Evening star., 1932-04-04

Knoxville tonight to en-
gage in a two-game series tenor
| row and Wednesday with tn
Smokes, representatives from tina
city in the Southern Association
For that matter. your uncle
team has been moving on abou
and around about everything sine
this exhibition game stuff ha
gotten under way, weeks ago bacl
there in Biloxi.
Tally up. and you will find that th'
Griffs have taken everything but ont
combat with Cap Bill Meals Louisville
Colonels. And that, they say, was nab
bed by the shrewd Cap while he hat
Clark Griffith in corner talking abou
next Spring. Uncle Grif will not admit
that the Cap had him in a pocket. Bu
the Caps playmateS let the feline ou
Of the closet.
However, as Grifith's entouragt
moves toward the big city back home
you begin to realize as you watch il
NOV down one club after another
maybe some of them not so hot-that
1t packs a very precise and powerful
punch.
There is no color to the Griffs. You'll
agree, maybe, but Clark Griffith anc
Walter johnson will not. They say the
club is full of color-Manush, Cronn
West, Bluege, Reynolds and others. But
your correspondent would not call the
boys colorful Rather, he would say
they are powerful.
Color is personified by such players
as Hack Wilson, Babe Ruth, Nose
Grove, Dazzy Vance-young men who
are always in something or another
which brings them to public attention
and, maybe, makes the customers feel
that they are one of the gang.
There is no one on the Nationals
who is into something or another to
make the customers giggle or argue or
battle for them. Griffith has typical
ball club. A high-class one, mind you,
but one of the ball clubs which the
magnates of today are striving to build
and wondering whether they are right
or wrong in the idea.
CINCE the chain store has become an
- accepted and necessary part OF
base ball, magnates have gone in for
team work, machine play and the other
by-products OF what the five-and-ten
idea produces. --------.@7-r---.
Now that they are in, most of them
would like to get out, including your
Uncle Clark. Make no mistake about
that. They are beginning to feel that
they are suppressing individualism; that
the fellow who sometimes balks, some
times breaks base balls golden rules,
stays out a little late at night and SO
forth. is, after all, the fellow whom the
fans cotton to for no other reason than
besides ability he reveals decided human
traits.
Anyhow, your Nationals are headed
homeward with a precise punch. They
may not splatter color all over the trall
coming home, but, let me tell you, be-
hind this quiet, swift-moving outnt
there is a punch which can be matched
by but two other clubs in the league
And you know them.
Your Nationals today are ike the Al
Of two years ago. minus even the sngn'
color Nose Grove and Al Simmons gave
the club. Connie Mack. too, will tel
YOU that his club reeks with color. Bu
does it? And did it ever?
One individual can smear ball clut
with a brilliant hue And nine machine
like stars. who move swiftly and silently
can ne.er give it even tint. But thai
does not say that the machine team
cannot obtain its objective quicker anc
more deci-ive'y than the nine with
dab of color.
I'm lust pointing out what seems II
appeal to the customers everywhere
Tbey talk of it down here where the1
only see the majors in the Sprlng, JUS
as the folks do back home all Summel
long. The fellow with the hound-dot
1no cfofinT1 T0nct las
night talked of Yves Ferrell and 1t wa
two to one he could not name the
players team if asked in hurry. Bu
he knew all about WeS.
T7HAT ball game yesterday with th'
Noogas developed into comedy
before the exhibition had gone two
innings. When the final rounds cam'
along Nick Atrcck was playing frs
base, Walter Johrson had given {
pitching exhibition in the bull pen. anc
Al Schacht was giving a comedy de-
scription of the game over the loud
speakers. Yet ever 5000 fans, the big
gest crowd to watch the Nationals a
work in the South this year, paid t
see the affair that went to the BIZ
leaguers, 16 to 5.
However, it was a workout for th'
DOyS VI DObH lSdHlS 1IN QUIZ AolAi
smacking down harder than the Ma
tionals have seen this year, despitI
some of the warmish afternoon dow
in that dear old Biloxi, where the gul
follows one around the streets and pain
trees sprout out of hind pockets, alonI
with invitations to shrimp feasts.
Everybody got a chance to ge
warmed up, except Joe Cronin, who ha
a cold; Mike Martin, who did not wan
to play, and Bobby Burke and Lloy'
Brown, who have anemic fms Evel
Umpire Roy Van Grahan tried to ge
into the game during the latter in
nings
1t was a splendid workout for tn
Griffs' dynamite line 1t functione
on all eight. Carl Reynolds, for in
stance, nailed four hits for six time
up, two being triples and two singles
i Carl Fischer, on the mound for seve
innings brought in two runs, score
two more and bagged two hits and
walk in four times up. He allowe
one run and seven hits.
Il DUT there was tragedy attached I
81 I'D the comedy, for Ad Liska, whoH
Uncle Clark had been mentionin
# as the young man he would like
look over again, was as sour as las
weeks milk Ad was slaughtered
his two and one-third innings on tn
#hill He was not even a three-innin
3hurler as the boys promised he woul
DE down here. Seven hits and six rur
were nicked off his pitching, whic
swas underhanded and slow.
Masters, who followed Ad. was beate
lust as numerically by the poundin
kuuad of the Nationals When the fol
8ner Griff got of the mound he ha
burned over more runs to the enem
han there are Smiths in the telephor
looks.
Young Cliff Bolton, playing in mic
aew Chattanooga uniform, made 1t
fttle tough for Fischer when he anble
% 70 the plate. Cliff raped a mea
fnrie for his first time against h
A.< 4ne a.