Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-06


gleam again this year. Sam
Rice may be losing tone, but Joe Judge
still is a glittering first baseman, who
should be a big factor In whatever sue
cess the Washington club may enjoy
this year.
On May Is Judge will be IS years
old, but he's a mighty spry man on
the ball field yet He still goes and
gets 'em with the best of first baSemen
and though he has not been so strong
at bat in the exhibition series any man
who has averaged .297 for Is seasons
in the American League and who but
once in the past 8 years has fallen be-
low the 800 mark may be expected to
sock 'em plenty in the impending cham
pionship campaign.
That Judge still carries on after 10
years in big time Is somewhat remarka-
BILE, for few first sackers last that long
in the majors. The length of his career
with the Nationals is still more re-
markable when it Is recalled that only
two years ago he was all but counted
out Of the game because of the unsteadi-
ness of his underpinning But Joe fool
ed the world last year by playing in
more games than in any previous year
with the Washington outfit. His legs
never failed him and now he declares
they are in even better trim than at
this stage in the 1928 training period.
Has Trained Gradually.
At that, Judge has not been training
30 Strenuously this Spring as last. He
worked in gymnasium in Washington
during the Winter, took short course
of road work and the baths at Hot
Springs and reported at the Tampa
camp in pretty good condition to start
~ for I'll n n ht,e
ahead. So there was no need of any
extra effort at the Florida base Then
again Judge had no battle on his hands
for the first base berth this time. He
had George Sisler to best last Spring,
quite an incentive to more arduous toll
than usual.
AS field captain, Judge has done
much to smooth the team play of the
Nationals this Spring. Although he is
thanked by high-class performers in
the infield, 1t has been his great knowl-
edge of base ball and his inspiring
leadership as much as anything else
that has made Washington's first line
of defense one of the best seen among
the major league clubs that trained in
Florida.
Judge expects to swing into good
batting stride soon. He attributes his
failure to hit in the exhibition games
to an improper stance at bat. He is
trying to correct this now rather than
pay much attention to the timing of
his swing. 1t seems that Judge has
this same trouble every Spring. Once
he is set" at the plate he declares the
timing of the swing viii follow natu.
rally. And when It does Washington
again will have one Of the niftiest first
sackers in the major circuits.
Got Two Hits Yesterday.
Perhaps Judge already Is getting re-
suits from. his efforts to correct his
stance at bat. He got two singles in
three trials at the plate yesterday
when the Nationals took a 1-to-0 beat
ing from the Barons of Birmingham,
the first beating they have taken from
shut-out this Spring. The only other
National to drive the ball to safety
during the pastiming was Ossie Bluege.
He got one single.
Bluege also got on the runway once
with q pass, Once Jack Hayes forced
Judge to q third out to get on the
base path technically. Not another
National reached the first sack.
Bob Hasty, who formerly pitched Tor
the Athletics, and Slim Love. south
paw, the same Slim Love who used to
be on on the Nationals pay roll before
the war, did this nifty pitching for
Birmingham. Hasty hurdled the first
six rounds. and successive singles by
Bluege and Judge after one was out IN
the second session constituted the sum
total of the damage to his finging:
Both Hayes and Muddy Ruel followed
with lofts to the Barons' left helder.
With two gone in the seventh, Bluege
walked and was singled to third by
Judge. It was here that Hayes forced |
out Judge. That was all done to Loves
pitching.
but one Of them was q. homer that never
should have been such. Sam Jones !
hurled the first i've frames for the Ma |
tionals, and not more than @ single |
should have been charged against his |
term. For four innings he set down the I
Barons in order and easily disposed OF
the first two men to face him in the
NTH. Then he got two strikes against |
Scrappy Moore before Scrappy lined the
ball to left.
Goose Plays 1t Wrong.
Goose Goslin ran to his right for a |
stop, and the ball took nice bound, |
too, but the Goose essayed to play the |
ball at his side instead Of getting in |
front Of it as it seemed he had plenty |
of time to do 30. The sphere bounded |
over the outstretched paws of the stoop- |
ing Goslin and rolled to the fence at |
the left-field corner. Moore had rounded |
third before the ball was retrieved, and |
1t was no trouble for him to CHATTER over |
the plate. So o good single became a |
game deciding home run. The next |
batter was soft pickings for Jones, but |
1t was too late.
Fred Marberry then came on to pitch |
three innings, and he gave up two hits
and pass. The pass started the |
Barons' seventh inning and one Of the |
Marberry easily took care Of the three |
batters following:
1t was good pitching the Nationals |
showed, but the same must be said of |
the Barons' flinging. With more snappy
work BY Goslin the clubs might have
been battling yet.