The Washington times., 1930-03-27

CernGtt0nGL NetDS SeTUtce sports
tDriterS on the chances OF major
league baseball clubs notD in
spring training.
By CHARLES J. DOYLE
SAN FRANCISCO, March 81
The destines of the Pittsburgh Pi-
rates of this year would seem to
be in the hands Of the same three
star athletes, whose value in the
last campaign was neither realized
nor appreciated until the triumvi-
rate left the lineup with injuries
Although there is one important
change in the makeup of the
team, it is quite logical to use the
same rule to measure the Buccos
as they repare for another big
race. Very often you have to
judge the future by the experience
OF the past; hence, Jewel Ems, new
pilot Of the club. is convinced he
Is at the head of one of the most
serious of the flag contenders of
the National League, provided he
has the services of the three lumi-
par1es in question-Capt. Pie
Traynor, Burleigh Grimes and
George Grantham.
Z, In the heat of last August the
daring Freebooters were atop the
standings as they carried on heroi-
cally and effectively on their sec
ond Eastern invasion.
- And. then, presto! The
Pirates were transformed
from a flag to a "Sec-
;. Ond-divisi0n" model in one
short series in Philadelphia.
Perhaps you will not believe it,
But when Pie Traynor apd
George Grantham were taken in
jured from the daily fights of
the Pirates, the club almost inn
Tr1ediately slipped into the same
class as the Braves or Reds. The
two rangy, fleet, hard-hitting in
Aelders were the piStonS of the
engines and, when they stopped
flnctioning, the high.flying Bush
whackers had to look for the first
landing field that hove in sight.
To make the irony complete,
Grimes was lost to the team for
something like six weeks as a re-
suit of drive from Bill Terry'S
bat.
Moreover, as this is written.
the status of the great, spitbau
pitcher is very vague, indeed.
After a winter of wrangling over
a new contract, the situation be-
tween Grimes and his employers
is up in the air.
"A sudden move by one side or
the others might clear up the
situation, but, until Burleigh is in
camp and on his way to condi-
ton, all Pirate sumups must be
held in allegiance.
e. Burleigh demands a two
year contract at a salary
somewhere near the $4,000
mark. The club owners say
'semphatically they will not
give him a long document.
and it is said their yearly
1Offer is a bit shy of the
twenty grand"
The condition OF Captain
Traynor, regarded as the best
thira haseman in the game, was
a happy omen for Manager Ems
as the training season began.
Pies hip injury and his broken
nose apparently were to give him
no trouble, but he ran afoul OF
an eye infection at PaSo Robes
which took him out of action.
However, this did not worry Ems
as much as the hip ailment,
which seems to have passed off.
sGrantham continues to be a
problem. The Arizona greyhound
suffered with a bad shoulder and
a bad leg last fall. He appeared
to be cured when he came to
camp this year, but his general
actions in the field are double.
If he can wallop the ball and run
the bases UP to his standard, ne
will remain permanently at sec
ond.
The important change re-
ferred to has to do with first.
base. At that position the
Pirates will sport GusSie Suhr,
one of the home-run kings of
I the Pacific Coast League.
"A southpaw slugger, Guss1e
cracked out 81 homers for the
San Francisco Seals last year to
win his present spurs. He will
replace the veteran Earl Shelly,
hat he isn't expected to replace
Sheely in a defensive way. The
peppery Dick Bartell will round
out the infield.
In the outfield will be the cele-
bPated Waners and the Polish
fiier. Adam Comorosky. Fred
Brickell, however, looks like the
proverbial million dollars, while
Ems also has Ira Flagstead and
Jimmy Mosolf.
With Grimes available, the
Skipper would show the baseball
world a fine staff of sharpshoot-
ers to consist of Grimes, Kremer,
Brame, Meme, Stoner, Swetonic,
Petty and French and one or two
others.
HEAVY GLOVES
Pauline UZcudun, Basque heavy
weight boxer, uses specially made
gloves in training, each weighing
% ounces.