The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-04-14
Cleveland
Has Least
Flau,s
By KIRK MILLER


Tace, ana TINS ConnmeutAtur y
no one to pun away from .
thankless job cen though
everyone who reads these lines
has Q chance to second guess
him.
Howsomever, It is q long
way until October, and q lot Of
you win forget, and Of course
there will be some who viii save
this observation and mail it in
to bedeviI me next fall when I
am In the throes Of deSpOnd for
not having had clearer spring
time vision. y
Indians Out In Clear
Honestly. my dear sirs, and
fenrnes, too, think the Cleve-
land Indians shape UP right now
as starting from the post with less
to worry than any team IN the
league.
The club has Q five-Star pitch.
ing staff, and II you don't think
pitching is important. drop in
the office when you are at the
ball park sometime and ask Clark
Griffith or Bucky Harris how
they'd like to have one or two
Of the following superior hurlers
Mel Harder, Oral Hildbrand,
Willis Hudlin, Johnny Allen and
George Blaeholder, which OF
course, doesn't take into considera-
ton Lloyd Brown or Ralph Wine
garner.
Over and above q solid pitching
corpS, the Indians are greatly fa-
yored by dint Of the fact both
Billy Knickerbocker and Frank
Pytlak, q shortstop and catcher
good enough for any club, are def
initely off the sick list. With the
erstwhile internal dissension en-.
tirely absent, and Steve ONeill
In the saddle, see . flawleSS
green, green light ahead for Cleve-
land and I can't get that fact out
Of my noodle as the new season
starts.
How About Boston?
You may say to yourself, or you
may stand up and tear this page
to shreds and cry: What has
the; bloke got against BostonT
I've got that answer ready for
you, too. i've got nothing against
Boston. 1t is a swell city. It Is g
city Of culture. Our managing
editor and dramatic editor both
come from there. One sometimes
gives me raises and the other
theater tickets ('"The Great Fol
liesn Is coming to town.; SO I like
Boston swell.
But I was never one for those
fancy baseball clubs, and Joe
Cronin has a very ritzy, high-step-
ping crew on his hands to man
age. They may turn out to be
q detrimerit to him, instead OF q
help. Bill Werber gave Joe trouble
signing first out this spring. Can
he keep the others In hand should
disbursements materialize?
No doubt Boston has three swell
pitchers Grove, Ferrell and Mar
cum. But how are you going to
reconcile a pennant with the name
Boston when it has recruited the
majority Of It's players from tall
end teams like washington and
. Philadelphia?
Great Runners Up
Which brings us to New York,
here today to open the season,
and ultimately to Detroit, which
comes later In the month ana
later In this forecast.
The Yankees, one Of the great
bridegrooms, or second pl lace
teams of recent baseball history,
did q little shifting about last win
ter in an effort TO better their
outlook, but If the trades were &C
tually calculated to help their get
away, that benefit was offset by
the fact that Messrs Chapman
and Ruffing signed late and are
far behind the others in develop
unent.
Being ready in the spring is Inn
uortant, particularly wherein a
star is concerned and both Ben
and RED are In that category.
These early games are vital; worth
two to one against late season
victories!
Another Early Handicap
piMaggio, isn't ready, through
no fault Of his own, but his alb
sence will affect the box office
more than it will the team In the
early days. However, he's one Of
the newcomers by which McCar-
thy hoped to strengthen the team.
as are ROY johnson, Monte Pear
son and Bump HALEY. This past
pair didn't set either Cleveland or
washington afire last year. any
more than some Of those new Red
Sox helped the Athletics. However,
with q hitting club behind them,
they may be entirely different
pitchers. They'll have to be to
remain with New York long.
Brighter phases Of the Yankee
outlook embrace the facts that
Gearig, with a changed stance,
has been whaling the bali this
spring, Crosetti seems to have
come through a knee cartilage op-
Grafton in great shape and Red
Role appears to have successfully
converted himself from a natural
shortstop to an acceptable third
baSennaI1.