The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-03-31
Cards Ambitious To Capture Crown
By GEORGE KIRKSEY United Press Staff Correspondent

United Press Staff Correspondent)
 St. Petersburg, Fla, March 31 = (UP)-The St. Louis Cardinals are B gang of hungry young ball players from towns like Mountain City Tenn, Roxboro, N. C., Hatchtown Ill, Mt. Ida, Ark, and Temple, Okla.
 They are down-to-earth men of the soil and most of them would be farmers, mechanics and tradesmen if they weren't playing baseball. They are nearly all young and am- bilious and hustling to make the grade. They need the dough.
 And when you find an athlete battling to keep the wolf from the door, you usually have tough customer on your hands. Only few of the Cards are making top notch salaries. Joe Medwick tops the list with $17,500. Lon Warneke is around the SIS, ,000 figure. Johnny Mize and Pepper Martin probably complete the group in the five-flgure class.
 Youth Prevails
 Youth dominates this Cardinal team. Only three of them are past 30; Martin, 35; Bob Weiland, 34; and Curt Davis, 32. Most of them range from 21 to 27.
 They wear slouchy clothes, with open-throat shirts and sport jackets. Few of them wear hats and ties. Their pants need pressing. Only Medwick, with his carefully selected wardrobe Ca reminder of the Leo Durocher influence) looks out of place, but he looks like he belongs once he dons a uniform.
 One of the first things you miss about the Cards is Frankie Frisch. His place is now being filled by Ray Blades, a dead serious baseball man who has 20 years of service behind him in the Cardinal organization. Noted for his patience with young players, Blades is taking his time picking the Cardinal team. Blades major problem is to rebuild the mid- dle of the infield. Shorsstop was a nightmare last year and sec,nd baee was headache. The blunder of trying to convert Don Gutteridge into a shortstop is a thing of the past. Don is back at third and may be an improved player for his brief but unfortunate shortstop experi- ence.
 Orengo At Short
 Joe Orengo, tall Italian lad from San Francisco, may be Blades an- swer to the shortstop problem. He needs polish but he can cover ground and has an arm. Second base is any, body's job. The candidates are Creepy Crespi from Springfield; Maurice Sturdy from Rochester; Lynn Myers, up last year at short- stop; Stu Martin, who is having his annual charley horse; and Jimmy Brown, who has his annual sore arm. If Browns wing comes around, he'll probably be the second base man. Johnny Mize, runner-up for the batting title last year with .337, completes the infield at first.
 The Cards outfield has class. Medwick will play left, Terry Moore center and Country" Slaughter who gives promise of living up to expectations this year, in right. Bus ter Adams from Sacramento looks like Q find and will stick but presently is laid up with a broken jaw. Pepper Martin, promoted to team captain, will be the utility man.
 Half and Half
 The pitching staff will be a com- bination of veterans and youngsters. The big three will be Lon Warneke, Curt Davis and Bob Weiland. They pitched .608 ball last year, good enough to win the pennant, if they had any help. Bill McGee is ex- pected to arrive. Paul Dean is in good condition and shows promise. Four youngsters look good in the order named, Bob Bowman from Rochester, Tom Sunkel from At 1anta, Morton Cooper from Hous- ton and Ken Raffensberger from Rochester. Bowman is a surprise package, and has looked better than the other three who came up more highly regarded. Dusty Shoun, southpaw whose specially is beating the Giants, also figures to stay.
 Herman Franks, from Sacramento where he was tutored by Bill Killi- fer for two years, is one of the sen- Sations of the camp and is given an even chance to win the number 1 catching job. Mickey Owen is back, and Don Padgett, now nursing dis located shoulder, is still trying to become a catcher. He's improved but still has long way to come.
 The Cards are loaded with speed