The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-03-21

San Antonio, Texas, March q. - CUP) -sTime still is a great healer, so once again the St. Louis Browns are looking ahead to bigger things after years of failure. And for club which was licked III times last year for new St. Louis low, the Browns are mighty chipper.
 More outfield strength, better balanced and more experienced set of pitchers and a new shortstop have Manager Fred Haney talking in positive terms about finishing no worse than in front of the Washing ton Senators and Philadelphia Athletics.
 We've got more flexibility and better balance all around says Haney, who knows he must show real improvement this trip or reach for his hat. Its still an if club with capital I, but the way the fellows are hustling this spring, figure we ought to wind Up sixth or better.
 NewsOm's Gone Last spring we started off with only two pitchers who had actually won four or five ball games in the major leagues - Buck Newsom and Howard Mills. Although Newsom's gone, we have several men Who've shown they can win the majors - Elden Auker, Vernon Kennedy, Mills, RoXie Lawson, Bob Harris, Johnny Whitehead, Jake Wade and Jackie Kramer"
 Haney figures he should be able to find a few in that group, as well as from others among the 19 hurlers now i'll camp, who can cut off the late rallies by opposition clubs which cost the Browns many a ball game in 1889. Besides, there are a few rockies, such as Southpaw Emil Billidi, 22-game winner for San An tonio last summer, who should help. Alan Strange, Seattle's star short stop who was caught in the draft by the Browns last fall, is being counted upon to tighten up the in field zone and east the pitchers load. A classy fielder and good hustler, strange has only to show he can hit American League pitching better than he could for Manager Rogers Hornsby in his first time up several seasons ago. Last year he hit .335 on the coast.
 If strange comes through and he's the only man on the club at the moment Haney Feels can handle shortstop satisfactorily - then the Browns should have an inf1eld that rates with the best. George Me- Quinn could play first base for almost any club in the league, and Harlond Gift, despite his 1889 slump, still rates with the top bracket men at third. Don Heffner, neat fielder but weak at the plate, and Johnny Berardino, a fine pros- pect starting his sophomore season, will fight it out for the second base job.
 Rookie In OutfieId
 The outfeld shapes up on the credit side, with a half dozen lads battling for jobs. Three or them are ex-Yankee Myril Hoag, Joe Gallagher, and Walter Judnich -- with Chet Laabs, former Tiger, Rip Radclff from the White Sox and Rookie Joe Grace also in the run- ming. All are potentially strong | hittcrS.
 Judnich, straight from the San Francisco district which produced the Dimaggios, is making the front office men forget the large price tag that got him from Newark. His left-handed slugging is needed badly at Sportsman's Park, but he's also shown great pois eand finesse fin center field. All in all, he's the best-looking newcomer in camp.
 Aside from the still doubtful short stop position which the club hopes to strengthen with trade for some utility infielder who can handle that job, catching Is the big question mark.
 Joe Glenn fell down badly last year and is still holdout. The only other catchers are young Bob Swift, a finished man behind the plate but short on hitting, and Sam Harshany, recalled after fair season at Tor onto. Both show promise but neither carries the experience necessary for a first string receiver in the big show.
 If the catching is strengthened out in time. indications are the Browns will show marked improvement. With nibht baseball to be introduced in St. Louis this year, players know there probably will be some real cash passed over the ticket windows - if the club is anywhere except at the bottom of the standings.
 The players themselves don't think they'll wind Up there.