Evening star., 1946-04-27
BIuege Discards Jeff,
Weak at BAT, After
Loss 10 Yankees


week, Outfielder jeff Heath has been
benched and this time, according to
Manager Ossie Bluege of the Mats,
it sticks. Replacing Heath in Wash
ington's left field and likely to re-
main there for a long period is
George Binks.
I've gone as far as I can with
Heath" Bluege admits. II had
hopes that when he got those three
hits against Boston he'd snap out of
it and give us some sound hitting,
but he hasn't, and it doesn't seem
he ever will. Anyway, Binks gets
the job in left field against right and
left-handed pitching.
Later, perhaps, Ray Goolsby may
get some action against left-handed
pitching, but I don't believe he's
quite ready, and Binks figures to
give us better performances than
Heath"
Thus the Mats boSsss-President
Clark Griffith included-admit they
got the worst of it in dispatching
George Case to Cleveland for Heath,
but Bluege remains puzzled concern
ing the reason for Jeff's collapse. A
3G5 hitter last season and one of
the leagues most feared batters
over span of nine years, Heath is
hi h;
has struck out times in Is trips
to the plate.
Expensive Bench Warmer.
Booed Justify by majority of
the 6,086 customers who viewed the
Mats drop an lit decision to the
Yankees yesterday at Griffith Sta
dium, Health becomes the most eX-
pensive berch warmer in the league.
AS trading material, the Mats Off
cials have discovered Heath is vir-
tually valueless because other clubs
have expressed no interest in OBJ
tanning him.
Benched after the Mats first four
games, Heath returned to the lineup
against the Red Sox in Boston early
this week when Bluege was i'm
pressed by Jeff's form in batting
practice. He contributed three hits
and sparked the Mats to victory,
but since has failed to hit in two
tits.
Also agonizing to Bluege is the
failure of Sid Hudson to hold a
lead. Staked to a 40 margin in
Boston, Sid lost a 5-4 game. Yes
terday the Mats pounded him into
a Al advantage in the second in
ming, but Sid was smashed for two
runs in the third inning and four
more in the fourth.
Joe Di Maggie fattened his aver
age on Washington pitching, blast
ing two home runs and single,
while Joe Gordon and Phil Rizzuto
also collected three hits each as
the Yankees slammed four Nat
hurlers for IA hits.
Robertson Heads Attack.
Sherry Robertson paced Washing
tons 10-hit attack with a home run,
triple and single, while Jerry Priddy
fashioned two doubles and Buddy
Lewis slammed a double and single.
The Mats smashed the left-hand-
ed Joe Page from the mound with
a 4-run uprising in the second, but
with Di Maggio'S second and fifth
inning homers as the big blows the
Yankees graSped an 8-5 lead at the
end of five innings. Tommy Heinrich
rifled a homer over the right field
fence with Snuffy Stirnweiss on base
in the sixth, but the Mats picked up
a run in the seventh and Robert
sons belt over the right field wall
cut New York's margin to 10-7 in
the eighth before the Yankees nick
ed Max Wilson for run in the
ninth.
Spud Chandler, who limited the
Mats to six hits in a triumph last
week, was to face Walter Masterson
on the mound today, with Roger
Wolff slated to pitch for Washington
tomorrow in the final game of the
series.
Catcher Al Evans, who suffered
painful, but not serious, injury when
nit in the groin by foul tip, was
forced to leave yesterdays game.
He was expected to be available
TODAY H