Evening star., 1938-03-28
BREAKERS AHEAD
SEEN IF HE DOES
Front Office Boss 'Guesses'
Starting Line-up-Rosen
Is Fine Prospect.
By JOHN LARDNER.

less Is prepared to bet f1orin or
two that he can guess what Brook
lyn's starting lineup will be, come
April 49,
He guesses it will be this:
Hasslett, left field; Rosen. center
field: Manush or Cuyler. right field;
Camilli, first base; Phelps. catcher;
1Avagetto, third base: Durocher,
shortstop; Coscarart, second base;
pitcher.
You can draw your own conclusions.
Mr.. MacPhail, whose lifework is being
the brains of this outfit or that, is
now the brains of the Brooklyn front
ONCE. In pinch, to protect his
wager, Mr.. MacPhail could climb
down from the front office and take
hand in the field management
He's been known to do that before
Mr.. MacPhail is restless fellow, with
little of the old Bonaparte strain
in him.
Explosion by Grimes Possible.
II he does begin to expand his
jurisdiction there will be a slight
explosion on the part of Mr.. Grimes.
and perhaps new manager in Brook
lyn in 1899 But that's for the future
to decide. Up to date, Mr.. MacPhail
and Mr.. Grimes have been harmonic
Ing like a brace of strong minded
love birds. 1t is pretty to see and hear
Grimes is thriftier with words than
the boss. He will not commit himself
on batting order. remarking. with
considerable justice, that he has
large squad to test and temper be-
tween now and the middle of April.
We'll have better pitching. better
infleld and more punch,' says the
old spitballer, caressing his whiskers.
That's about all there is to say just
yet. If Camilli cleans up those bases
the way he figures to- we might crack
the first division. We've needed a
money slugger. and Camilli is it, But
you never can tell. You certainly
can't ever tell"
Silent Harry MacPhail is the living
contradiction of that last remark. He
not only can tell. but he does. And
since he is the only teller around the
Brooklyn camp. it might be we'll to
follow the ripping flow of his con-
versation and study the lineup sug-
sested by him
II that is their team. the Dodgers
will finish fifth or sixth, with chance
for fourth or seventh. They have
some new faces. Lippy Leo Durocher
is sound performer at shortstop in
spite Of bad year with st. Louis
last season. Traded by the Cardinals
for . bundle of miscellaneous ivory,
slightly soiled. Durocher looks for the
silver lining and finds it without much
trouble.
Here's what it comes to-" says Leo
the Lip. I've been traded from a
f,rst-division club in a second division
city to q second-division club in a
f1rst- t-division city. I like it,
Durocher SteadieS InfieId.
That's a compliment which will
startle the citizens of Brooklyn no
little. Asked If he had trouble with
Francis F. Frisch in ST. Louis last
year. Leo says sure" and lets it go
at that.
He will steady an infield which has
= good deal OF promise. Camilh, at
first, is not just a Philadelphia slug
ger. He slugs anywhere Cookie
Lavagetto is hustling third baseman
who drives long ball. Young Peter
Coscarart, at second base, is the prob
lem child Of the inner works. His
Coast League batting average was .253,
and IT uynY't ho hotfor iY1f hn lott
League. But the Dodgers can carry
weak hitting around second base if
Durocher and Coscarart will give the
pitchers some help on ground balls.
Buddy Hassett, the platinum tenor,
Is the peoples choice, if not his own,
in left field. Bud is a steady hitter.
Maybe he's An outfielder. too No one
knows. Meanwhile, he is stationed in |
the left wing of the orchard, while |
Heinie Manush and Long Tom VIM
sett divide the chores in right. Kiki !
Cuy]er and Goodwin Rosen have been !
sharing the center field job, but the
chances are that Grimes will start !
Rosen and move the elderly Kiki over
ia right to fight for regular employ
ment there.
Every one in camp is stuck on Ro-
sen. A slender Jewish youth who hit |
.3l2 for Louisville last year. he is
fast and cool and willing. The Dodgers
will need speedster to span the gap
between Hassett in left and the aging /
patrol in right
Van Lingle Mungo and Max Butcher |
sre the best pitchers on the club. They
may get some help from Lucius Ham,
lin. Wait Hoyt and those two plump
sages. Frederick Farmhouse and
Frederick Fitzsimmons. Babe Phelps
is the flrst-line catcher, and a pretty
good one, and he will be spelled, pend
ing adjustments, by Roy Spencer, the
tourist
Brooklyn's franchise is the most
valuable in baseball. But it will be
another two years, anyway, before
Brooklyn has team worthy of the
franchise.