Evening star., 1938-03-27
Griffith's Three Quiet Deals
For Hogsett, Bonura, Giuliani
Keyst0nes IN Nat Rebuildin Q

swing the trade Of First Baseman
Joey Kuhel for Zeke Bonura. And
the Old Fox almost sneaked over that
purchase of Angelo Giouliani, st. Louis
catcher. the other day.
Hogsett Is Balance Wheel.
In short, Grif negotiated three
trades in fairly quiet fashion, but he
believes he has something. Bonura
is the most important new man.
Right t-handed at the plate, powerful
and full of spirit and color, zeke will
balance the Washington batting at
tack Strong, experienced and tough
for certain types Of ball clubs, Hogsett
will serve as a balance wheel on the
pitching staff. Fast, mechanically
good behind the plate, Giuliani will
give the Mats temporary protection
Catcher Rick Ferrell is injured.
Griffith has swung bigger and more
important trades during his 26-year
reign in the Capital, but what he has
done this winter and spring has not
been tomfoolery. Hogsett is not to
be underrated, according to Manager
Bucky Harris. He is the perfect type
of pitcher to save for the Yankees and
Indians Il didn't just get him to
have made trade at the winter meet
ing" insists Griffith. I've had my
eyes on Hogsett for long time"
Bonura, of course. Is fine ball
player and enjoys universal rating as
such. The Mats got the best Of this
deal, man for man. The chances are
that it will benefit both clubs.
Angelo Rated Crack Receiver.
As for Giuliani, one-time Catholic
University football player, he Is q
definite improvement over any second
string catcher the Mats have had since
Moe Berg in 1888. This is not taking
hitting into consideration. Giuhani
is not a strong hitter and probably
never will be. But he holds up a
game well and certainly ranks above
such as Cliff Bolton and Walter Miles
in sheer backstopping ability.
Hogsett, who also came from the
Browns. touts Giuliani as fine back
stop. Hes good" said the chief to
Grifith, after hearing the news. Il
liked to pitch to him. I think he Is
a better backstop than Rollie HENS
ley"
Bonura, who came from the White
Sox, of course, also mentioned that he
observed Giuliani. In fact, Zeke was
signing his contract in Grifith's hotel
room here when the Giuliani purchase
was clinched on the telephone.
"You getting Giuliani?" asked Zeke,
when Grin had hung up. Great deal.
He's a fine catcher"
Mats Rooted for Catcher.
The acquisition Of these new men
has done wonders to the Washington
club as whole. The spirit, morale
and confidence has been raised amaz-
ingly. When Bonura was procured the
Mats, to a man, counted themselves
one to two notches better in the race
than when Kuhel was the first base
man.
Hogsett never has been . real win
| ming pitcher in the majors, but he
always has been highly respected
workman by ball players. The Mats
are no exceptions. Hogsett looks good
| to them.
Giuliani Is comparatively unknown
to most fans, but he is no stranger
to other major league ball players
Neither Grifnth nor Harris yet can
believe the Browns actually let him
60. "How can they do it?" was what
Harris wanted to know. "Giuliani's
better than Billy Sullivan by plenty,
except at bat. And he's certainly
head and shoulder above Benny Huff
man." 1t might be added that Griff's 8
failure to land second-string catcher
with experience had been making talk
among the Mats themselves. They
weren't exactly mutinous about the
matter, but If Griff had landed nobody
and had strung along with, Jake Early
and Mickey Livingston there might
have been some sour faces If Farrell
had been hurt.
Partly due to driff's trading this
winter, the Warrington ball club VII