The Indianapolis times., 1931-06-11
TALKING
IT OVER
-RY Joe WILLIAMS

ATEw YORK, June lit is a
IN rainy day and there is no
game and your fasl1ionably sttired
envoy is sitting around playing a
little verbal squash tennis with
Roger Peckinpaugh, manager OF
the Cleveland Indians and his as
sistant, Howard Shanks.
shsnks bv the way. insists he is not
an assistant mansssr. but merely a
third base coach.
But letting that psss-how about this
wesley Ferreu that everybody is calling
. second Mathewson7 What makes him
tokl
'In tell YOU about Fsrrell." volunteered
peckinpaueh. TO begin with. he's got
a lot OF stuff. mean fine fast osll
and a Eood curve and ne seems to know
What 1t is all about. But what MAKES
him stand out is that he knows he can
throw that bal"
II vas suggested that practically every
body in the American League knew pre-
cissly as much.
Hes another Cobb when It comes 70
self reliance" continued Peckinpaugh.
swarthv gent with fsrocious looking black
eyebrows that suggest a Lon chaney I'M
personation. He likes to pitch ana
there isn't any team he doesn't think ne
can beat. Hes at his best against the
Biz hitters you fellows write about.
ANYTIME We have q tight ball game
and some one else Is pitching Ferreli
till come around and say. IT things get
tough. send me in there. III stop en-.
Get that Not I'll try TO stop EN- pht
FA stop 'em. What makes this important
is that when YOU send him in. ne does
stop en-"
It develops that Fsrtsll. true 70 type.
Is crowd pitcher. Fill the STANDS 1or
him and he is at his best. There's some
thing Of the Barrymors about nim' nc
unt disposed to waste his genius on par
rem planks only the multituoeS Co"
sttr him to flights OF brilliancy.
But didn't he win game IN tne rev
sox uark the other day7 Yes aonnl'Isu le,i
pseSinusugh. but that was Just "oiA
out
H1HE debate shifted to the AIN
1 letics. What would have to be
done to stop them? -.
.Neu II there wasn't law agalnss
,,ootinr men" began Shanks.
n was easy enough to follow ms SIN
,.t,r thoughts. Right of Cocnrane'
e,r,r,onK and Foxx would be hneo up
s.s,rst the vail and Mr.. Capone ~oulo
:. irvitsd 10 employ his delicate tecn-
-i,ns After that. humsnizing innuenoe
o,,td ,st in. Drowning would suffice
~. croys walberg and EsrnshaW.
seriously. those AS must pe ois p.eoIs
eood Everybody talks aDouS 80
Maok's old team. but u cou'un -
hssn much better than the team H' 4'1'
now. .,.aod psckin-
nsurh. II PLAYED against the oio seal
md IL was tops. 1t didn't nave No0H-
rans or a Simmons. but 1T naa eVeI,-
thing else. Id call it the most eVeHiI
talsnced team I ever saw. In iaet'
never want To see another team NAe ~
unless I can be the manager.
~rhe univ places give Comics pres
.rt team, the edge over his old one 10
IN the outfeld because OF simmons
and behind the bat because OF CocnrsHe, e.
.nd IA stretch a point. possibly at nrst
hscsuss of Foxx. In the old days Connie
never had real catcher and ne never
had a hitter like Simmons
what about Home Run Baker? IheS
didn't take him out Of the lineup NerS
often for pinch hitters did theyF
Grant YOU that. But II they hao hso
a ruv like Simmons around they miEh'
have been tempted TO-"
II +
cCMEHOW the subject OF last
= ball pitching came up, and II
was asked to what extent, II any,
Grove compared with johnson.
shanks broke in with washington IN
1910 At that time. Johnson was at MS
nask. In later years he has been aole 70
observe Grove from a non-comoatant
range which is safe enough. HIS test-
ronv NAV be accepted as fairly autnen-
tic
.Th.rs never was fast ball pitcher
like Johnson" said Shanks. There nave
hssn a lot of fast ball pitchers. but
johnson threw with such great freedom
and ease and power that he was aoie
to get the maximum OF speed. Grove
hasn't the physical assets johnson had
or the power. and certainly he isn't as
fast.
say. do you know how they used TO
heat Johnson when he was good
Did they ever?" interrupted Peckin-
pauRh.
well. they used to make him work
The old AS used TO beat him more than
anv other team. They'd make him pitch
all the way and tire him. mean they'd
take two strikes all the time before they
would swing. That meant he had to
throw plenty Of base balls. And while
he was big man. he became exhausted
easily"