Evening star., 1937-04-27
CLUB MISSES HITS
BUDDY PROMISED
Harris Worried by Soph's
Fai|ure-SIabmen Totter
Before Red Sox.
BY FRANCIS E. STAN,
Stan Correspondent OF The Star.


BY FRANCIS E. STAN,
STAFF Correspondent OF The Star.
~ OSTON, April 27-The Grif1s
* have stopped yelling look out,
below!" and with good reason.
- There isn't anybody below
them any more. If the season were
to end today Clark Griffith would be
lucky to find himself retaining his
franchise
AS the Washington firm prepared
to meet the Red Sox again and head
for home it found itself running dead
last in the big derby. All preseason
signs pointed to a great getaway. The
pitchers seemingly were in shape and
the hitters ready to make good the
boast of Washington having eight 800
swatters in the lineup. Now, if the
first month of the season is to be rated
even passable the Mats must stage
rally which will surprise, at this point,
even their most optimistic followers.
OF all Manager Bucky Harris wor-
ries to date, not the least is that young
man of Gastonia, John Buddy Lewis.
A year ago Buddy was the sensation
of the American League. He hit
everything that came to the plate on
ny. Today he is off to most dis
couraging start in his second season
Of major league campaigning.
Lewis Slump Causes Worry.
A LREADY the cause of major
shift in the batting order Harris
having dropped him from second place
to seventh, Lewis thus far has been
unable to prove even helpful in the
lower end of the batting order.
In the last three games for in
stance, he has gone to bat u con-
secutive and official times without
getting anything resembling a base
hit. He can't even buy one, it seems.
For the five games played to date
by the Mats he has hit safely only
once in II trips. Don't look now, but
his average is something like O4s.
To say at this time that Skipper
Harris is unworried about Buddy
would be painting the picture a little
brightly. Base ball history is replete
with cases of f1rst-year phenomena
who found the big show a different
story and struggle in the second year.
Lewis now has more than one OBJ
server wondering.
Harris, of course, isn't selling him
short. A man can worry and yet keep
faith. That is what Bucky is doing.
But it would be quite load off his
mind If young j. K. Lewis, jr, sud-
denly would begin banging a few
base hits.
De Shong. Linke Well Pounded.
MEANWHILE it cannot be said that
Lewis is the cause of the Griffs'
decline to the cellar as a result OF
four defeats in five official starts. With
10 hits and the scoring of five runs
the Washingtons wrote a 1887 offen-
sive high yesterday in the Hub opener
The only fly in the ointment was the
Red Sox scoring of a dozen runs and
their pounding out of Is hits.
Jimmy De Shong, the last first
stringer" to see action, finally was
paraded to the box and what Harris
saw was not encouraging. Two In
nings were plenty to convince him
that De Shong wasn't ready. BY that
time the Sox had 3-to-1 lead.
Next to be led to the slaughter was
Eddie Linke. For an inning he was
invincible. Then, in the fourth, the
Sox batted around and scored half a
dozen runs for a 81 lead
Harris conceded defeat after this
subtle scoring gesture. He left Linke
in the box. gave Shanty Hogan rest,
and Johnny Marcum, without being
too hot, breezed home to victory for
the Bostons.
Pitched Ball Kayos Doerr.
RuCKY proposes no more shake-ups.
He is convinced that his best line
up now is being used and If 1t isn't
good enough that is just too bad
Regardless of whether left-hander or
right-hander faces the Mats from
pitching box Harris will sink or swim
with his current regular team.
The future, in the meantime, holds
no great promise. Immediately after
today's game the Griffs were to head
back to Washington, where they will
open q three-game series tomorrow
with the Yankees
Joe Cascarella was to do the Wash
ington throwing today. Joe has a
habit, some say, of losing one-run ball
games. But even this would be a
relief after yesterday.
The greatest damage done SC far by
the Mats was Linke's hitting l9-year-
old Bobby Doerr in the head with a
pitched ball. This he did yesterday
IN the nth inning. Anxious team
mates carried Doerr to the club house
and from there he was removed to
St. Eizabeth's Hospital for observa-
ton. At the rate the Washington
pitchers have been going it seems as
If you can depend on them to hit
something all the time. II it isn't
bat It's somebody's head
Hating on Hill
=, ,wAaA1NaToN. WASH AR; R; H; 9. A =;
Ss;Pm.n' Gy.P. s. -------- CT. ! i 2 ! 9 g
Simmons, -------- 5 Q | Q
Stone: RI ----------- 2 9 9
lewis. tsfss' IS s --------- 3 I 3 J : 9
Crompton, . -------- 2 9 : Q o
DeSnon2. ---------
r.taI. 90 IN o. =, a