Evening star., 1940-03-12
Old Fox Regards
Pair in Loops
5 Top Lefties
Confident Of Haynes,
Leonard, Prexy Also
Likes CorrosqueI

BY Staff Correspondent of The Star.
ORLANDO, Fla, March $50
you would shed tear for the
Washington pitching staff? Well,
listen to Clark Griffith:
We've got the best left-hander
in the American League In Ken
Chase. I haven't seen very much
of Russo of the Yankees, but of what
I've seen, I'll take Chase.
We've got another left-hander in
Joe Krakauskas, who ranks among
the five best in the league. I'm
not a-Worrying so much about our
pitching"
The Old Fox is pretty high on
the subject of his two southpaws,
Chase and Krakauskas. For the
last three years. they have been his
babies. One year would find Griff
leaning a bit toward Chase, but
still liking Krakky. The next spring
he would 60 for Krakky, but rank
Chase almost as highly. Now he
thinks both are ready to arrive, and
he'll almost guarantee Chase.
Ken Learned to Field.
Ken was the unluckiest pitcher
I ever saw last year." Griff says
HE lost 10 games and some of his
defeats were brutal. Early in the
season he brought a few of them on
himself because he didn't field his
own position. Batters were hitting
drives back at him, and the hard ones
were going for singles over second
base and the easy ones were being
fumbled.
Then, all of a sudden, Ken
learned how to field. One game l
saw he had nine assists. This is a
big help to a pitcher, being able to
field his position. He still lost some
games, but Chase was, quite a boy
in the box. look for him to win
20 ball games some year and this
seems to be as good year as any"
Krakauskas was supposed to have
arrived in 1888, but he didn't come
close in the spring. His ears were
pinned back regularly in the Grape
fruit League and on the way north
ward. Shortly after the club
reached Washington he was farmed
out.
Base Runners Bothered Krakky.
Krakauskas looked better last
year. Indeed, he looked good enough
in the spring to win the opening
game assignment against the YAM
KEGS, but Joe was beaten and he
wound up the season with IL vic
tories and II defeats.
He didn't have curve ball he
dared throw except when he was
"'way ahead of the hitter" Grif-
fifth explains. Besides, he lost some
of his stuff when runners got on
first and second bases, because he
didn't know how to pitch without
windup"
This has been said and written
in previous years about Krakauskas,
but the fellow now seems to be ready
to show something. He looked good
while pitching scoreless three
innings against the Yannigans last
Thursday in an intra- squad game.
He looked better last Sunday against
the Giants. He made a bad pitch,
throwing Johnny Dickshot a home
run ball, but otherwise he made no
mistakes and aside from that lone
run he gave the Giants nothing,
including no baseg on balls.
Joe Ran the Gantlet.
From the beginning Krakauskas
has been an experimenter. One week
he would try to throw like Gomez.
The next week he would attempt
to ape Wes Ferrell. He ran the
gantlet-Hubbell, Grove, Ruffng, all
OF them.
This year, with the help of Pitch
ing Coach Benny Bengough, hes
been trying to pitch like Krakauskas
and the results so far have been
highly pleasing. He's throwing over
hand and against the Giants he
displayed what he'd always lacked
a curve ball. kept low and thrown
with good enough control to use in
a pinch.
Krakky wasn't ahead OF every
Giant hitter. Some OF. them had
two-and-nothing counts on him.
But, whereas he always was forced
to come across with q straight ball,
Krakky used curve in the pinches
He not only got it over. but kept it
low and almost unhittable.
Trade Rumors Die Out.
Getting back to Griffith:
"Joe won II and lost II last year.
This year there's no reason why
he shouldn't reverse that record.
Then he'd be pretty good pitcher,
wouldn't he? Well, he can do it
If he keeps that curve low and
gets it over. I wouldn't trade those
two left-handers for two that belong
to any other club in the league"
Krakauskas' fine showing to date
virtually has killed rumors that he
will be traded either to st. Louis or
Detroit. There was some talk, un-
verified, that he might be shipped
to the Browns in a deal involving
many players and a deal which
NOulu Va lAlS w Ullc .>dGo d11 CuG~
fielder and another pitcher. Krakky's S
name also was mentioned when the
Rudy York-to- Washington trade
was discussed. Now it sounds as if
Ken and Joe are set with the Mats
and will take their regular turns this
year. y,
Griff takes Dutch Leonard's abil-
ity for granted and believes every
body else does, too. In his own mind
he doesn't think that Joe Haynes
can miss. But aside from touting
his two southpaws. he is talking up
another hurler, Alexandra Carras-
quel.
II haven't given up on that fell
low" he says. "He can pitch in
the majors. He's got one bad habit
instead of bearing down on every
hitter, he let's up. But 4 think I've
fixed that"
How? II took him up to my room
the other night and took little Mon
teagudo, too, as my interpreter. I
kept him there an hour and really
nolIred IL tn him ahOllt letting I'm.