The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1928-04-02


/ up ana asked him whether he
took me for buttonhole maker.
he didn't say that ne did. but the
worst Of it was he didn't say that
lle didn't. In fact his subsequent
observations rather pOintedly inti-
mated that he thought the garment
trade was somewhere In the neigh
borhood on its annual outing.
Wasn't Hornsby second base
man? Yes, be was inclined to be-
Ilieye HOrnsby was. Hadn't he
been with the club last year. Yes,
be seemed u remember q Hornsby
last year: come to think Of II. the
name had = family familiar ring.
The trouble was, It seemed. that
Johns mind was so completely
occupied with COhens and Otis and
Reeses and q lot Of real good ball
PLAYERS that he had no time TO
think about Hornsby.
ssProbIems9'' be inquired III
that tone Ok PANIED surprise one
uses when the bus boy serves
the gOup On ones pants lex.
ssFlIe New York Giants have :.
no problems. We had q club
IA 1877 that almost YVES good
enough 10 steal the pennant IN
the closing weeks Of the race
and we have fewer questions 20
answer this year than We din
last.
"Second base? kindly have some
Differences for my cracked lip. Andy
Cohen has done everything we have
asked az him and we have asked
him everything we knew. He IL .
first.cIass infielder. natural second
baseman, covers ground, pivots well
and gets the ball away rapidly. he
is a punch hitter; that is, he
doesn't hit them far, but he does
hit them safely.
GAS to that, I would put Melvin
OFT in there tomorrow with every
confidence. Just q natural bah
player, YOU know. In fact, III
guarantee that. out Of hundred
balls hit to him, he will come up
with more than jackson and Lind.
stron1.
I'VE are sure of our catching
now. our pitching no longer u
questionable. We have a far bet.
ter outfield. with much greater re.
serve strength: In fine, the Giants
are q better ball club and ii you
don't believe it, wait until the pay
off in October
Very well, John, TIL wait. IL you
don't mind. Andy Cohen, of Biz
n1ingham, Ell Paso, Buffalo and in
termediate points, may be the sec.
ond baseman to disenfranchise q
man like Rogers Hornsby. The only
point I make is that he probably
hasn't proved 1t. He looks the part
Of right good ball player, at that.
Somewhere, he has picked up
the mannerisms Of Frank
Frisch. even to the latter's
GraecO-R Roman style Of combat.
ing ground balls. He does
everything well enough 10 indi-
cate that he really is major
league infieIder and he is hit.
ting here with the frequency Of
his very impressive average I'm
the 1927 International League
race.
OFT came out of Gretna, La, a
few wears ago as a sixteen-year-
old catcher and. apparently, it has
taken McGraw all this time to dis
cover that the young man is as
good at second base as the average
man in the National League. He
made a lot OF amazing stops out
there two days ago. which probably
means that he will play left field
whenever anybody is hurt. OFT looks
too slow for second base. McGraw
saws he isn't. Just an honest DIFF.
ference of opinion between two
major intellects.
The fact that aornsby il one of
the great second basemen of the
generation and neither Cohen nor
OFT even played the position, pro-
voked a mental statement, too.
1t appeared that the other master
mind was willing to stand behind
his record for shifting men stra.
logically.
"Frisch came to US as a short
stop" he pointed out. "Heine Groh
| also was a short fielder. Jack MUIR
ray was q catcher So was Snod.
grass. Ross Young thought he WAS
. second basernan and even Matty