New Britain herald., 1928-03-05
HOPES PINNED ON PITCHING STAFF
Senators Elect No One to Take
 JohnSon'S Place With Club

Tampa, Fla, March Ap - AL though the baseball ghost of Wall 7 ter Johnson stalks through the training camp of the Washington !, club, there are 16 pitchers on hand ! all willing to be another John- son."
 By common consent If the powers that be on the club, where Johnson is more of an institution than a pitcher. no one will be elected 10 fill the place Barney left perma- nently vacant when he went away to manage Newark.
 AS the work proceeds at the first Washington training camp in 20 years in which the great Johnson has had no active part the club is preparing to pin its hopes on pitch ing despite the absence of the big fellow with the terrific fast one" Ten of the double octette of pitch CTS will start the season and Man. ager Harris and President Griffith hope to work out q combination in which supple, young arms will get support from heads wise in base ball.
 Only two Of the pitchers have passed their 3Oth birthday and one | is just that old.
 | sam Jones is 35. Milton Gaston has turned 31 and Tom Zachary is | 30. The board of strategy suffered l it's first blow when Irving Hadley, sensational young pitcher of last season, was sent to the hospital. He will emerge in a few weeks without his appendix but the season will be well advanced before he can pitch. Horace LSenbee, almost as young and even more sensational than Hadley, is in perfect health and will be able to start.
 i Fred Marberry. veteran of the staff at 24, in point of consecutive service, although Tom Zachary went away and came back, is confident that he will be graduated from a relief role to q starting status. Gar land BraXton will continue 10 dash in from the bull pen in times Of stress. Ed Wells, late of Detroit and Birmingham, may stage come back and Van Alstyne, boasting q great curve ball. has a chance to return from his exile to Birming- ham of last season. Clarence Grif- fin, a little southpaw, will not be discriminated against on account of his size. President Griffith likes the little fellows on the mound. Once he was little pitcher and a good one.
 There Is no chance of a shortage of left hand pitching talent. In ad = dition 10 Braxton, Zachary, Wells
 and Griffin. Bob Burke has been
 brought over from last year and
 Lloyd Brown is up from Memphis
 Manager Bucky Harris thinks
 one way to make the Senators a
 fighting club is to start a fight al the outset. so in addition to the
 battle for pitching places. he has
 declared first base. shortstop and centerfleld wide open to competi- ton.
 With George Sisler and Joe Judge, aged but still active frs, base performers, available, there seems to be a conviction that z trade may yet cause distribution
 of the over supply. Neither seem.
 ready to sit on the bench, Sislel
 apparently is slated to start thu
 season.
 Bobby Reeves has the insid f track at shortstop. if the forme
 Georgia Tech star had turned {, 3 boxing instead of baseball he woul,
 have made a reputation as one abl
 to take It." When he is knocke,
 down he gets up. Two other col , legians, Grant Gillis and Jacl , Hayes, both former wearers Of tn,
 crimson of Alabama, will be re . serve infielders.
 A battle for centerfield may con [ tinue right through the season be , tween Sam West and Foster Gan
 gel. with Barnes, a third Alabam: - contribution. in reserve. West ha l shown more speed than Ganzel bu p Washington's Babe" who come c from baseball family is a terrifl
 hitter Two Southeastern leagu
 recruits. Kloza and Simons, hay l. impressive batting averages and i 1 they fall to stick will be promote, { in the minors.
 0 Muddy Ruel and Benny Tate vii 9 do most Of the catching with tn 2 third place going 10 Pete Coope, 5 from Birmingham. or Hugh Nc = Mullen. with In1lisyilla la.A ..aa,