Evening star., 1921-03-02

h1tter may be taken advantage OF,
III punching proweSS his capabilitie
he constitutes a puzzle that promi
charge OF the deStinieS OF the Matte
1t will be recalled that when he
Joined Washington near the faG end
of the last campaign he was assigned
to right field in place of the erratic
Roth. subsequently transferred to the
Yankees for Lewis and MoEridge. As
a fly chaser Brewer left much to be
desired. being little or nothing of an
Improvement over Sir Robert. Griff
then conceived the idea of making G
. him over into a third baSeman. Those
Swho saw his initial effort at the far
corner against the Athletics in Phil
adelphia will not soon forget it.
Frank was terribly in earnest and
strove nightly to fill the bill. but it
was apparent to all that he never
was cut out for that job and the
plan was abandoned
Looks Best Mt First.
Later. when an injury to Judge
caused a temporary vacancy at first
base. Brewer was installed there and
made a very creditable showing. 1t
is at the initial sack that Brewer
has spent most of his playing career.
Although by no mans finished
product in the art of initial Sacking
Frank is we'll grounded in the rudi-
ments of play there and with some
careful coaching could learn to ham,
die the job in more than accept
able manner.
IF Joe Judge should persist in his
refusal to listen to reason as ex-
pounded by President Griffith in con-
nection with salary terms and remain
outside the fold. the question of what
, TO do with Brewer would be answered
by giving him the job at the initial
t0t
Judge ultimately will see the light
however. and return to his post In
that event Brewer would have moth
ing to do but hang around ready to
jump in should Judge be injured. or
to appear infrequently in pinch-hit-
ting roles, and this would not consti-
tute obtaining full value for an ath-
lete as costly as Brewer, so an effort
is to be made to use him on the
mound.
/. Griff's intention to groom Brewer
Tor pitching duties was voiced dur
ing the stove league season. and his
training with that end in view all
ready has begun.
Began ms q Twirler.
It is not generally known. but
Brewer originally was a pitcher. and
a pretty fair one, too. being possessed
of the one asset the lack of which
proves stumbling block to the sue
cess OF so many young hurlers-con-
troll. 1t was as a pitcher that Brewer
received a trial with the st. Louis
Cardinals In 1914. his first profess
sional engagement. and he still was
performing in that capa city when the
Phillies took him to their camp at st.
Petersburg. across the bay from here,
IN the spring of 1915. Pat Moran, now
pilot of the Cincinnati Reds and then
guiding the deStinies of the Quakers
with whom he copped the National
League gonfalon the year before. rec
ogniZed Brewers latent ability as a
hitter and was responsible for switch
ing him to first base
He has been holding forth there
since almost uninterruptedly with
Utica OF the New York State League
for two years. at Portland. Me-. and
with Reading. where last season he
rang up a batting average of 1888 in
101 games and topped the Interna-
tional League in home runs with a
total Of twenty-five. In thirty-six
he attained the figures of .311. most
of his clubbing being done while he
was subbing for Judge.
Faces Dfmcult Task.
The difficulty Of the assignment
given Brewer may be appreciated
from the fact that IT is FIVE years
since he has done any pitching. He
readily admits he would rather play
first base than anywhere else. as be-
ing familiar with the job he can de-
vote his attention to slugging with
out letting fielding duties worry him.
but he is good soldier and has
tackled the Job of fitting himself for
box work with determination to make
good at it and with considerable con-
1idence in his ability to do it.
Brower has no weight to take Off.
He carries 1s3 pounds on his six feet
two inches OF frame and is in fine
physical condition from having
worked hard on the farm near
Gainesville. Prince William county.
winter. He says the effects of be-
ing hit on the shoulder blade by a
ball pitched by George Mogridge last
fall have entirely worn off. and that
his arm feels as strong as it ever
did.
II is doubtful 81 any player ever
came back as a pitcher after a lay
off OF Ave years. The chances are
all against Brewer doing IT. but he is
going 10 make the attempt and the
fans will watch the experiment with
great interest and be pulling for
him TO succeed.
Erick and Courtney Fit.
Olaf Erickson demonstrated in the
practice yesterday that he is in fine
condition. due to his strenuous en-
deavofs as a member of the cham
pionship team Of an eight-cIub bas-
ket ball league in his home town.
jamestown. My.
Harry Courtney 81 another National
20 show up looking tit AS the prov
.rbial fiddle. In fact, the l.fthander
appeared TO be drawn so fine that
GriE opin~d he was underweight.
Courtney dispe He'd this fear by jump
ing on the scales, which registered
1s2. his normal poundage. lie has
spent the last two months at Clear
water. Fla. goifing and swimming
and is sporting a midseason coat of
tan.
The elongated southpaw asserts he
never has been in quite so good shape
at this time Of year, as his legs
usually weak in the spring. already
are sound and strong. Courtney is
eager fog the test Of batting pro-
ficiency with Zachary and is sure
he can beat out his fellow portsider
Catcher Torres Reports.
Dick Torres blew in from cuba Ia s.
<night with word that IT probably
would be several days befole Acost;
nm. urn n