Evening star., 1938-12-27
Strong Keystone Man
Needed 10 Get Best
Out Of urges
Terry's Middle Soeker
Also Must Be Good to
Left to Aid Bonuru
BY GRANTLAND RICE,
Special CORRESPONDENT of The Star


Special Correspondent of The Star.
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 27.-Bill
Terry, making the Giants over for
the 1899 season, still has lot to do
He has Zeke Bonura to play first
base and Bill Jurges to play Short
stop, but that, as Bill knows, is only
beginning. Carl Hubbell recently
sounded a warning that he may not
have full year of effectiveness as a
major league pitcher left, which
isn't surprising, since Carl has had
1912 seasons in the big show and
behind that three or four in the
minor leagues.
And even if Carls forebodings do
not come true, the Giants will need
added strength in the box. No mat
ter how good his arm is, Carl cannot
60 on forever keeping the Giants in
the thick of the pennant tussle with
the very slight assistance he has had.
At shortstop, Jurges may be an
Improvement over Dick Bartell, al
though the fans probably will agree
that 1t Is a toss-up which is the bet
ter. For instance, 1t Is a good bet
that Bartell will have better season
next year than he had this year.
This is because he will have Billy
Herman on one side of him and
Stanley Hack on the other.
Support Weak All Season.
1t isn't that Dick, even granting
that he isn't as spry as he used to be,
needs much help. He still can caper
about the short field as we'll as any,
body in the National League, pos
sibly barring Leo Durocher. But the
greatest shortstop that ever lived
couldn't play shortstop, second base
and third base all at the same time
and make good showing. And
that's what Bartell tried to do for
the Giants last year.
Everybody but the bat boy-or
so it must have seemed to Bartell-
had a shot at second base. In des-
peration, Terry finally grabbed Bill
Cissell, a rugged campaigner and a
dead game guy-but old He couldn't
cover much ground, but he was
smarter and steadier than any of
his predecessors and he helped Bar
tell at least a little.
On the other side of him, for
most Of the season, Dick had Mel
OFT, a grand ball player, who rep
resented the Giants punch at the
plate-but no third baseman. The
arrival of George Myatt as the sea-
son waned took some of the strain
of Dick in that direction, although
Myatt, unused to the ways of the
big leagues, had to be watched and
schooled.
BY the time he was fanked by
Cissell and Myatt, however, Bar
tell had veered too close to the
point of exhaustion to come back
very far. Besides, his season had
been ruined.
Hack Deadly Performer.
Dick will find it a great relief
to be posted once more between
competent, experienced players.
Gabby Hartnett, who said that with
few exceptions .his players would be
placed on the block this winter,
didn't list Herman among the ex-
ceptions, but the chances are that
Herman still will be wearing a Cub
uniform when next season rolls
around.
Hack was one of the players
Gabby said he had no intention of
trading or selling. That was easy
enough to believe. Hack is the best
player on the Chicago team. There
is no flash to him and no color
But he Is nerveless under fire and,
as far as the enemy is concerned,
he is a persistent and deadly per-
former.
Joe Mccarthy described him, dur
ing the world series last fall, as the
"pestiest" player in either league.
"It's a funny thing" Joe said,
"but he operates so easily and quiet
ly that you don't realize what he is
doing to you. But when the game is
over and you check back on him
you find he made trouble for you
all the way"
Jurges' Outlook Drab.
So being tossed in between those
two fellows is going to help Bartell--
but what of Jurges, moving into the
Polo Grounds? Myatt indicated last
year that all he needed was little
seasoning to make him a first-rate
big league infielder and he prob
ably will be able to hold his own.
Second base still claims Terry's
attention. Burgess Whitehead may
be back in his old form-and may
not. If he isn't-or if Terry doesn't
swing deal for a stand-out second
baseman, or Alex Kampouris doesn't
show a sharp improvement, Jurges
is going to be almost as badly handi-
capped as Bartell was, and, if he Is
his playing will suffer, too.
Jurges, by the way, was born and
reared within an hours ride of the
Polo Grounds, but it took him long
time to get there, save In the uniform
of an opposing team. The Yankees
had a crack at him once when he
was working in Brooklyn bank ano
playing semi-professional ball on
SATURDAYS and SUNDAYS. but were