The Washington times., 1937-07-09
Rick S MaQiC
Inspires
GriffS
By KIRK MILLER
Times Sports Editor

cake Time Dy Lne lore
lock and by the fetlock
as well, and say some
thing I intended to say
a week or two back,
before I got cluttered
up in the Braddock-
Louis fight and the
All-Star game.
It is simply that the Wash
ington ball club looked to be an
entirely different team on its
last home stay with a man by
the name Of Ferrell doing the
catching.
In case any of you never real.
lied it before, catching, after all,
is a pretty important cog in the
machinery of any ball club.
Contrast Noticeable
The contrast that can be
formed between the Griffmen of
the pre-Ferrell era and the Griff-
men of the Terrell era itself.
pretty well illustrates what I'm
trying to register.
The pity is that Bucky Harris
couldn't have had Ferrell from
the outset of the campaign. In
deed, it is pity he Couldn't
have had him for last seasons
campaign as well.
Where might Washington have
finished with Terrell doing the
bulk of our catching in 1895?
Certainly our brains depart.
ment on Georgia Avenue must
have known in the spring of
1886, as last spring. that it prob
ably had as weak a catching
staff as the league possessed.
How could ball club manage
ment that had owned such catch
ers as Ainsmith, Ruel and Sewell,
betimes, ever justify depending
on anything short of the best
catcher available?
No Could Do
It amounts to affrontery to
give a manager a first string
catcher like Cliff Bolton and say:
GO out there and try to win
. pennant!"
Well, the club was fooling no
body except itself. The presence
Of Rick Terrell proves that state
Inent if there be any doubt about
it whatsoever.
It hasn't required the eye OF
an expert to detect the improve
ment in the Washington team
esprit de corps and general effec.
tiveness since the team stopped
experimenting with half ripe
catchers and imported Rick Fer.
rell, the veritable pepperbox ana
grasshopper combined.
He has brought this Washing
ton team to life and being 1t
gave every visiting team of the
last home stand a fight for the
verdict and it indeed looked like
. different club than that which
struggled through April, May and
most of June woefuuy weak be-
hind the plate, where nice, good
ratured, well-meaning fellows had
been garbling up one of the most
vital positions on the club.
Mccarthy Stands Pat
All1Star game customers and
critics are finding fault with
Manager Joe Mccarthy because
he did not parade more of his
talent through the eight and one
half innings Of play.
The protest is that they paid
to see all or a majority of the
stars, and saw only a complete
team. plus two pitchers and one
pinch runner. They wanted to see
Beau Bell, the Terrell Brothers.
Nose Grove and the rest. but saw
only about half the American
League aces.
think I understand McCar.
thy'S mental processes in adher-
ing to his starting lineup with the
exception of changing pitchers
every three innings.
objectionable Crime
Mccarthy was the target Of
caustic comment from his league
managers and officials for Jockey
ing his lineup a year ago and
losing the game to the National
LeaguerS. He used II men last
year because he thought the fans
wanted to see as many as possible.
The epithetS hung on him
within his own baseball group be-
fore the park had cleared were
pointed to say the least. He had
committed the objectionable
crime-losing to the older circuit.
Naturally, then, last Wednesday
when he had a crew which was
clicking. he stood pat.
don't blame him. for baseball
men can be mean as thunder to
each other at times. and they
were unnecessarily mean to Nc.
Carthy after the 1886 loss.
It was a case Of league man.
ayers and officials Second-gueSs-
ing Mccarthy. something they all
deplore in the average fan, Incl
dentally.