Evening star., 1927-05-08

ST. LOUIS, May AFTER starting
poorly. most of the reserves of the
Nationals now are showing so much
worth both at bat and afield that Man
aser Bucky Harris probably will find
quite a problem confronting him
when. to comply with the code of or
sanized base ball. he must prune his
squad to % players next month. Al
though sthe pilot has to Top but two
off the present roster OF the cluD
to get down to the maximum under
the rules, picking the pair to go prom
ises TO make Harris do some deep
thinking.
AS affairs now are. the pruning
very likely will affect only the catch
ing and outfield departments of the
Nationals. Four catchers and six
autfielders are carried at present. Nick
Cullop is not included in the outheld-
ing group thus reekoned, for he IS
Of the same class as was Joe Harris
for two seasons-an extra player for
assignment either 10 infield or pas
ture duty.
In the catching department, Muddy
Ruel now seems a fixture, although
during the training season In Florida
il was hinted several times that this
veteran might figure in a trade. Since
however, Muddy has done virtually
all of the work behind the bat for
the Nationals and has done it pretty
wen, too.
Tate Has Edge on O'Neil.
And while he has not been seen in
actjon much, Benny Tate quite likely
will get the call over Mickey O'Nel
and John Berger when Manager Har-
ris does his picking for permanent
jobs. A broken finger has had Benny
out of commission since the series in
Boston in so far as work behind the
bat is concerned, but recently he has
assisted In the bull pen toll. Harris
has considerable respect for Benny S
batting ability, and also reg@rds him
as a rather handy man on the re-
ceiving end.
Neither O'Neil nor Berger has dis
played any particular strength in
catching performances since the title
race began Up to the time he hurt his
back in the game the Nationals PLAYED
in the, Yankee stadium Mickey did
noteappear an especially good receiver.
Many pitches were dropped by this
purchase from the Dodgers, and on
two or three occasions they We're
dropped when the opposition was pill
ferfng. Berger has been fairly good
mechanically, but he has not revealed
the base hall instinct Harris deems
necessary in a big league backstop.
Manager Harris has stated repeat
edly that he will cling to all his extra
outfielders until the national commits
sion code compels him 20 cut his
squad, and he also has stated repeat
edly that Earl McNeely, last year a
regular in the garden. is certain to
be kept as utility player So that
narrows the choice for retention be
tween Sammy West and Ollie Tucker
with Cullop being considered an in
fielder as well as an outfielder
Neither West nor Tucker did any
thing startling in emergency roles dur
ing the first three weeks of the sea
son. but recently both have responde,
nobly TO relief calls. Tucker ha proveC
his worth as a pinch batter and Yves
has been surprisingly good in the out
f12ld and at bat since illness crippled
the regular pasture combination. j
would seem that Harris would make
no mistake no matter which Of thesf
TWO he retained. He may be sWayeC
IN his choice though, by Vest
greater speed.
Enfield Satisfies Harris.
The infielders and pitchers seen
sure Of their jobs unless trades can b.
arranged. And Harris has intimatet
that he is well satisfied with his iniiel'
organization, sending Buddy Myer Il
Boston for Shortstop Topper Rigney
In addition to the regular quartet th'
club has Stuffy Stewart for under
study TO the manager; Bob Reeves
who seems capable of playing any
where from second to third base, am
Cullop, who can show a fairly gOo'
brand Of base ball at first base as wei
as work around the hot corner and il
the gardens.
With the pitchers. il is somethin;
else. Walter Johpson, Fred Mar
berry, Stan Coveleskie, Hollis Thurs
ton and Horace Lisenbee are fixtures
Garland Braxton has done rather vel
in relief roles and win not be dispose
Of unless a seemingly better eXtr
pitcher comes on the market 4
Er0wder and George Murray hav
been appointments SO far. u
EroWder's case the failure might bt
due TO the stomach ailment he suffered
during the training season. Neithe
Bob Burke. young southpaW, no