Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-04-08

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in year or so will see his. White
pennant.
The players themselves are you
finest morales ever known to Mac
past for this very thing.
Take the word of Clarence Ro'
champion White Sox in 1917 and bal
these Athletics do get started right
Connie has gathered together one
of the most unusual base ball teams
of all times" declared Rowland. lin that
the players are youthful brainy. and
constantly striving to learn. If they
ever do win pennant, rest assured
they are smart enough to repeat for
many seasons thereafter.
improve for five or six years, and all
it needs is the confidence to win and
the pull-together spirit
The greatest Mackian asset this
year is his infield. and by, a strange
coincidence it was that old 100000
inner works that started the White
Elephants on their pennant-winning
streaks back in 1910 :
Frankly; ! think the III. infie eha,,1 Is
come through. 1 will be bitterly dis
appointed if the plans are upset"
1t will start the season, barring ac-
cidents, with Chunky Joe Hauser'
Milwaukeean, at first; Jimmy Dykes,
second; Chick Galloway at short, and
the $4,000 beauty, Sammy Hale, at
third. Incidentally, Hale looks to be
worth every penny of the coin Connie
is reported to have spent for him:
Discussing the infleld, there isn't a
first baseman in the league, outside OF
the peerless George Sisler, that Connie
would trade for Unser Joe Hauser'
Hauser hits better than Blue Of De-
tro.t and incidentally should eventu-
daVPlon better
At second, Jimmy Dykes is far from
the standard of Eddie Collins as yet
but he is a better fielder than NC
Manus. though the latter may outhit
him. Chick Galloway, at short. is
generally Acknowledged as the peer
of American League shortstops, not
even excepting one Gerber
IF Hale keeps hitting as he did last
season with Portland. out on the
Pacific coast and in the. exhibition
games, he should be one of the sensa-
tions of the league.
All of the inf1elders can hit. all can
throw and field, while the Keystone
combination of Galloway and Dykes
is far and away the best Connie has
had since the days of Jack Barry and
Eddie Callins.
settled. Bing Miller, demon of
swat, who hit 1886 last year. will be
in right. while Wild Curry Matthews.
for whom Connie gave $4,000 in cash
and three players to Milwaukee, is 4
fixture in center.
Matthews is lightning fast. can field
and hit, but his best stunt is as lead
Off man. where he knows all the
tricks of the trade of ratttn3 an OPP
posing pitcher. Once Matthews gets
on first, his speed will enable him to
chase around to third on well-placed
hit-and-run single to right field. This
lad is no unpublished rookie, but has
had considerable experience, and to-
day is finished ball player.
Battle Over Left Field.
The left field berth is only an
swered by a question mark: Three
men are putting up terrific battle
for the post They are Title walker.
home-run king of the Macks last year;
Frank WEIGH, another veteran, and
Frank MCGOWAN, whom Mack secured
last season from New Haven.
The pitching staff is Comics great
problem. If some of the hurlers on
whom he has lavished attention the
past two or three years can come
through and produce, his worries are
at an end. If not, the Athletics are
constantly going to be in difficulties
except when one man adornS the
mound And he is Eddie Rommel,
pride of Baltimore and ace of Ameri-
can League hurlers, who, with a sew
enth- place club behind him last year.
clicked in twenty-Seven victories with
his famous knuckle ball delivery.
Last season Eddie was voted as the
second most valuable player in the
league, bowling only to George Sfsler
of the Browns.
Rommel is right this year. and with
q better club behind him. as is surely
the case, should turn in upward of
thirty triumphs for the lean leader.
The rest of the staff is worth mil
lion dollars in promise, but mighty
small amount in achievement thus far.
-Four Other Right-Hnnders.
Rollie Naylor. Slim Harris. Bob
Swarthmore College fame and brother
of Johnny Ogden of the Baltimore
Orioles, are the veteran right-hand-
ers to aid Rommel. All of this quar-
tet have the stuff, to come through.
and the law of averages ought to give
Connie just one who will show some
thing in the approaching campaign.
The portsiders are Walter Kinney
and Fred Heimach.
OF the rookie twirlers. the best of
the lot are two Texans, Bartlett Nc
MILAN and Eli Shilling, though Con-
ME will also keep Harry O'Neil and
Lloyd.
Connie is well fortified in the catch
ing department. AS his star he has
ST Perkins, and the veteran Frank
Bruggy can also be counted on to
receive many good games. Two of
thesbest catching rookie prospects in
the big leagues seem to be Charley
Rowland and w. S. Hartman, the lat
ter former Columbia University cap
tain and catcher last season.
Speed is also one of the main fun
damentals of this Mackian machine.
The slowest man on the Zine is
Catcher Perkins, and, while he's no
Ted Meredith, he certainly isn't the
slowest man in the league. All the
others are sure to do some fair base
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