Evening star., 1919-03-20
YOUNGHTCHERS
ALMOST PR|MED
Appear Certain to BE Ready
When National Regulars
Reach Augusta.
ABSENCE OF SORE ARMS
BY DENMAN THOMPSON.

| AUGI STA. Ga. March SO.-GOOd
results are being obtained in the
course of sprouts the youngsters of
| the Washington club are being put
! through The Juvenile pitchers are
| responding in fine shape to the pro-
gram of exercise laid out for them
| will be ready to furnish the pitching
! necessary for the regulars as soon as
| the veterans get sufficiently loosen
ed up to WELD sticks.
| Thus far there have been no COM
| plants of sore arms or stln joints
/ and the signs of the times are there
1919 than has been the case in for
mer seasons not only in the Nationals
| camp, but all along the line.
For years it has been customary to
/ pay keen attention to the physical
condition of the diamond athletes: In
meant a paragraph and the same
went for a brutse. while a lacerated
finger or strained ligament was
good for half u column. But the late
unpleasantness in Europe has brought
| about a change. The aches and pains
of ball player incurred in working
two or three hours a day to f1t him.
self for hauling down several thou
sand dollars year now will re-
ceive no more than the attention
| they deserve, which; in comparison to
the hardships undergone in camp
and trench by hundreds of thousands
of boys in khaki for dollar a day
and no hope of reward except the
feeling of an obligation performed,
are the height of triviality.
brass They kick like steers over the
food and service obtained at hotels
where the club is footing the bills, but
when they are paying their own way
they dine at beanery and sleep in a
fophouse. f The busher who can troll
ley in from the ball park with SOL
dier carrying crutches and lament
about a torn nail on his little finger
must have hopelessly warped perspec-
tive and be totally devoid of a sense of
humor.
Batting practice already has been
started for those of the squad who
will be expected to accomplish some
thing with the stick this year-Davis.
Thompson, Picinich, Agnew and Char
rity. The pitchers have not been
called upon to swing bat, their at
tention being centered upon getting
their arms in shape. Nor have they
been drafted for pitching duty in the
batting practice. Altrock is attending
to that. This veteran is a remarkable
campaigner. He is old enough to be
the daddy of some of the boys here.
yet seems to>possess as much stamina
as any of them and does infinitely
more work. He is the first man on
the field and the last to leave. and
throughout practice is applying vocal
prodS to the boys who show an in
clination to loaf In addition. he is
Mike Martins chief assistant turf
doctor. and when not knocking the
keeping the boys on the run after
fungoes in the outfield he is busy
with rake. hoe or shovel, massag-
ing the infieid, filing in ruts and elm
mating bumps. He seems to have an
undiminishable store of energy.
Picinich has put on some extra
bondage since quitting the team last
summer. and it will be recalled he
was no lightweight then. He is rather
short. as catchers go. but what he
lacks in height he makes up for in
heft He will not have to make room
for any sliding base runner at the
plate this summer. He and Charity
had some difficulty getting hold OF
the ball in batting practice, due in
large measure to Altrock's spring
brand of control, but the more agile
Thompson and Davis, by hopping
all over the batter's box, met his
offerings with fair success. and Davis
lifted straight one over the center
/ fed fence by way of showing that
he can take a mean cut al the ball.
; Molly Craft was interested to learn
/ that "S1 EIDE" Risberg had signed with
] the White SoX. 1t was Risberg who
! put Craft on the bum in Chicago
! year before last, when he crashed
! into hinl>at the plate and broke his
! ankle. Molly says he is going to fan
| Risberg every time he faces him this
year.
! Ban Johnson's selection of Ollie
| Chill to fill the vacancy on his staff
] of umpires caused by the death of
| "Silk" O'Loughlin also is causing
/ comment Chill called so many close
ones against the Nationals in 1916,
before he was panned into the Ameri-
| can Association, that he came to be
regarded as jinx. He and Manager
/ Griffith used to get along like two
strange bulldogs. Chilrs tour of duty in
the A. A. may have improved his judg-
ment on balls and strikes. There was
lots of room for it.
| Headlines appearing in a New York
{ paper received here to the effect that
the deal for Robertson had been con-
! summated caused a short-lived cele-
(! bration in the camp. 1t ended when
! il was read farther down in the dis
| ney Dreyfuss by promising him an
outfielder and that it might be Sam
: Rice. az the Washington boss would
never consent to part with Milan or
! Bert Shotton. the stars Of his outfeld."
I Guess prohibition wouldn't be such a
I bad thing for New York, after all. 1t
! is evident they still sell the stuff