Evening star., 1944-03-14
Pair Of AT Pitchers
Near Trim; Dutch's
Ankle Now Sound
BY JOHN B. KELLER.

A couple of 4-Fs soon should be
ready to do plenty on the pitching
hill for the Mats this year if you'll
listen to Manager Os Bluege. Dutch
Leonard and Roger Wolff, draft-free
knuckleballers, given any break of
fortune, will pile up wins for his
club the pilot confidently predicted
after watching the pair go through
initial workouts at the College Park
training camp
Both looked as though they had
wintered well. especially Wolff, who
cut loose with few high, hard ones
and some f1utterers before being ad-
monished to curb his throws. Wolff,
1t was learned, had been doing a
deal of throwing in st. Louis gym
nasiums during the winter besides
taking a course of baths calculated
to get him close to playing condi-
ton.
Leonard Spry as Ever.
He still has a matter of 10 pounds
to shed to get down to the playing
weight he held last season, when
he won 10 games against Is losses
for the last-place Philadelphia Ath-
letics, but Wolff says he needs the
extra poundage to carry him through
the training campaign.
AS to Leonard. he looks as spry
now as ever. That left ankle he
broke early in the 1912 season ap-
pears to have healed completely.
There's no trace of the limp he
showed last year and Dutch him
self says 1t does not bother him
anymore. It didn't seem to, the
way he bounded around in the pep
per drill.
Bluege believes this pair will
shoulder good part of the Mats
pitching burden and do so In fine
manner.
The Mats were to be sent through
a longer drill today than the one
eight regulars of the battery squad
held as camp opened yesterday. In
addition to the veteran knucklers,
on hand were Pitchers Mickey
Haefner. Bob Albertson, Turkey
Curtis, Alex Carrasquel and Milo
Candini as we'll as Catcher Rick
Ferrell. With Coaches Clyde Milan,
George Uhle and Nick Altrock
directing, all had thorough work.
out for more than an hour.
Nat Hurlers Toll in Winter.
Candini reached Washington just
In time to join in the drill. The
husky Californian looked pretty
close to playing trim after working
through the winter as a steam
filter at a Stockton, Calf, plant.
Haefner and Wolff also held down
winter jobs, Mickey as a coal miner
at his New Athens, ILL.,, home and
Roger as a meat cutter in his
fathers butcher shop in Chester,
Ill.
Juan Hernandez, the youngster
Carrasquel brought along from
Caracas, Venezuela, for trial, had to
be cautioned against throwing too
hard, but couldn't get the idea. He
had been pitching all winter and
expected to continue firing 'em
through. .....
Maybe Bluege has ideas Of going
back to third basing at times this
season, what with Harlond Cliff
unlikely to. be around. The man.
ager went through a stiff pepper
drill, with Coach Milan batting some
tough ones to handle. Os looked his
old self as he scooped up the ball,
and he still has that rubber arm.
George Uhle, jr., a 17-year-old
pitcher from Lakewood (Ohio) high
school ranks, was brought to camp
to learn that spring training as
done by big-league club is not all
play, his coaching dad said. George,
ST., modestly admitted the lad has
a good fast ball that might get him
somewhere in the game before long.