The Washington times., 1934-03-13
By DAVIS J. WALSH

by DAVIS D. WALSH
ST. PETER SBUR G H Fla,
March 13.-Two years ago, they
were the talk of baseball and the
toast of sonnet and song. Today,
they're just Joe Cantillon's home
for-the-aged in big league uni
forms, a ball clu' that combines
the mellow dignity of age with
the invitable flatness OF the toot.
The New York Yankees have a
great organization with i've
scouts, a manager, fifty ball
players and a travelling secretary
backed by a multi-million dollar
bank rool; in fact, they seem to
have everything except Judgment.
They think they can win l934S
pennant with 1925 club. Mr.. Joe
Mccarthy, the manager, didn't
exactly say that today but he
didn't deny it, either.
"Why should 1 give up known
strength for unknown futurl-
ties in a race like this? Anybody
can win it."
Like All Gaul.
: The Yankees, like all gaul, are
divided into three parts-the
bright but intangible prospects
c"Red") Rolfe, Newark ShortStop;
Don Heffner, Baltimore second
baseman; Harry Smythe, Baltl-
more pitcher; and the younger
middle set which somehow seems
to be trailing off Gomez was bad,
Chapman and Lazzeri were fair
and Gehric was merely good) /;
and the doddering, old souls who
somehow seem to be staying on,
though nobody knows exactly why.
AS Mr.. Mccarthy says, it's any
body's ball race but. in making
that statement, he overlookS one
team. That's the team that pro-
poses to take nothing and build It
up with very little.
It has an elderly outfield and
two of it's four infield positions
must either be filled by untrled
juveniles or much-tried semi-vet-
eranS. The former are Rolfe and
Heffner, who looks like a smooth
fielder but just fair, country
hitter. The semiveterans are Gro
Setti, apparently unsatisfactory
after three years; Jack Saltzgaver,
back again from Newark where
he hit .305, and Lyn Larry who is
holding out for reasons unknown
to anybody except Lyn Larry.
Lazzeri, says Mccarthy, is to be
the second baseman. He demands:
"Why not? Everybody else in
the league wants him to play
second base and the center Of
the ball field is the key sector
of any club. You fellows have
this team wrong. We're making
changes, where needed, but we'd
be crazy to completely overhaul
. team that would have won
last year if Gomez and Ruffing
had pitched to form and Allen
hadn't been i'll. They're all set
now and the difference will be
apparent from the start. The
Senators aren't so good, the
Athletics are gone and the rest
of the league isn't ready to
catch us yet.
Remember, nobody gave US
much chance in 1882. But it will
be easier to win this time"
That's Mr.. McCarthy's story.
Mine is, for the first time IN
fourteen years, there is no mem
ton of how many home runs
Ruth will hit or even how many
games he'll play.
The outfielders are Combs,
"Dixie" Walker, who hit more
home runs than Foxx, Ruth and
Gehrig over one stretch of the
season and then fell away to
.274; the inevitable Sam Byrd
and Hoag, provided he doesn't
Join the third basing set.
Significant is the fact that Bill
Dickey, the best catcher in the
league, is a holdout, the differ
ence in opinion having been re-
duced from $4,000 to $1,500.
Dickey says he hasn't had a raise
since 1880 and feels the club
must have been guilty of an over
sight. Three other catchers are
here, Jorgens, another inevitable;
Norman Kies, from Newark, and
brother "Skeets" Dickey, but
they're just scenery.
Outside Of the pitchers men,
toned. there is Russ Van Alta. a
success last year, who has in
jured the index finger Of his
pitching hand in a fire, and may
not be so good. Others who
definitely won't, include Aube.
Deshong, MacFayden and Muir
ply. remnants of other years;
. { d perhaps those dashing COL
legians, Charley Devens. of Har-
yard, and Johnny Broacca. of
-ale, neither of whom is here.
nor will be for some time.
All told, there are IS pitchers
in camp. including Vito Tamulis,
who won three in one week for
B.lghampton, and Floyd New
kirk, who has lost two fingers
and naturally reminds everybody
so much of Mordecai Brown. Also
the said Smythe, Of Baltimore.
When he was with the Phillies
they used to call him Line Drive
Smythe. It seems the man was
perfect. Nobody could miss him.
AS for this ball club, it ap-
parently hasn't concerned itself
too deer'y with the subject of re-