Imperial Valley press., 1944-03-30
BY JACK CUDDY

NEW YORK, March 80. CUP)-
It takes a brave bird to get a rob-
ins-eye view of the baseball train
ing camps these days ana the first
one to weather its way to our VIM
dow ledge would be AZ in any
body's aviary after surviving north
of the border" temperatures from
BLOOMINGTON to Bear Mountain and
from Wilmington to Wallingford.
POOR CONDITIONING
Giving the little red-breasted
harbinger OF spring the cookies We
had given up for the Lenten sea-
son, we nursed him back to health
and got in turn a stern conviction
that these northern camps are
no places for baseball players in
March, let alone a robin.
NO TEAM IN SHAPE
1t is picking no quarrel with
chambers of commerce to say that
not even one major league manager
is satisfied with the conditioning
that is attained in the midcle west,
middle Atlantic and New England
towns they selected. Even with
good weather in the next two weeks,
none OF the teams will be in top
physical trim when they open the
season two weeks from Tuesday.
Players are getting the gym
nasium jitters" from working out
cay after day in cramped indoor
quarters and there is more than
one recorded instance of a temper
amental trainee walking off in a
huff because there weren't enough
rubber sneakers to go around or
because he was tired of banging
his knees against maple flooring.
COULD PLAY BASKETBALL
frankie Frisch, manager OF the
Pittsburgh Pirates at Muncie, Ind,
said he didn't know whether to go
through with scheduled outdoor
exhibition games or &c challenge
the Indiana State high school bas-
ketball champions, because the team
had been working out indoors so
long.
Moreover, the players are just
as weary of trying to "cat-foot"
their way over boggy fields that
have the color and consistency of
fresh chocolate frosting. Yesterday,
no exception, found Is of the l6
teams either confined to quarters"
or forced to curtail outGoor drills
because of the weather.
The communicates from the camps
revealed a succession Of cancelled
exhibition games, indoor workouts
or just plain enforced idleness.
WEATHER, WEATHER!
At Cape Girardeau, Mo, the
Browns stuck to their hotel rooms
because of continued wet wealth
er," at Swampy Cairo, ILL.,, the
chilly day" kept the Carcina in
doors, while rain swept the Wash
ington Senators off the diamond"
at College Park, Md.
The Yankees were driven back
to their armory at their resort"
quarters in Atlantic City, while the
Giants were just getting started
when sleet struck at Lakewood, N.
j. 1t also was 'sleet colder" at Bear
Mountain, N. Y, where the Docgers,
resigned to working inside listen
ed to the pelting on the big field
house roof at the West Point Acad-
emy.
RAIN, SNOW, SLEET, WIND
Snow provided diversion at least
for the Pirates at Muncie, Ind,
who haven't worked up a good case
Of perspiration yet. 1t was more of
the same at Evansville, Ind, camp
of the Detroit Tigers and at Bloom
ington, Ind, the stamping ground
of the Reds. Start of the "city SER
les" between the White Sox and
Cubs at French Lick, Ind, was
postponed because of rain and the
Cleveland Indians were rained out
at Lafayette, Ind.
Connie Mack of the Philadelphia
Athletics who praised the Florida
like" weather at Frederick, Md, the
first week they were there has been
strangely silent on atmospheric
matters since and the Phillies at