Evening star., 1935-06-05
STRIVING TO HELP
PLAYERS TO RELAX
"Breaks" All Against Club,
He Ayers, After Eighth
Straight Is Lost.
BY FRANCIS E. STAN.
THE mailed fist with which Bucky
Harris lately has been ham

Harris lately has been ham
ding the reinS of the Nationals
today was junked, to all ap-
pearances, and in place was kid
glove.
The forceful pilot of the skidding
Washington ball club, whose lectures,
warnings and entreatieS vainly have
sought to snap the Capital entry out
of its losing streak that today had eX-
tended to eight games, now is con-
WINGED that it will be the law of aver
ages on breaks" that ultimately will
mark turning point.
We simply must relax now" as
sertS Harris. THE team is fighting
itself into state of mind that won't
help us get out of our slump. We've
got to await our turn for the breaks
we haven't been getting for more than
two weeks.
"A ball club cannot generate any
more sheer determination than the
Washington team now has without
tightening up to dangerous extent.
At present the team is playing in the
toughest run of luck I've seen in years.
The boys are fighting the ball; fight
ing themselves If they continue
pressing, and this goes for me, too,
we'll all be in the bughouSe"
Losses Get Under Their Skins.
PUCKY isn't the type to complain.
~ The breaks are a part of base
ball, and base ball is part of Bucky.
But Harris has a right to wonder just
what he or his team committed to de-
serve the luck-all bad-Which has
befallen his outfit.
Solid drives are landing in fielders'
gloves. Puny pokeS from rival bats
are falling safe. And all the Nationals
have been getting within the last fort
night have been dirty looks from Lady
Luck. The morale of the team in
spite of the battle Harris has been
waging, has suffered. Lips hard eyes
down. the Nationals have been pulling
on their dimaond togs and taking
beatings, some of which they haven't
deserved. It is beginning to get under
their skins
The i'll fortune in which the Griff-
men have been playing was evident
again yesterday. Bump Hadley pitched
well enough in the opener of three
game series with the Red Sox to win
nine out of 10 games. Yet for one
of his best performances of the sea-
son all Hadley had to show for the
day was licking.
Carl Reynolds half-ducking a close
pitch, stuck out his bat and sent
single spinning into right field in
the fifth inning with Joe Cronin on
first base.
1t was a mean drive, low and bounc-
ing, and to the left of Jack Stone,
who was playing toward center for
Stones legs, and there was the ball
game. Cronin scored and Reynolds
reached third, from where he also
counted moment later with what
proved to be the winning run of a
3-to-2 tussle.
Breaks Overdue, Says Bucky.
IF HE chose, the Nationals boss
might have traced last Sundays
S-to-7 defeat in Philadelphia to cir
CumstanceS very similar. And he
probably could trace, very logically
and fairly. a good many more such
"breakS" of the last couple of weeks.
But in the face Of bitter disappoint-
ment and i'll luck, the man whose
dreams of duplicating his glorious
managerial feats of 1924 and 1925
seemingly are crumbling refuses to
concede anything.
We're not through, and we're not
out of this race by any means" as
serts Harris. We're not getting the
breaks now, but we will get them.
The team is due some. way overdue.
And when it starts clicking, watch out
for us. It isn't too late"
If it proved nothing else. the opener
OF the Red Sox' set showed Harris
that Hadley, despite his defeat, is just
about at his peak. 1t took everything
Yves Ferrell had to keep pace with
the chunky National right-hander.
In one of the best games of the local
stand each gave up nine hits, and
they might have been battling yet
but for Stones miScue, which broke
a 1-all tie and gave the Sox a 3to-1
lead, which Bottoms triple and an in
field out whitfield down in the ninth.