Evening star., 1933-05-12
Mist TRIM CH|S0X
. TO return winner
Gosiin's Weak StiCkWork in
<Key Spot Drag on Team.
% Right Flanders Fail.
BY JOHN b. KELLER.

- H1CAGO, May 12.-This
three-game series with the
" White Sox that was to get
under way here today
finds the Nationals not only
fighting to get above fourth place
in the standing of the American
League clubs, but also to get a
respectable record for their first
invasion CT the West this year.
They must take the set to do both.
The Capital club dropped behind the
idling White SoX yesterday as it lost
to the Browns in 4-to-3 affair in St.
Louis. and unless it gets the edge in
the engagements in Comiskey Park it
will return home next week with a win
ming percentage of less than 500 for
It's swing through the inland sector Of
the circuit.
Their second successive loss to the
Browns got the Nationals into this town
with nothing better than an even break
for the trip thus far. Nothing for a
club with championship aspirations to
beast about Only a sweep of the series
here would make the Western tour a
success for such an outfit as Wash
ington's.
BY bagging two of the three settoS
slated with the White SoX, the Ma
tionals would carry home record OF
six victories against five defeats. But
that would not be moving along at a
championship gait.
MYTH one month of the title season
L. iv1
the thick of the fight, but they
have not played up to expectations at
that A powerful array on paper, both
at the plate and in the pitchers box,
the Cronin crew has yet to set the
league afire. The punch has been too
spasmodic and the right handed wing
of the curving corps has been too un-
certain to get the good results that
are reasonably expected of the sturdy
locking Washington aggregation that
started the campaign.
The pitching situation so far as the
right handlers are concerned may be re-
lieved when better weather for base
ball arrives. 1t may be that the chill
and moisture of the early season has
retarded the Washington right-handers,
although these unreasonable conditions
Go not seem to have affected the left
handlers. Nor has it handicapped the
hurlers of other clubs appreciably.
They have turned in many fine hill per-
formances the last four weeks.
There likely will be no steadiness in
the Nationals attack developed until
Goose Goslin swings into batting stride
his major league career record 1ndi-
IGtes he should maintain.
COSLIN for his dozen seasons in the
~ American League has an average
of 1925 fer his work at bat. He
should be hitting 300 or above with a
month of this campaign gone by, it
would seem. Yet the Goose to date is
nothing more than a .240 batter. and
such a one in the key position Goslin
holds in the Nationals batting oxder
checks a clubs attack no little.
Early in the campaign Goslin got his
hitting mark as high as .286 by crack
ing four hits in one game at Phlla-
Celphia He has slipped steadily since,
5oWever He came West with an aver
nge of $50, but in the eight games out
this way he has slapped the ball at only
.231 rate.
Goslin. Manush. Cronin and Schultz
were expected to be the Nationals
big Four" in attack when the season
got under way. Not "Murderers'
ROW" for of the lot only Goslin is nor
mally long hitter. Schultz has carried
en- even better than anticipated. Ma
nush- and Cronin, after sluggish starts,
ARE picking up in their clouting. Each
has moved at better than a 300 clip
in the West.
But Goslin, despite desperate efforts,
has not been able to lift himself out
Of the slump. Until he does-and, OF
course, he is apt to at any time now
The Nationals will have no well-balanced
offensive.