Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-02


Nationals outfield is to oc-
- cur as soon as Goose Cos
lin gets into fair playing form
after accepting terms offered for
the 1880 base ball season. Manager
Walter Johnson has said the play
er, who for weeks has been bat
ting with the Washington base
ball club about salary, will sup
plant Red Barnes in left field, the
post the Goose has filled for years,
and has intimated that Barnes or
George Loepp, the only expert
enced outfielder swinging from
the right side on the roster OF the
club, may take over the center
field berth Sammy West now oc-
cupieS.
Goslin's entrance into the game viii
strengthen the Washington club greatly.
johnson feels. The manager holds that
at present the Nationals are as good
as they were last year and should the
Goose play up to the all-around stand
ard set by him prior to the past two
seasons his club will be far better than
the one he handled In his flrst season
as a major circuit pilot.
Not only will Goslin's return to the
game add strength to the Nationals,
johnson feels, but it also will bolster
the clubs morale. While there mas
been a fine spirit among the men this
spring all hands have realized how
handicapped the club would be with
out its big punch.
Nov that they look for Goslin. the
player who for seasons has been the
main factor in the clubs drive. to be
in harness again soon the men nave
hope of making considerable head
way in the flag race.
without Goslin in line, the Nationals
have felt just about as the Yankees
would feel without Babe" Ruth. True.
the Goose" was no great help to the
club in a batting way last year when
he fell well below the 800 mark. and
even though he led the American
League the year before he handicap
ped his club to a great extent because
he could not throw. but all along the
players have believed he would return
TO his old form once more and make
his bludgeon tell in many ball game.
Players Evincing Pepper.
Expecting him to be in action within
. few days, the players now seem to
have more pepper than ever. They see
in the Goose a player likely to put the
club across, TO make 1t much more of a
factor in the chase for the American
League championship than 1t was in
1929. This is particularly so with the
pitching staff The hurlers, who had
expectBd 70 bear practically all the
burden of getting virtually punches
outft out, of the ruck, are noticeably
relieved. With his dangerous bat,
Goslin to them Is almost the came as
q nfe-buoy to sinking man.
While johnson has not definitely de-
cided on Barnes or Loepp to supplant
West, he has an idea 1t might be well
to experiment with these players in
center field. Both Red and George
have displayed more punch at bat than
Sammy this year. Neither Is as good
afleld as West, although Barnes is i'm
proving fast as flyhawk and Loepp is
a clever gardener. West, however, does
not seem able to get going at bat, espe-
cially against southpaw slabbing
For several seasons now the Wash
1ngton management has been trying 10
get somewhere with the boy brought up
from the Birmingham club of the
Southern Association. West has had
plenty OF opportunity to show in the big
time the batting that attracted atten-
ton to him when he played in Dixie.
He has had his Streaks of hard hitting,
but he has never been a consistently
good hitter. If Barnes or LOepp de-
velops bit more power at bat there
is a great chance that one of them will
push West to the bench and start the
season In center field.
Youngsters Display Punch.
The big punch yesterday when the
Nationals trimmed the Chattanooga
team in 4-to-3 game was supplied by
youngsters. 1t was a homer driven to
the top Of the leftfield stand by Jake
Powell, rookie from the sandlots of Sill
yer Spring, Md, that gave the Nationals
their first run, and it was a homer
driven into the leftfield stand by Joe
Cronin that gave them the decisive
tally Of the fray.
Powell's homer came in the fifth in
ming after two were out and was the
third hit to be made of Chick Howard
Highlander who stabbed the first six
rounds for the LookoutS. Cronin's four
baser opened the ninth inning and was
cleaned of Jack Knott, another righ-
hand pitcher. All told the Nationals
got nine safeties, six off Howard. They
clustered three of Chick to get two
tallies and match the count the Look
outs had amassed in the first four
rounds.
Two veterans of the washington
mound corps made their Spring train
ing debuts. Sam Jones, despite a
plastered back, hurled the first four
innings, then the left-handed Garland
Braxton went through three rounds.
Lloyd Brown finished the game on the
slab. Jones apparently was not pre-
pared for a good test for he was socked
for six hits, the Lookouts twice bunch
ing blows off him for all their markers.
However, Jones declared after the term
he believed he would be quite fit for
duty within week. That is significant
for Sam trains himself generally and
keeps good tab on his condition. One
hit was made of Braxtcn in his first
inning. Thereafter the LookoutS got
nothing
Two we're out in the second session
when the Chattanooga crowd pasted
Jones for triple, single and double In
succession to get two tallies. They
hoped on him again in the fourth for
two singles and sacrifice fly to annex
their third and last counter.
In the sixth, the inning after Powell
smote his homer, the Nationals dead
locked the game. Myer singled,
Charity walked and Bluege put Buddy
over with a one-baser. Cronin hoisted
out. but Ruel hit a single that scored
Pat Then Cronin checked IN with the
big run in the ninth.
Neither Joe Judge nor Benny tat
took part in practice yesterday as botf
were nursing colds. Judge saw the game
though, and was to be back in uniform
today for the last game OF the serie
with the Lookouts. Tate, who remained
in the hotel all day. was much bettel
this morning and was expected to play
Herbert Pyle, pitcher drafted from
Chattanooga last Fall, will not accom-
pany the Nationals when they leave her,
next Sunday for their homeward. trip
Pyle still is suffering with neuritis ant
viii be left behind to train with tn
Lookouts as It is believed he could max
no progress in conditioning in the NOR