Evening star., 1933-05-02
SEES MATS PR|MED
FOR WINNING TOUR
Club Below Par in Swings
Last Season-Second as
Tribe Set Opens.
BY JOHN b. KELLER.

)LEVELAND, May with
the Nationals able to put
~ their regular lineup on
the field again and all
pitchers in pretty good trim, Joe
Cronin feels his club will enjoy
more than a fair measure of sue
cess in its first swing around the
West this season.
Even the meager .248 batting
average the Nationals have doesn't
check the boy managers optimism.
1--WE did right we'll in the East, de-
spite that .248 hitting" he points
out. "The figures show we didn't
hit much, but they don't show
how timely we hit, and that's what
counts in the long run. But our
batters are about due to swing in
true form, so that average should
grow while we are in the West.
And when we hit as we should,
there will not be many stopping
us. I believe we'll take the West
this time"
Taking the West has not been done
often by the Nationals in recent years.
No matter how well it got along in the
seeboard sector, the washington club
has had a habit of putting its poor
foot forward once it reached the West
ern front Not until last season did
the Nationals make anything like a
respectable showing out this way to
break a spell the leagues inland sector
had held over them for long period.
In the 1882 campaign, the Washing
ton outfit rolled up winning per-
centage of .568 for its three Western Of
fensives. That, however, was 81 points
below the winning stride it maintained
against the Western clubs in encounters
in Griffith Stadium in the Capital and
SO points under its winning percentage
for the year.
The Western trail still was rocky.
nERHAPS the Nationals are getting
7 a break in opening this initial
Western tour of the season here.
Next to Chicago, Cleveland was their
way last season. They took the measure
of the Indians in seven of the eleven
games played at League Park and in
the vast municipal stadium. The Ma
tionalS were more successful though,
on the old League Park field than at
the stadium and it is in the latter
plant that the current series Is being
played 1t is an ideal ball park for the
long hitters and the Indians have them.
Detroit was no happy spot for the
Nationals in '32 They took only four
of the IL tussles with the Tigers at
Navin Field, being beaten in two OF the
three series there. And st. Louis. as
usual, was a tough town for the Waih-
ington crew. After winning their flrst
game In Sportsmens Park last year, the
Nationals proceeded to drop four IN
row. Only by sweeping the final three
game set did they get six-to-flve game
edge for the seasons sclapp1ng IN the
Browns back yard.
1t was different in Chicago. That
was the Nationals pleasant spot in the
West. They licked the White Sox eight
times and took only three lickings. That
was in competition against White Sox
club that had no Simmons, no Haas, no
Dykes, however.
The Nationals 1882 record in the
West was 25 wins against 19 defeats.
During this trip Cronin expects them
to get a flying start toward bettering
that mark.
COING into the battle with the In
" dams, the Nationals are in COM
plete possession of second place in
the league race, thanks to the beating
the tribe dished out yesterday to the
White Sox But Peck's papooses are
but half a game back Of Cronin's crew
and so are Fonseca's fusileers. Mucn
can be done to the standing of the clubs
In the current series.