The Washington times., 1934-03-15
By DAVIS ]. WALSH

SSs$OO |G oP"H LIUTEtby'
BY DAVIS ]. WALSH
ST. PETER SBURG, Fla,
March is QN.SO.-As near as I
can find out today, the Boston
Braves will be making a trade
for an infielder almost any day
now. It isn't a case Of a deal
being on. They abandoned one
with Brooklyn some time ago
and with the change in Dodger
management from the Christian
Endeavor to the whoop-de-doo
syGem, the Braves now have no
idea Of the deal being revived.
Nevertheless, I'll venture the
prediction they'll make one some
where, my reasoning being ele.
mental, fundamental, colossal
and, in fact, pretty good. Briefly,
they'll make the deal because
they must.
There are only five infielders
on the roster and, when you're
not on the roster in spring train
ing, the fact is a little sugges-
tive. It means that you'll soon be
on somebody's scenic railway,
with the Sunday shirt in one
hand and the one-way ticket in
the other.
Shouldn't Be There
Unfortunately. the five who
seem sure of their jobs are, by
the very nature Of things, five
men who shouldn't be. They are
Baxter Jordan, first baseman,
who hit .286; Rabbit Maranviue,
elderly second baseman who hit
.21S: Bill Urbansh, Shortstop,
who hit .251; "Pinky" Whitney.
third baseman, who hit $50. and
Dick Gyselman, extra man, who
hit .238. wouldn't want to say
the Braves can't start with Wnat
they have. The rules, in fact, say
they must. But If they finish be-
fore the following Friday they'll
be entitled to an ovation said
william McKechnie, manager
choir singer and philosopher, IN
the order named today.
His gesture in the direction OF
his pitchers was eloquent, also
a trifle bitter. He's finding out
by slow, and far from painless
degrees, that life is just another
bali game, only its rules are diff
ferent. They don't allow Tor
postponements and there are no
rain-checks. The rule that seems
to be bothering Mr.. McKechn1e
right now is the one which says
you have to give in order to
take.
Rather Not Give
He'd rather not give any part
of that pitching staff. It pitched
him into fourth place last year;
it's about all he has. Barring
Berger, who hit .313, and Randy
Moore, who hit .302, the rest
couldn't hit the edge Of the IN
field on the second bounce.
McKechnie adds:
you'll have to note an ex-
eeption this time, however.
That's Bob WOrthingtOn, my
left fielder. He has always
been a hitter, but last year he
suffered all the symptoms OF
q nervous breakdown and
had to send him home. He's
hack now and he's the same
old WOrthington, 800 or bet
ter. 1t will make . lot OF
difference to us"
McKechnie also said Bob
Brown, the pitcher, would make
q lot of difference. He won IA
games in 1882, had a bad arm
and won none last year. and Is
back all ready to win II more.
But the Braves do not need
pitching. They have plenty In
Ben Cantwell, Fred Farmhouse,
Ed Brandt, Walter Belts, Brown,
Bob Smith and Tom Zachary, in
addition to which they have gone
completely wire-haired by adding
Steve Swetonic, from the Pirates.
So, if Brown never stitched an
other bali, nobody but his nearest
of.kin could possibly miss him,
and, besides, the rules say that,
no matter how many pitchers
you have, you can only use one
at a time.
The fact is the catchers, J.
Francis Hogan, the milk-fed boy,
and AL Spohrer, the second man,
either dc not or did not hit, and
Outfielders Joe Mowry, up from
Minneapolis, and Rupert Thomp-
son, up from Albany, obliged with
.221 and 1876 in Boston last year.
So what? That's what Mr..
NcKechnie would like to know.
He Likes Thompson
He thinks Thompson is a great
ball player. But what Thompson
thinks about last year, nobody but
Thompson knows. Mr.. McKech-
ME also is impressed with the fact
everybody says Mowry is bound to
hit. But the irdisputable fact is
Mowry did not. There is the
further fact Whitney, obtained
from the Phillies, was always
higher than $50 and that. since
coming here, he has climbed all
over everybody's pitching.
But training camp hitting is
Nike the good nickel cigar. It car
ries no guarantee, and neither
does the proposed attempt on the
part Of Mr.. McKechnie to make
an infielder out Of Hal Lee.
AS a matter Of record, Mr.. Nc
Kechnie says you have to string