Evening star., 1938-09-03
GRAPEVINE HINTS
SWAP FOR BONURA
Mack Ready to Dispose of
SIugging WaIIy-Chase
Cuts Losing String.
BY FRANCIS e. STAN,
Star STAFF Correspondent.

PHILADELPHIA. Sept. 3.-Out-
fielder Wally Moses Of the Athletics
will go on the trading block this win
ter, and the Senators may bid for
his services by using First Baseman
Zeke Bonura as bait.
This is tip that buzzes over the
baseball grapevine today. Connie
Mack is supposed to be willing to
trade Moses If he can get his value
In playing talent. And the WASH
ington ball club, while duly appre.
ciative Of Bonuras recent batting
squirt, still would like something more
on first base besides dripping gobs
OF "c'mon- and-lets-get- 'em boys"
According to well-informed local
sources, Bob Johnson, who was re-
ported on the block, will be retained
by the AS. 1t is said that Mack
definitely has decided to keep his
present outfield intact-Sam Chapman
in left, johnson in center and Lou
Finney in right. Connie could use
another right-handed power hitter
like Bonura to team with Johnson.
WalIy Would Add Speed.
For some seasons now the Griff-
men supposedly were thumbs down
on left-handed hitters. and Moses is
a southpaw sWinger. But there hasn't
been much stress placed on this angle
lately. In fact Manager Bucky Harris
not long ago said: Il don't care
whether man hits right or left hand
ed. If he figures to be an improves
ment, I want him"
Moses is good outfielder and a fine
hitter He broke his wrist last wear,
and he was injured at the start Of
this season. Still, he has a .292 bat.
ting average for lis games to date.
Wally Is one of the fastest men in
the American League. Going down to
first base he will give George Case
real race. With Moses and Case,
the Mats could play Man Mountain
Dean between them and still have a
legitimate claim to the fastest out
field in baseball
Washington, of course, won't be the
only bidding club if Moses is placed
on the block. The Red Sox probably
will make an effort to land him, Offer
ing Ben Chapman. The Indians may
dangle Earl Averill in front of Connie.
Wasdell Tried in Outfield.
In opening two-game series here
with 4-to-2 victory over the AS, the
Mats used Jimmy WasdeIl in the out
field for the first time. Wasdell, a
first baseman, was started in right
field in place Of Taft Wright. Ac-
cording to Harris, he will stay in the
garden at least until Case RECEIVERS
from his leg injury.
Wasdell performed well enough in
the field but he didn't hit Jimmy has
trouble in timing the ball. He claims
that steady play will overcome the
difficulty, and there are some observers
OF the same opinion. At the same
time there is another school holding
to the opinion that Wasdell isn't a
major league player and that he never
even had a good minor league season
to recommend him.
If Bonura really is to be traded, the
Mats will have to develop a first base
man or else bid for the AS Dick
Seibert, along with Moses. This could
happen, too, although Seibert also is
left-handed hitter But, then, so
is Wasdell, who would be heir-appar-
ent to Bonura's job in the event the
big fellow was traded away. There
is a young first baseman down on the
Greenville farm who has captured the
fancy of the Mats front Office but
probably will be revealed as too fax
away from the majors to be Of any i'm
mediate value.
Chase Ends Losing Streak.
The combination of well-pitched
game by Ken Chase and some mod
estly robust slugging ended Washing.
tons three-game losing streak yester-
day The Griffs pecked away at
Nelson Potter for a 3-to-0 lead in the
flfth inning and Al Simmons added
the fourth and final Nat run when
he slammed his goth homer of the
season with the bases empty in the
eighth.
Not that>it will make the redbook.
but Al is the new all-time Washington
home-run hitting champion. Until
this year Goose Goslin. with 19 homers
IN 1926. had made more homers than
any other Nat in a single season. AL
now has almost half as many homers
as Hank Greenberg.
Chase pitched an acceptable game
to win his seventh victory of the sea-
son. Ken had shutout until the :,
seventh. when the AS scored on john
sons triple and an infield out. In
the eighth an error by Chase gave
the AS an unearned run.
Today Harris was to start Joe
krakauskas, whom Bucky now calls
the best pitcher on the staff" Yes.
this Is the same Krakauskas whom
Trenton sent back because he wasn't
good enough. Tomorrow the Mats nlav