Evening star., 1946-02-18
.BIuege Aims 10 Garry
Seven as Starters
On Hill This Year
By Burton Howkins
Stor Stoff CORRESPONDENT,

Tor the l946 American League cam
paign, Manager Os Bluege displays
no trepidation over his pitching
prospects. Already he has plans
for the regular season and envisions
few alterations to his blueprints
as the result of spring training
activities.
I'm figuring on carrying at least
10 pitchers and I'd like to keep II,
says Bluege. Since I've been man
aging I've been going along with
eight pitchers most of the time
This season I'd like to do a little
juggling of my pitchers and give
some of the boys who need it an
extra day of rest.
Johnny Niggeling, for instance
says an operation has cured the
stomach trouble he had for years
and that he wants to take a reg
ular turn on the mound. I'm plan
ming on using Johnny strictly as
a starting pitcher, but after all
he's 40 years old and he's con-
siderably better if used after a FIVE
day rest than if I pitch him more
frequently. He can go out and
pitch game with the proper rest
but he can't be overWorked.
Expects Keen Relief Hurting.
Dutch Leonard should get four
day rest between assignments and
so should Marino Pieretti, but Roger
Wolff, Sid Hudson, Walter Master
son and Mickey Haefner can bounce
back after three-day rest. 1t will
take some juggling, perhaps, to keen
all of them busy enough, but it can
be worked out. Pieretti is more eff
fectlve as a starter than as a relief
pitcher. so he'll be used only as
starter as much as possible.
Il believe We'll have fine relief
pitching. Rae Scarborough is back
with us and 1 believe he'll be lust
the fellow we need. Before Rae
went into the Navy he gave us
some marvellous pitching and he
has been able to pitch plenty while
in the service Max Wilson and
Bill Lefebvre also figure to step in
at a moments notice and check a
rally.
Alex Carrasquel was a nice fel-
low to have around for relief pitch
Ing when he was in the mood" con-
tlnued Bluege. But he was toe
temperamental and, therefore. unre-
liable. 1t was impossible to tell when
Alex felt like giving his best and
consequently we lost some games
when he went into relieve in the
wrong frame of mind. If Scarbor-
ough is the pitcher he was when he
left us, were going to get more de-
pendable relief pitching"
Ten Seen Sure of Jobs.
Os naturally isn't eliminating any
moundsmen at this early date. but
as his batterymen commenced toss
ing today 1t was obvious that 10 of
the Mats pitchers have only to
match past performances to stick
with the club. Bluege is calculating
on Hudson. Wolff, Masterson, Leon
ard, Pieretti, Haefner and Niggeling
as starters and Scarborough, VIII
son and Lefebvre as relievers.
i IT another pitcher is carried by
Bluege the candidate will come from
I a lot that includes Pete Appleton
Phil Mccullough, ROLAND Miller
Bill Kennedy, Larry Brunke, Gaspar
Del Monte, Horace Lovelace and
Santiago Ullrich. Kennedy, who
was with the Mats for a brief period
several years ago, recently was mus
tered out of the Army. A left
handler who picked up needed weight
in the service, Kennedy reported
here yesterday and will be signed
as soon as the technicality of re-
moving him from the national de-
Tense service list has been accom-
plished.
Wolff Has New Confidence.
! Wolff, a 20-game winner for the
Mats last season, believes he can
retain the effectiveness which
doomed him into favor with Wash
ington fans after a disastrous 1914
campaign. Honestly, I thought l
was finished in 1914" confessed
Wolff. L was bothered by an ache
in my shoulder and neck and had
them X-rayed, but nothing showed
won four games and lost Is that
year and the booing the fans gave
me upset my wife so much that I
had to make her keep away from
the ball park
Finally, though, I had my teeth
examined and it developed that I
had 10 abcessed teeth. I had them
removed and that, plus the fact
that I came up with slider made
a new pitcher of me.
ANY time pitcher wins 20
games a year he has to get a few
breaks and I got them last season
got good support from an outfit
that wasn't a good fielding team
had 68 runs scored against me
last year and only nine of them
we're unearned, so I feel that the
club gave me fine backing.
Believes Club Stronger.
"Of course, could have won a few
that went against me. In one short
stretch lost 10 game to Philly
pitched an thinning IL tie against
the Browns and lost to Cleveland
10. in 10 innings. This year the op-
position will be tougher with sc
many strong hitters returning from
the service, but we'll ge getting bet.
ter hitting and better fielding, too
, so I believe it will even up.
Anyway, it's going to be great tt
have the fans with me this season
, and to be on a club that has s
chance. I don't mind admitting i
, was tough struggling along with tn,
| Athletics when they were in thu
cellar in 1941, 1912 and 1943. Then
came to Washington and We fin.
ished last in 1914. Last season was
real tonic to me-
Wolff, who will be 80 in April
/ now weighs 207 pounds, the same a.
when he walked off the mound aftel
hurting his last game last Sep
tember.
Three years ago-The National
: League announced the sale of the
Philadelphia Phillies to a syndi-
cate headed by William D. Cox.
New York lumberman.