The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-01-24
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Bv KIRK MILLER
Times Sports Editor

XAuAC4S 40 "ANb 4f4~AASN0NA
Harris and Owner Clark Crit.
fifth have committed themselves
to as the team which will take
the field regularly for Wash.
ington in 1886.
And to perfect this plan and
make their policy workable,
Harris, himself, will come here
four weeks from next Monday
and practice with three of the
kid infielders whom he plans to
have report with rookie pitchers
and catchers.
In camp from the very outset,
therefore, will be Cecil Travis,
Johnny Lewis and Roberto Els
talella. With Uncle Nick Altrock
on first and Harris in harness at
second, that trio Of experimental
athletes will get intensive drills
to determine il Travis can master
the shortstop job which was his
first baseball love anyway, and
whether Lewis or the colorful
Cuban are most likely to field the
third base in the more workman.
like manner.
Their hitting stacks up as salts
factory for kids of their baseball
years, but ragged fielding at times
makes each Of them question
marks. However. a rebuilt left
side of the infield, next to i'm
proved pitching, was the outstand.
ing need of the Washington ball
club a season ago and that sector
is to receive unstinted concentra'
ton from the club manager from
the moment camp opens.
GFiff To Aid Pitchers
Meanwhile, Clark Griffith, de-
spite his sixty-odd years, is going
to relieve Harris of a great deal
of the pitching supervision until
Bucky has satisfied himself as to
who is who among the Travis
LeWiS-Estalella combination.
And yet another unit Of the re-
vamped Griffmen, as they might
properly be billed for the coming
campaign, will get an early call to
arms. Wilson Dee" Miles, the
Chattanooga graduate, is SEIZED
uled to pla" a lot of right field
for Washington during the on.
rushing season, and he will. get
two extra weeks of fly shagging
to run concurrently with the early
maneuvers of the kids of the bat.
terry department.
Miles hitting also has shown
major league possibilities, but he
can stand a lot of drills going to
his right and left for flies, as well
as backing up for the long. high
ones. With Uncle Nick Altrock
on the hitting end of the fungo
practice, Miles will be exposed to
a polishing process which IS fig.
ured to make him a regular in the
Washington outfield from the out.
set.
Probable Batting Order
Thus, it ; possible to envision
Washingtol'S likely batting order
when April comes around. It
should run something like this:
Hill, /. f.; Miles, r. f.; Myer,
2b.; Powell, C. f.; Travis, S. S.;
Kuhel, 1b.; Lewis or Estalella,
3d., and Bolton, C. Both Griff
and Harris are in accord that
Myer should be left in the clean
up spot where peeked out the
American League batting cham.
pionShip last season.
Then, too, at worst. Lewis, an
unorthodox hitter, and Estalella,
a highlander, will be inter-
changeable, depending on right
or left hand pitching by the op-
position. and that goes for Miles
and Reynolds, and Stone and
Reynolds in case Miles proves
not yet ready to hold down a
steady job.
Also, am able. in view Of
early discussions with the master
of the House of Griffith, to give
you an inkling as to which four
pitchers the Washington team is
leaning upon to rotate on the
mound. Newsom, Whitehill, Linke
and DeShong shape up now as
the regular starters. Not far
from the same category are Jack
Russell, Hank Coppola and Dick
Lanahan, all are looked on as
pay dirt possibilities who may
do a lot of backing up of the
big Four" when things go
awry, as they constantly are with
any pitching order.
In revealing a rough draft of
1886 working plans, Owner Clark
Griffith here to put in a month
of golfing and sun bathing before
operations commence, leaves the
impression he is standing pat on
the team personnel as it now ap-
pears. Unless an unsupported offer
of some kind crops up, the Griffs,
therefore, are through trading
and will work out their 1886 des-
tiny along the lines intimated
here With.
A Surprise Team
Griff, with optimism which vies
only with that Of Tom Yawkey,
who has spent fortune to gather
around him the headliners of
baseball, thinks that in his pres
ent crew of assorted athletes, he
might have the surprise team Of
1896. f..
Whether or not you agree with
him, you can't deny Ne is present
ing new faces in every department
of the game except back of the
bat and if there's anything base
ball fans like more dearly than