Evening star., 1923-02-11


transaction. which were Immediately
The enrolment of George Mogridge.
who had been making the familiar
off-seaso.n noises of the typical hold
out, following "A flying visit to the
capital for conflab with his boss.
coming on top of conSummati tion of
the swap with Boston yesterday. put
Drift i'm high good humor. and he
WAS fairly radiating cheerfulness and
optimism when he impaired the It'd
ings.
"This fellow RueI will just about
make our ball club. he chorSled.
I've been after that bird for q long
tfmc, and now that I've landed him
the only thing we need to be sitting
pretty for next season is right hand
Hitcher of established worth. / may
get him, too, before I've finished.
Rates RueI as Real Star.
"Ruel is one OF the three or four
star catcheIs Of the league. Griff
added. He is bubbling over with
pfk lust the type of backstop needed
10 N in with the hustling club we are
soIng to have this year. He is a
comer-only twenty-six years old
HAS d good noodle on his shoulders
and ii crackerjack arm. He. is not
rated as "a heavy hitter, but he bats
we'll enough to suit me. We're not
getting him for his slugging ability
we'll have plenty of power OIL at :
tack-and in every other respect he
measures right up to specifications.
with Charity doubtful quantity,
due TO the trouble he had with his
arm last season. it was up to us to
land seasoned receiver of unques-
tionable ability, and we've done that
Very thing in getting Ruel. As for
Russell he will appear in rescue roles
exclusively. Russell has been
formidable hurIer, and while he ap-
narently has lost his ability to go
the route, Will come in handy for re-
lief purposes. He can travel three
or four innings at fast clip.
Fans Regret Loss of Shanks.
FGriff had little to say about the
n1ayers he is sending to Boston. but
intimatcd he felt regret at having
to part with Shanks. 1t is assured
Washington fans will deplore his loss
as much. if not more. than they did
the passing of Brewer to Cleveland
ip payment for Joey Evans. for both
We're extremely popular locally.
sShanks. who will lie thirty three
years old next July. rightly is re-
garded as one of the nest valuable
utility players the game ever pro-
duccd. Since coming 10 Washingr on
10 1912. Griff's first year as pilo. here,
after spending three seasons in the
odd Ohio and Pennsylvania League.
S1lanks has, at various times, been
the regular outfielder, third baseman,
shortstop and second baseman of the
Nationals, in addition to filling in at
the initial sack. Never hard hitter
-Ahis 500 in 1921 being the highest
average he ever attained-Hank has
tpled every job assigned to him with
credit. and because of his lkeable
personality and earneStness on the
field has a legion of well wisherss in
the capital Local fans will greatly
Miss the gentlemanly, pleasant faced
and shrill-voiced Monocan.
"Pick" and GoebsI Deficient.
wal Picinich. who broke in with
the Athletics in 1916 at the age of
twenty, and returned to the Ameri-
0An League after Il period OF season.
ing at Atlanta when Washington
bought him in midseason of 1918, is
20 fine mechanical catcher of light
hitting proclivities, whose disincli-
Isation to settle down and attend
Strictly, to business has been the
greatest handicap to his advance
1laent in the profession. His duties
lrere for the past three years have
consisted almost exclusively in catch
nag the games pitched by Walter
JphnSon. Pick inherited some money
" couple of years ago, owns d sporty
roadster and usually is so engrossed
cfltivating a mustache and attending
tp MS social obligations that he can
CeVote but little thought to base ball
sf'rank Leroy Chance is just the type
II manager calculated to convince
tbcinich that when pleasure interferes
with your business, give up business, .
lS all wrong. And while he is a bout II
1pe peerless leader can make use of his
talents i'll this direction on Eddie Coo
bel, who, by the way, is the roommate q
and bosom companion of Picini0h Goe-
hfl, stiil IN his early twenties. first at
tracted attention when a teammate of
Waite Hoyt's at the Era SINUS Hall High
school in Brooklyn, and made quite a
name for himself with the Springfield
club of the Eastern League in 1920, be-
fsre washington grabbed him. Goebel
right now is as efficient fly chaser as
cfn be found in any league. He is as
fast as they come, handles grounders
hle an infielder and has splendit,
Whip. He has shown signs of batrlne
ability, too, as was shown by his .306
average in the International League
when farmed to Reading in 1921, but
tHualy appears about to fan asleep
when in the lineup. Under Chance the
1hcinich- -Goebel combination may prove
q real worth, but they have been OF
lntle value here.
Mogridse's Health Improved.
iMogridge had thrse-hour session
With Griffith at club headquarters
Yesterday, but both were smiling
when they emerged with the an
1puncement that "the papers had
been duly inscribed The ianky LETT
business in Rochester had grown to
shch proportions that little semi
IFo ball on the side would enable
13m to earn the sum offered him by
the local club and still permit him to
skmain home with the wife and kid
DIES Griff explained that the busi-
bsess of the Washington club had not
grown to such proportions that it
ID annoyed much by the provisions
nf the income tax law. Then they
probably split the difference and
called 1t a go.
Before hustling for train back to
Rochester Mogridge said he had had
sbme defective teeth extracted and
IDS >tonsils removed, with the result
that his appetite has improved with
"a consequent gain or fifteen pounds
il weight. He added that the
tSvitcllea and aches ~ his shoulder
and neck that -hindcred his pitching
last season have disappeared en-