Imperial Valley press., 1941-01-08

the drive to regain their lost
Slaurels accent will be heavily on
youth. Ed Barrow, president of the
YankS has been cleaning house dur
ing winter, getting club streamlined
so that Manager Joe Mccarthy can
patch up the weak spots with
youngsters developed on the Yankee
farm clubs at Newark and Kansas
City.
Fifteen of the 35 players on the
Yankee roster are newcomers. AL
ready five veterans have been cut
loose. Monte Pearson was sold to
the Reds. Bum Hadley was peddled
to the Giants. Jake Powell was
shipped to San Francisco. Billy
Knickerbocker was traded to the
White Sox for Ken Silvestri, reserve
catcher. Arndt JorgenS retired.
Other Yanks are likely to go before
the season opens April Is.
Mccarthy will have his hands
full rebuilding the YankS despite
the fact that the rookie crop COM
ing up appears unusually bright.
Very few Yanks are certain OF
their jobs, and the competition
should be keen for almost every
spot except Joe DiMaggios center
field berth.
New Infield
No one will recognize the Yankee
infield next summer. There is a
chance that every spot may be
manned by somebody besides the
1910 regular. Babe Dahlgren will
have to compete with John Sturm
who hit .312 for Kansas City, at
first and then there's a chance that
Tommy Heinrich might be brought
in from the outfield to take over
the initial sack.
One of McCarthy's biggest prob
lens will be deciding whether to
break up the Kansas City kid in
field combination of Gerry Priddy
and Phil RiZzuto. RiZZuto, a dlml-
nutive shortstop who hit BAT for
Kansas City, appears certain to
play shortstop, but Priddy's future
seems in doubt. He may be moved
to third or again Joe Gordon, an
established star at second, may be
transferred to third. Red Rolfe,
who took terrific nose dive last
season, will try to retain his third
base job but that may not be pos
sible in the face of keen rivalry.
Frank Crosetti is likely to be the
clubs utility infielder.
The probable outfield lineup will
be Charlie Keller in left, DiMaggio
in center, and Heinrich in right
However this lineup may be altered
by shifting Heinrich to first. Tommy
Holmes, fine all-around ball player
who hit BIT for Newark, is going
to make a strong bid for an out
field job and if he makes good may
force the Heinrich shift. George Sell
kirk and Mike Chartak will be the
utility outfielders.
The pitching staff is going to get
a good overhauiing. Red Ruffing
is no loner the ace. That spot may
now go to Marius Russo, the south
paw who is headed for big things.
Lefty Gomez has to prove he can
pitch to stick. Ernie Bonham, Mar
vim Breuer and Atley Donald are
likely to get regular pitching jobs
in the next setup.
Nine Newcomers
Nine of the 18 pitchers on the
roster are newcomers. Kansas City
is sending up three great prospects
in Charlie Stanceu, who won Is
and lost 8; John Lindell, who won
18 and lost /; and Don Hendrick-
son, who won 16 and lost 7. From
Newark will come Steve Peek, who
won IA and lost 4; George Wash
burn, who won 13 and lost 3; Red
Branch, who won Is and lost 8;
George Barley, who won Is and lost
g. and Allen Gettel, who won 4
and lost 3. Rinaldo Ardizoia, who
won Is and lost 20 for Hollywood,
rounds out the greatest bunch of
Rookie pitchers any club has
brought up in years.
Washburn, Stanceu, Hendrickson
and Branch seem most likely to
stick. They all have Yankee build
big and tall-and have a complete
repertoire of pitching tricks.
Bill Dickey will have to stage
comeback to keep Buddy Rosar
from taking over his first string
catching job. It's unlikely that
Dickey will keep intact his record
of having caught 100 or more games
for II straight years. Silvestri from