pitching line remains to be seen. This
left -hander has size in his favor and
motion that is a model OF form.
but he is no star at fielding his po-
Of demonstrating in what measure he
possesses speed. curves or control
Harrington is twenty-five years OLD
He first played professional ball in
the New England League and subse-
auently saw service in the American
Association and Pacific Coast circuit
He was with the Los Angeles Club in
1917. but did not get In enough games
to figure in the records.
Ed. Flaherty, the Washington boy
who came south with the Griffmen
wear before last and this season is
listed to perform with Frank Shulte's
Binehamton club, Is showing lot OF
speed. II size alone assured success
as pitcher Flaherty would be a I
star Of the first water.
The boys had an impromptu horse
back riding contest yesterday after
noon with q borrowed nag. Matte
son and Picinich took first honors.
The latter slipped of along with the
saddle during his exhibition, but he
remounted and finished his stunt
bareback.