Evening star., 1928-12-09

t1OnalS muSG USCOIuC q
er of pitchers when ms
charges gather at training camp IL Il tl1s tls
club is to make good getaway In tne
American Leagues 1929 championship
race. Although the Washington or
qanization now has in reserve IA nurl-
ers. only four of them have performed
we'll enough to loom as depenoaples
and In these DAYS of Slam-bang DaSe-
hall A club has to have more tnan
four good pitchers If it would get any
where. -,.;,,o,
appears the strength OF the NaClonalS
mound corps includes tne you1IaI 11InI
Irving Hadley, the still young FREQ
Morherrv the game Garland Braxton
and the aged but supple Sam Jones.
Hadlev. now fully recovered from tne
effects on an operation Tor appen-
dicities that handicapped hlm 10
great extent the past season, seems
likely to have his best year yet IN Cle
big show Marberry and Braxton, pLo-
NOTED from relief to Startlng huiIetS
last Summer, performed mpresslVey
enough to indicate they may De QulCe
valuable to have around @ neAS sera, a.
And Jones, though he Is growing no
vounqer IS one of those loose jointed
athletes capable of giving Father Time
Bnt % after these four, what? Well,
these: Milton CASTOR. Lloyd BroWn,
Bob Burke, Jim Weaver and Horace
Iisenbee. who we're with the club the
past season. and the newcomers, Pau
Mccullough. Adolph Liska. Guy Can't
rell Paul Hopkins and Archie Camp,
bell. Looks as though Johnson VIII
have to work hard to get something
| from this lot.
Looks to Liska, McCTficugh.
Right now, the new manager OF the
Nationals is banking heavily upon
Liska and Mccullough coming through.
These two fellows pitched good ball Tor
Minneapolis of the American ASSocia-
tion last season. Liska especially was
a star in the circuit and according to
those who saw him toll he has the stun
to make him a real big Lacquer. And
those who have seen Mccullough per-
| form declare him to be fully as good
as LiSka, although Mccullough was
| licked in a lot of close ball games IN
| the association last season.
| Undoubtedly, Johnson will devote
deal of time to the grooming OF these
| two association graduates when ms
| forces gather at training camp. II IS
felt that the washington hurting will
not be so good unless these recruits
make good even though no one at the
club headquarters will admit 1t. Con-
| sideration of what the others have done
thus far in pitching way, however,
makes the task ahead of johnson look
anything but easy.
CASTOR and Lisenbee we're great dis
! appointments last year. So we're Brown
and Burke. And the same goes for
Hopkins, who failed to shine after be-
| ing farmed to Montreal. This crew
u,iIf houa m foil vY1aflfIiIlv If IL iS IN
make the grade and it win need much
coaching, too. Cantrell. bought from
Baltimore. is an unknown quantity and
] so is Campbell, drafted from st. Paul.
| Campbell had a brief trial with the
Yankees last year and didn't shine. Nor
was Weaver particularly impressive in
Washington uniform last season. Any
way one looks at it, johnson seems in
for hard job when he starts the max
ing of mound staff for his club.
Tampa again will be the Nationals
training camp, all differences between
the big leaguerS and the Tampa club
having been composed yesterday in
conference between President Clark
Griffith and j. L. Cone, part owner of
The Krewe. The battle over Sunday
base ball that caused Griffith to threaten
to abandon Tampa as the Nationals
| u UdoS cIlQeQ NIlSI all agree
mcnt was reached under which both
.eams will train in the town on the
Florida West Coast and the Tampans
may play other clubs at Plant Field
when the Nationals are out of town.
| Tho kreWe also was given four eX-
h4bltion dates with the Nationals. The
clubs will meet on March 10 in the
first Sunday game at Tampa, splitting
the receipts. Games also will be played
on April l. and with all receipts
| going into the Tampa clubs treasury
! Bob Reeves isn't working this Win
ter under orders from President Grit
nth. The Nationals young infielder
lost deal of weight and expended
much nervous energy last season when
playing a short left field and short
stop at the same time and the Wash
| 1ngton prexy decided Bob needed a
| thorough rest between seasons. So
a few weeks ago, Reeves returned to
his Tennessee home to idle until train
Ing camp opens.
Griffith leaves tomorrow for Chicago
to attend the annual business meeting
Of the American League that begins
Tuesday and the joint session of the
major leagues with Commissioner
Lands scheduled for Thursday. It has
not yet been decided whether Manager
Johnson will accompany the club preSi-
dent. but Secretary Ed Eynon probably
will make the trip
During the Chicago stay there Is a
possibility that the negotiations for a
trade that would bring back Buddy
Myer from the Red Sox may be re-.
opened. The Red Sox fatty refused
Grifith's offer of five players for Myer
made last week at Toronto, but john
son is rather eager to get the hard
hitting infielder so Griffith in all like
lihood will endeavor to talk the Boston
bunch into the deal.
There's an athletic field in Humboldt.
Kas.. called Walter johnson Field and
the Washington manager well remem-
bers the part he played in the dedica-
tion OF the sports grounds in the town
of his birth. The opening contest
brought together two high school foot
ball teams and Walter was asked to
kickoff for one of them. AS a foot
ball PLAYER, Walter was a great pitcher.
They still point to the hole in tha
ground dug bv Johnsons foot when it
missed the ball.
0'KELLY, RING ADDITION,