Evening star., 1932-04-15
MANAGER IN FAVOR
OF LATER STARTS
Walter Fearful of Numerous
DoubIe-HeaderS With His
Small Pitching Staff.
BY JOHN b. KELLER.

~ OSTON, April 15.-A season
K shorter than the one now
- in vogue and plenty for his
club to do-that's Manager
Walter Johnson's ideal base ball
campaign. Irked by two postpone
mentS in three days here because
of inclement weather, the Wash
ington pilot and his Nationals,
too, would welcome any future
schedule change that would get
the game under way after Winter
is over.
More often than not the clubs will
run into lot Of cold and rain start
ing the campaign as early as was done
this year, johnson contends. He sees
the big league owners making plenty
of trouble for themselves by adopting
such schedules. All too frequently
players conditioned in milder Southern
climates at great expense are upset by
the chill April blasts in the North, and
the many enforced poStponements are
likely to give club treasures no light
blow.
JOHNSON does not fear that the cold
and damp weather encountered
here will strike at his Nationals so
far as the physical condition is con-
cerned But he does fear the effect
of the postponements upon his pitching
staff. The Washington mound corps
isn't built for the handling Of many
douhle-headers
Really shy of pitchers, the Nationals
figure to have about all they can do
to care for the regular routine. So
scarce are hurlers about the Washing
ton club that should one assigned to
sumo his regular turn two or three
times in succession the club probably
would suffer severe setback.
Should double-headers pile up the
Nationals would be in a sorry way, in
deed. A pair of twin bills in a row
and the Washington outfit would have
virtually nothing to fall back on un-
less one of its starting hurlers develops
into an iron man."
This bleak weather certainly Is Of
no help to the Nationals.
JOHNSON feels that the big leagues
should not get under way earlier
than April 20, nor does he think
the season should extend beyond the
last of September. No doubt the 154-
game schedule could be made so COM
pact as to be disposed of within that
time" he says.
Il know the big aim of the sched- |
ule makers Is to avoid conflicts in dates |
in towns where both big leagues have |
clubs, such as New York, Philadelphia, |
Chicago, st. Louis and here. Well, 1t |
seems to me conflicts In Chicago would |
not make much difference The ball |
fields there are far apart and each club |
appears to have its own following, !
following large enough to support 1t |
well. Of course. in other cities where |
both leagues hold forth conflicts would !
have to be avoided.
But doubling UP. occasionally in that
one city, Chicago. might help to shorten
gets Sunday base ball-n it is to-mak- |
ing the greater number of the Athlet-
les games in Washington and the
Phillies' games in Brooklyn, Sunday
games, ought to help johnson sug-
gests
I believe the schedule could be made
more compact and I am confident the
owners would get a better break, the
playing would be superior and the fans
given fairer deal if the leagues started
later than now" |
THERE also was a waggish sugges-
i ton that the st. Louis clubs could
help shorten the schedule by play
ing double-headers at home and split
ting the proceeds four ways. This
came from a shrewd business man
among the Nationals coaching per-
sonnel.
Even as champions the Cards don't
draw well in st. Louis. And the Browns
do little more than draw breath. Let
them put on double headers in Sports
mems Park and those many ST. Louis
people who don't care for either club
would have the great satisfaction of
staying away from both clubs the same
day. great break all around"
MYTH snow falling in the morning
w and the thermometer around the
35-degree mark at 10 o'clock, the
Red Sex business management lost no
time calling off yesterdays game
Unless 1t moderates considerably this
morning the Nationals will have had
complete rest before tackling their
arch enemy, the Athletics. in Phila-
delphia tomorrow afternoon for the
hrst time this season.