Evening star., 1947-03-25
Pieretti, Improving,
.Captivates BIuege;
Mats Score Again
By Burton Howkins
S{cr Sfaff

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla, Mar.
25.-Marino (Chick) Pieretti, who
chins himself on curbstones, is
little guy with lot of heart and
his fiery spirit Is captivating Man
ager Ossie Bluege More enhancing
to the Mats boss, though, is Pieretti's
vastly improved pitching. He has
developed a curve ball to blend In
his pitching repertoire and it has
established him as . capable per-
former with Bluege
There's the Understanding fell
low in camp" said Bluege, pointing
to Pierettis 5-foot-7-inch frame.
He weighs about 159 pounds, but
he's always hustling, always trying
to improve himself. Well, he has
improved and he might wind up
with starting job as the result
Of 1t.
"Chick never had much Of Q
curve" continued Ossie, but during
the winter he worked on 1t. He
developed it nicely and he can con-
troll it. He showed me something
yesterday when he whipped over q
sharp-breaking curve on a Chatta-
nooga batter when the count was
three and nothing.
Courageous Fellow.
"Pieretti always had a good slider
and his fast ball is alive. This
curve he has developed may be the
making of him. He's a courageous
little fellow. He had a rough time
of it last year, but 1t only made him
more determined. I like that be-
cause fellow who wants to succeed
usually will find a way. Chicks
curve ball should make a real pitcher
of him.
Hes a strong little rascal and
he has a great sense of humor. He
likes to be used as a starting pitcher
and If he cam continue to show me
as much as he has in his last couple
Of appearance he's going to wind up
with a starting job. Right now I
like him better than a couple Of
pitchers I had planned to use as
starters"
All this comes as cheering news to
Pieretti, of course, for Chick laugh
ingly refers to his "352-day vaca-
ton" between starting assignments.
He started the final game Of the
l945 season, but his next starting
Job came in the waning days Of the
1916 season.
Meanwhile, Chick was pitching in
relief roles and not liking it. The
opposition was loving 1t, for they
were blasting Pieretti solidly and
frequently. He wasn't favorite
with Griffith Stadium customers,
but he may wedge his way into their
hearts again.
Came to Mats in 1914.
The assumption was that Chick
was wartime pitcher. He came to
the Mats in 1914 and proceeded to
win IA games, but last year he fash
ioned only two victories. When he
received a chance to start against
the Chicago White Sox late in the
season, however, he pitched a superb
game to win.
Pieretti has pitched six innings in
exhibition games and allowed only
one run and four hits against De-
troit and Chattanooga. Yesterday
as the Mats defeated Chattanooga,
11-6, at Orlando the pitching per-
formance of Pieretti came as de-
lightful contrast following the nurl-
ing of Ray Scarborough, who was
hammered for IL hits in five innings.
Chick took over for the final four
innings and yielded a run in the
eighth on Rex Throop's triple and
Jack Lavelle's fly, but otherwise he
was pitching effectively.
Scarborough emerged a winning
pitcher although he yielded five runs
in his five-inning appearance. The
Mats clustered two runs in the sec
ond inning off Bill Kennedy on
(See HAWKINS, Page A-15.)