Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-03-26
RepIacements So Few
That Club Must Keep
Inadequate Subs
BY Burton Howkins
Star Sfoff Correspondent

LAW DAX1S44D - 4oss 4v414s 0o.
In the Mats lot of rockies there
are no astonishing articles. Three
graduates Of triple-A baseball
who were supposed to fortify the
club have been allergic thus far
even to minor league pitching
and so the Mats reserves appear
pitifully inadequate.
Jay Difani. a Newark product
understanding Eddie Yost at
third base, is providing no COM
petion for the job. He's hitting
Ill.
John Simmons, plucked from
Montreal where he batted .304, is
hitting a tepid 1873. Clyde Voll-
mer who smashed 80 homers
and batted .291 with Syracuse,
is a 200 hitter in exhibition games
and creating no CONSERVATION
whatever among Washington's
regular outfielders Gill Coan,
Buddy Lewis and Ed Stewart.
Probably never in the Mats
history has there been less scrap
ping for positions. The Mats
lineup is cut and dried, but even
rockies who haven't impressed
may linger as members of the club
because Washington's replace
ments are too few and too feeble.
Same Must Be Retained.
Simmons, Difani and Vollmer
doubtless will stick. despite de-
ficiencies. Difani is needed If
for no other reason than he and
Mark Christman represent Wash
ington's only inf1eld requirements,
Lou Devil having displayed glaring
fielding and hitting faults.
The Mats will require pinch
hitters and so Simmons and Voll-
mer are elected. They haven't
made the grade by any stretch Of
the imagination, but this is a year
when the Mats reserve won't need
terrific talent to remain in major
league surroundings.
The Mats Will have no trouble
trimming to the player limit of
Is. After disposing Of such as
Devil, Hal Keller. Earl Davis. Buzz
Dozier, Dick Weik and Mason
Leeper only Is Mats will be avail
able. That also would mean the
retention OF Pitcher Paul Calvert,
who thus far has shown little to
warrant it.
Washington's reserves. held to
five hits, dropped a 5-4 decision
to the Chattanooga farmhands
yesterday at Orlando. Bobo
Newsom, trying for job with the
Lookouts, yielded three runs on
four hits in the first inning of his
Aiming test, but thereafter the
Mats got only one hit-Al Evans
pop fly single in the ninth. New
som hurled three hitless, runless
innings after the first.
Lookouts Score without Hits.
Wilbur Jackson hoisted the
Lookouts into a 3-3 tie in the
sixth when he homered with two
on. but the Mats scored in the
sixth without benefit of hit.
Chattanooga also scored without
aid of hit in the seventh and the
contest assumed ridiculous pro-
portions when they did it again
in the eighth as Sam Dente, Devil
and Len Okrie erred.
NAT NOTES: Dick Welteroth
pitched the first five innings for
Washington and yielded only two
hits. I'D. Dozier permitted only two
hits in the last four innings. but
the Lookouts capitalized on his
wildness and the Mats shoddy
fielding. Milo Candini and
Forrest Thompson were to face
the Brooklyn Dodgers here today.
Newsom waited no longer than
the first inning to become involved
in a hectic argument with Plate
Umpire Joe Paparella, who threat
ened to clear the Chattanooga
bench when the Lookouts poured
it on verbally. >. YoSt is nursing
sore arm. Joe Haynes will
pitch batting practice for the first
time early next week and hopes to
break into game in another 10
days.