Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-22

~ and also promote May double
~ heading, but thus far the eX.
cessive moisture of base ball!
early season has not hurt the National:
particularly. There have been but two
postponements in their schedule, anc
the play-offS will be so well spread thai
the clubs mound corps should feel ne
strain Other clubs in both big league:
are moaning about many postpcnement:
last week and wondering just how seri-
ously the play-offs will affect then
pitchers. So it seems the Nationals
have had the best of the breaks to date
That postponement last Friday of the
game with the Athletics will be played
as part of a double-header in the City
of Brotherly Love on May Is. That OF
last Thursday with the Red Sox will not
be played off until July Z, when next the
Nationals visit Beantown. Not at all bad
for the johnson band.
In fact, Manager johnson believes his
pitching staff is sturdy enough to with
, stand the strain of a string OF double
headers such as are soon to come the
ways of the Athletics and Yankees. He
points with pride to corps that in
cludes such likely looking young hurlers
as Lloyd Brown, Bob Burke, Bump Had
ley and Ad Liska He also is proud of
the veteran line of Fred Marberry Gar
land Braxton. Sam Jones and Myles
Thomas. johnson regards his lot OF
slabmen as really worth while, much
better than last year and capable of do
ing a considerable amount of extra toll
# such Is necessary.
This does not mean that the pilot
would welcome more postponements.
Not at all. IdleneSS is not good for
highly conditioned athletes so early IN
the campaign. But the Washington field
general does not fear his pitchers would
be unable to shoulder the burden of
double heading. He looks upon his staff
as the equal of any other in the Amert-
can League right now and superior to
some.
T DOSE work on the bases by Nationals
IL inks johnson, and he has issued
orders that the runners must keep
their heads up when moving about the
paths. Too many ball games are lost
through careless running of the bases,
the pilot points out, and he hopes to
have the Nationals so well drilled in
base running that catching them nap
ping will be no easy task. Last season
WaShington'S players were not so Snappy
in this respect. Too often runner of
- the johnson band was picking daisies
when he should have been watching the
pitcher, and frequently results were dis
astrous to the Nationals cause.
Those of the Nationals who have been
too prone to wander of the sacks in
an aimless manner are to be tutored
carefully as to how they may protect
themselves instead of leaving the pro-
lection entirely up to a coacher at
first or third base. Al Schacht and
Nick Altrock, who in their pitching
days were expert at picking off too
daring runners, will assist the pilot in
the tutoring. When the big boss and
lessons, pitchers of opposing teams
should find the business of sharing
Washington runners off the bases
something difficult to accomplish.
THIS Boston team in our midst for
i a three-day stay is an odd one.
On paper it does not look SO strong.
On the field, it frequently is not. Yet
it Is a team quite likely to step out at
any time and give another whale of
a tuSsle. Manager Wagner has in his
command several clever curvers and
while the Red SoX are not fiaShy on
defense the pitchers with fair support
are not easy to beat. It's club worth
looking over, despite its lowly standing
for many seasons.
In Jack Rothrock and Russell Scar
rift, the Hub club has pair of cork
ing outfielders and right good stickers.
Tom Oliver, outfield recruit brought up
from the South, has yet to prove him
self in the big show, although he per-
formed impreSSively during the Spring
exhibitions. Excepting Bill Regain, Sec
Ond baSeman and a good one, the in
field still is experimental Manager
Wagner, though, was great inflelder
himself and is a clever teacher. If
anything good is to be made from the
infleld material at hand he'll have the
Red Sox inner Gordon stepping soon.
THERE'S one member of the Ma
i tionals Washington fandom has
seen nothing of in the champion
ship season, but should he get his
chance base ball followers here will look
at brilliant young player. Jimmy Nc
Leod is the boy What ball player
Brought from Little Rock last year
after serving but three months in pro-
feSsional base ball, this l9-year-old
already is little short of being a mar
vel afield and he promises to become
a pretty good batter. Johnson thinks
him the best-looking youngster the
OsSie Bluege was grabbed from Peoria
nine years ago. Nowadays Mcleod
shows his stuff only when the reserve
infielders drill, but it's worth getting
out to Griffith Stadium early to watch
him perform.
KNOCKING Irving Hadley to Guinea
IN was one of the easiest things the
Athletics did last year, so their
over. brow by the chunky Lynn hurler
Yesterday in Philadelphia must have
iolted them severely. They set upon
irving at the outset of hostilities as
though they would make short srift OF
him, but the Washington slabman stuck
to his guns, and though at times his
craftsmanship was wild he went on tc
a 6-to-3 victory.
incidentally it was the first trimming
of the campaign for the world cham
pions in four starts, and the Nationals
win took much of the sting from the
shutout handed them last Saturday by
Mack's maulers.
Hadlev allowed the Athletics just
eight safeties and distributed them
among five innings. He also issued
two passes, one in each of the first
two rounds, and uncorked wild pitch
He was exceptionally wild at the be-
ginning. backing three Mack hits with
a pass and the lurid chuck in the frs
session to give the AS tWo-run get
away. Thereafter, however, the home
side tailed only in the fifth, when II
clustered a single and a double. IRVING
was accorded snappy support through
out his teammates kicking in WITT
three two-way erasures.
The Nationals did their hitting at tn'
A.