The Washington times., 1929-03-19
lRE.SE RVES
REV E.AL
!. !. WORTH
nc
By Z. D. Thomas

afa
10 ballplayers Is he is of balls
sooand strikes, declared his opin-
~ ion today that the Washing
. ton club is 25 per cent
stronger than it was last sea-
!, son.
ns Jack Hayes is q greatly Inn.
proved second baseman," said Van
Graflan, .''and q capable man in
that spot was what the Griffs
IS needed most. Hayes il only kid
Is and the experience he had with
Minneapolis in the American Asso-
citation last season not only helped
s;him mechanically but increased his
confidence. And he's hitting the
bali hard.
tf' '"That homer Jack knocked
s,1,y against the Braves the other
~ RI day was an hOnest'tO-heaVen
~ waIlOp, and he got hold Of an.
other that would have been .
long hit IL the ball had boon
little less IOfted.
~ 9 "I've umpired all of the Washing.
rton clubs exhibition games and I've
an : seen some things in there that
convinced me Walter Johnson will
have his gang up in the pennant
race, believe this club is under.
estimated all over the circuit.
.sIa "Of course, some of the other
r teams have been improved. The
4 t4eleaKue as a whole looks stronger
than last year, and figure lt'n
be a real battle for the pennant.
izs=er I'm sizing up Washington.S
l. chances to get somewhere, you've
! got to consider that one tough
break after another in the way OF
!. injuries handicapped the team last
| year. When il finally got to click
! j. ing during the last two months OF
the season, Washington played the
!. best ball in the league. 1.
Remember what McGraw said
! about q team being no stronger
than It's reserve. Well. this
!; club is exceptionally well forth
| fled, It has five OutfielderS in
+. GOslin. Rice, West, Barnes and
Harris who have real class.
"Cronin. Gooch and Stewart are
! three mighty fine utility infielders.
] Gooch should be valuable not Only
! hecause of his versatility but his
F.. hitting The boys a born batsman
| and has all the marks of money
| nIayer. Notice the number OF runs
| he Mas driven home in exhibitions
E-k3S appears to be at his best with
! anefl on base. In my opinion Gooch
| esUould be an asset to anv club
F.! Smerely as a pinch hitter.
I TnfA
| aSriffs have q catching staff as
Sgood as any in the circuit AMI
better than most The pitching
staff is promising. On the whole
l.. it is a fast. hard-hitting, well bal
,.Dn~anced club and the morale is some
| ss.thing of which Walter johnson
|might we'll feel proud. have yet
ito see one of his men who wasn't
| '.IhustHng."
I: President Clark Griffith de-.
/ MES vigorously that he has had
!. any communication with Miller
Il Higgins concerning trade Of
- Catcher Benny Tate for Sam
Byrd. hard hitting right-handed
| Outfielder.
Catcher Ed Kenna and Third
| iBaseman Elmer Voter who have
sbaen sold to Minneapolis, leave to-
| day. Neither has had much chance
/ to show at his best in training camp,
/! smashed thumb stopping Kenna
!. and a sore wing handicapping Voter.
| Griffith is becoming dissatisfied
with Tampa as a training site. His
chief complaint, il not the only one,
is the lack of patronage given his
I ; teams exhibitions. The Washing
! ton clubs bank roll is none too
= hAa1ShIy nd oh hot
from exhibition games is far from
despised
! The Old Fox recently visited Sara.
toga, where the New York Giants
used to train. His trip was regarded
as significant. 3
A bit of sentiment delayed the
- signing Of Goose Goslin, champion
batsman. of the American League.
Goslin waited until President Crit
fifth had other troubles off hts bean
/ hefore bringing up his salary argu-
nlent.
For a while the Old Fox was
annoyed by lulnbagO. Then came
: the battle with Sam Jones. Judge
Lands decision making free
agents of Pitcher Cantrell and
I Outfielder SimOns followed.
nes got enough TO contend
with" said the Goose several days
ago, "and I don't intend to bother
him until he has breathing spell.
/ hope to sign, but I figure that
batting average last year should
make difference in pay"
Griffith and his star slugger
pow-wowed at length and both
seemed satisfied at the finish. Man.
ager Johnson said today that Cos.
: lin would play Thursday against
Brooklyn at Clearwater.
1t IL likely that Cliff Bolton, the
e0-year-Old catcher obtained from
High Point in the Piedmont League.
will be farmed out. Bolton, who
bakted .403 last year. appears to be
promising hitter, but he has too
! many rough edges to Be q value
to the Griffs right now.