Evening Star Newspaper, March 18, 1925, Page 26

26 SPORTS. WEDNESDAY, Matthews Facing Job to Stick With Griffs : Tigers Loom VETERAN PITCHERS ADDED TO ACTIVE LIST IN SPRING EXHIBITIONS OF GRIFFMEN MARCH 18, 1925. SPPORTS. s Serious Contenders THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MUST BEAT OUT CARLYLE AND RHINEHARDT TO STAY Peppery Wid Is Making Third Attempt to Land Big League Berth—Griffs Lose to Braves Through Weak Hitting—Play Reds Today. BY JOHN AMPA, Fla, March 18—Brea but sticking in them is quit ot that, let him consult Wid Matthews, aspirant to an outfielding job with the Nationals. Wid has been up to the majors jot of fire into the play of the club he Wid sounded the pitch that made the A’s a snappy ball Athletics in 19 lub as long as the others of the dropped out of the Mackian line-up jast year, Wid gave them just the p the way to the National Capital's f ship, then had to Now Wid again is fighting for his place in t g league sun, with e outcome very unce rain. He made 300 batter hile with the Nati last season et even that may not earn him a job vith the world champions again Wid firmly believes that breaking in & onme thing, but sticking is some- thing else again nent as a participating player in ~ompetition. He has not been in con- ests any great length of time, but Ris fiery spirit has been a great set. His shrill voice has sounde -allying call frequently wheneve Nationals have faltered and the has responded gallantly and gener, with considerable effectiveness. He got into the game. at St. Peters- burg vesterday when the Nationals were beaten, 4 to 1, by the Braves, only as a pinch batter, but was ex- a deal of action In the encounter scheduled here this after- noon with the Reds. Wid is quite ready to play. He appears in much physical condition than when to the Nationals from the Milwaukee Brewers last June, and has been doing well in training here. Was Sick at Sacramento. pected to Wid is quite anxious for a chance to demonstrate that his work with Sacramento, which club he went to last August as part payment for Earl McNeely, was not what may ordi- narily be expected of hir “When T joined Sacramento,” Wid declared, “I was almost peppered with boils, b as afraid to tell the manager e Coast League team of my condition. I feared they might charge me with stalling, know- fig that 1 had come from a big league outfit with a guarantee of a continued big league salary. I just stepped on the field and did all T could in the way of playing. “And that certainly was not very much i 1 had boils under my arms and could not swing a bat de- nor throw at all. And my was fe so poor by the fons tha all of my was g It was a painful for me, I can tell you, and the club was so far down in the race that after a short- time the manage- ment did not seem to care what be- came of any other than an old regu- r player. So I went out before the on ended “But I am in fine shape now and know 1 can play some good base ball. Al I want is a chance to| prove it, and I believe Manager Harris will give me that. 1 know I must fight much harder than ever to get berth with the Washington club s vear, but I do not think any one can accuse me of being a quitter. I am prepared to fight to more than make good in this my third time with the big show And Wid will have to fight, too. There are seven outfielders with the Griffs’ Weak Hitting Behind Ogden’s Poor So far as the Nationals are con- cerned, the Braves are Spring world champions. The Boston aggregation wound up its two-game series with the Washingtonians vesterday with an easy victory to sweep the inter- club matches. ~ As econd game was played, the Nationals never had a look-in hey fielded brilliantly, hut one of their three pitchers plain- 1 not ready for a showing against big leaguers, and their batting was almost nil Mogridge and Ogden made | debut on the hill, h the rming bravely and the throwing the ball :r was hit or called in favor of the batter. After breezing through two innings, Mogridge was touched for a trio of bingles in the third, but got out with only one run against him, mainly through good headwork. George worked through a hitless fourth frame, though. Ozden Had Nothing. Ogden, however, seemingly had nothing worth while to offer in the next two ings. He yielded two asses and was bumped for a two- > bases in the sixth, when he was eached for three hits, two passes and two runs. One of the markers was forced across the plate by Curly's wildness. He seems to need much more grooming before he is ready for the championship season After Mogridge and Ogden got through, J nson Brillheart hurled, and his work in the seventh and ghth innings was of the same ster- g character as his previous per- ormances on the siab in this train- ing campaign. Brillneart will have o be reckoned with when Harris be- gins pruning his pitching corps. However, it would have required per pitching to win for the Nationals, considerinz the way they did not hit. Two blows were gleaned off three Boston hurlers. Southpaw Tohnny Cooney was not touched in the first three innings. His successor, foe Ogrodoski ht-hander, wa found for a single by Rice in the first of three frames of du g rwirled in the last three rounds for the Braves, and the hander was slapped by McNeely a one-baser in the eighth session hagger in t ifth and twice filled | Nats Impotent at Bat. The Nationals showed a lamentable Jack of batting practice, even though Harris has endeavored to increase the length of their swatting drills the past two days. Hitting so weakly and with -one of their pitchers so wobbly, the world champions were fortunate not to have suffered a more decisive beating. . Only Roger Peckinpaugh's agile short-flelding kept the defeat from becoming a rout. The Braves got to Mogridge for a marker in the third frame that Felix opened with a smash to left field. It was only a single, but the Hub player got to second when Goslin booted the ball. Gibson's short single sent Felix 1o third, from where he scored when Pinch Batter Phillips hit to right field for a base. A smart double play then got Mo- gridge out of difficulty ond the Na- tionals did some more smarvi playing in tue next round %o deadlock the game. B. KELLER. ing into the big leagues is one thing, e another. If one does not believe twice before, and each time has put a ppened to be with. With the team were attuned to it. When he the club faded. With the Nationals pper they needed to-start them on irst pennant and a world champion- i ALL BUT BLANKED & | oo00cornon-cood | cccsccscccsarcs ¥ WASHINGTON. MoNeely, cf 8. Harris, 2b Rice. rf Goslin, 1f Judge. 1b Blusge. 3b Peckinpaugh. s MoNally, ss Ruel, ¢ Tate, o gridge. P Ogder. p. Briilheart, p T eibold® Matthewst Totals BOSTON Marriott, Tb Banoroft, ss Luens, | Burrus, 1b Wilson, rf D. Harris, of Thomas. *f | Folix, if Gibson, © o T R L R [ sarbrsnantus »licassssoswonstarin | o000omo00oruan > 5l coonmonnurcsons P | Sperbers | Totals E | *Batted for Mogridge in fth. +Batted for Ogden in seventh Batted for Cooney in third Batted for Ogrodosky in sixth, | Washingten 00010000 01| Boston 00101200 x4 Two-base hit—Gibson. Sacrifice—Lucas Stolen base—Rice. First base on balls— | OfF Ogrodosky, 2: off Ogden. 3: off Brillheart. 1. Struck out—By Cooney, 1: by Mogridge, 1: by Brillheart, 1. Double plays—Mogridge_to S. Harris: Peck to S. Hars to Judge Hit by pitched ball—By Ogrodosky (McNeely) Hits—Off Cooney, 0 in 8 innings; off Ogro- | dosky, 1 in 3 innings: off Mogridge, 4 in 4 in- | | nings: off Barnes. 1 in 3 innings: off Ogden. 4 {in % innings: off Brillheart. 2 in 2 innings. | | Time of game—1 hour 35 minutes. Umpires | | —Mesers. "0'Tools and Rowland. Attendance _ .. Hlisbeitilorssbuit ) Blicasto wanosuon il sesisapvbotiue Llndosssvaseeiapan - 5 8 Nationals now and Manager Harris | does not Wntend to carry more than five into the campaign. It is practical- lly settled now that Nemo Leibold will {be retained with the regular trio, Sam Rice, Goose Goslin and Earl Me- Neely. Matthews will have to battle with Roy Carlyle, Southern Associa- tion fence buster. and George Rine- hardt, Sally League slugger, for the other utility job. Carlyle has not shown so much afield in practice and Rinehardt ap- pears to lack polish as an out- | fielder, too, but both have revealed much batting strength in wand drills | Manager Harrls would be very glad {to have among his reserve talent a man who can “bust that apple” in | pinches as Wade Lefler, a last-minute pickup, did at crucial times when |the 1924 campaign was waning. So | Wid, even with his .300 mark at- tained while with the Nationals last | year and his wonderful spirit, may |again find it dificult to stick with the big show. Pitching Costly With Bucky Harris out of the way in the fourth, Rice singled to left. He pulled up at second when Lucas fum- bled Goslin's roller. After Judge popped to Marriott, Bluege rolied to the third sacker, who threw to force out Goslin at second base, The Goose was ruled safe and while Lucas argued with Gos- lin and the base umpire Rice stole home. The Braves again took lead in the fifth that Ogden opened by walking Wil- son. After Felix also was passed, Gib- son doubled, tallying Wilson. Curly escaped further trouble until the sixth, | when a pass to Fi filled the bases with two out. Gibson’s scratch single past Judge scored Burrus, and Sperber, batting for Ogrodowski, strolled, forc- ing home Felix. g Play Indianapolis Tomorrow. Clark Griffith’s touring Nationals will | trek to Plant City tomorrow afternoon to tackle Donfe Bush’s Indianapolis out- | fit from the American Assoclation. Last year the team piloted by the former Washington manager took the measure of his old charges, but Manager Harris figures there may be a different ending | to’ this season’s setto. Mogridge worked a smart one in the third. With Boston runners on first and second, Marriott attempted to sacrifice. He pop-bunted and Mo- gridge trapped the ball and threw to Harris, who had covered first. The National pilot touched out the sur- " (Continued on Page Twenty-seven.) '~ Smoke the HOW TO PLAY BASE BALL By Stanley (Bucky) Harris SECOND BASEMAN, 1V.—ON STEALS AND TAGGIN: >ersonally I have found I get the best OT all second basemen handle the ball the same way when a run- ner is attempting to steal. F results if T take the I fro bag. This enables one to get back a nates a bad angle. m the catcher a step in front of the nd straight across the bag and elimi- Youngsters starting to play the position will find it necessary to watch the catcher closely if there 1s a man on first. You will have to keep your eyes peeled for the sign for a pitchout and be set to get in position to take the throw and get the ball on your man At the same time it is highly de sirable to learn the style of slide used by the members of an opposing team. You want to have a pretty good idea how the man coming down is going to get into the bag after he hits the dirt. If you don't he is liable to get away from you even if you get the ball in time and have ample oppor- tunity to put it on him. Knowledge of base-runners is as necessary to a second sacker as knowledge of hit- ters. The only way to acquire it, in both cases, is by close study and ob- servation. Keep vour eyes open all the time in a game. You will pick up a surprising amount of information that will be extremely valuable to you later on You can't afford to be spike shy and play second base. No runner wiil de- liberately cut am {nfielder, but you must remember that he Isn’t going to get out of the path for you. He is entitled to it, and when he comes whirling into the bag he is doing his best to hook it with toe or finger. It is necessary for the second base- man to take some chances in tagging a runner. But they are fewer than one would think if he will study the different slides of the various men against whom his club plays. By so doing he is prepared to know about _when and where to put the ball on his_man. If the ball comes to you from the catcher as a bad throw grab it and make a dive for the runner. Lots of times you will get him that way He may have figured the peg for an erratic one and slowed up just a frac- tion of a second in getting into the bag. You can often him by that much of a margin When the throw to your base is so bad that you can't field it with your hands, block the ball with your body. Don't hesitate about throwing your- self in the path of éven a hard peg. | | | Road service is the vital requirement for commercial equipment. With ‘the proper tools and man power, we are in a position to take care of any trouble no matter where it may occur. As the above photo shows, we are in a position to give 100% service. Users of International Motor Trucks, both present and prospective, are invited to visit and inspect the Washington home of International Motor Trucks and prove to their satisfaction that in the International Truck they get stability assured. LET US DEMONSTRATE ONE TO YOU Free Inspection for Life of the Truck—All-night Service Sizes 3—1—1%—2—3—5 Tons International Motor Truck nc. 228232 First St. N.W. - = Agency, Inc ‘“ | It may hurt for a few minutes, but | you will have blocked the ball. 1In | doing this you will be keeping the | runner from taking an extra base. Many times just such a play will save close game. The second baseman must be very much on the watch with runners on first and third and the stage set for a possible double steal. This can be tried with one out or none out If the opposing team is playing for a single run to tie a game or take the lead. Be on your guard if the men on the paths are fast or shrewd base- runners You will have to keep a close eye on the man on third to figure whether or | ot he is going into the plate. But meanwhile you must watch the ball First of all you must catch it. When rou are sure you have the peg judged properly you will know what the next move is. If the man on third hasn't too long @ lead off the bag your play is to get the man coming into your station. You will still have time to get a man at the plate, provided he hasn't got too much of a break on you If the man on third is set'ing sail for home the eecond baseman, according to | my theory on this play, should move in, cut the throw off and make the return peg to the plate on the runner. This prevents the shortstop also being drawn out of position. Some shrewd base ball men hold that if the play is to be made | at home the shortstop should be in mo- tion to cut the throw off when the pitcher delivers the ball | This will oftentimes work success- fully, but it must be remembered that there is a man at bat. If he hits the ball through and the shortstop is pulled out of position as well as the second base- man, two runs are almost certain to be scored. The play makes a fine opening for a clever hitter. This is strategy which is used often want wsum - SERVICE! ’g Come to our showrooms and see the wonderful display of motor trucks A R A R S S S SR SRR A RS in close games it your opponents have fast base runnars. The second baseman should learn enough about the style of runners to have a pretty good idea when the play is likely to be pulled. He needs considerable instinct to do this. Real good second basemen have to be able to figure out a play In advance, perhaps more than any other member of a team. (Tomorrow—Other Pointers for the Second Baseman.) (Copyright, 1925, D!, 0\'1!'1'!y mt News Features, ne. CONCANNON EASILY WINS OVER LOCAL CUE STARS Joe Concannon, pocket billlard ex- picked opponents in each session of his daily exhibition at the Arcade parlors. John Bowen, Bernard Reed, D. B. Cohen and Joseph Shannon were d#- feated yvesterday by scores of 75 to 16, 75 to 31, 75 to 19 and 75 to 7. e £ S8 * Day Phone. Franklin 1179 Night Phone, Lincoln #191-W SERA SN LN ) S pert of New York, easlly defeated | In general, the te year. It is too early vet to say how little better it would be a strong rival The manager of the Detroits is not | taking chances this year. He will| carry more ball players tha He has an entire substitute i made up of Neun, first L second base; Tavener, shortstop. Haney, third base., In his outf are Wingo, Carlyle and Fothergill Imagine a team with two first base- men like Blue and Neun! It seems |2 pity that Neun must sit on' the | bench’ now ahat has blossomed Yet look what. happened in 1924, when Blue was injured. The De- troiters were thrown out of their | stride, and to his accldent, in part | they blame their failure to win the | pennant from Washington Needed Neun Laxt Year. When Blue s hurt Cobb wired at once to the St. Paul club to send him Neun, thinking that the latter had been released to St. Paul on an option that permitted his recall at any time. But the option proved to be for the season. Back went a wire to St. Paul offering $10,000 for a player who really belonged to De- troit. But the St. Paul club seemed to be on the verge of winning the pennant in their league—which they did—and declined to let Neun go Thus Detroit had to swallow hard and see one game and another fritter itself away because the infield strength was not there. So Neun remains with Detroit, and not only he remains but there re mains a second baseman for a second baseman, a shortstop for a short stop, a third baseman for a third baseman—and if accident puts all of these players on the bench, Cobb will begin to think that he Is pursued by an evil genius which will not let him win A word about Tavener. He is the young shortstop from the Fort Worth club, which has contributed to De troit in the past. He isn’t as big as Rabbit Maranville, but he is spright- ly. One day last Spring he went to bat out in Fort Worth and one of the newspaper men who was present said: “I'm afraid we are not going to keep ‘Tavvy’ much longer, al- though he is mighty popular out| here.” His words were prophetic. “Tavvy" has got away and from his general manner of play looks as if he will| remain away. If Detroit should not happen to want him, he will not get out of the American League, he is too good for that. In Texas they said he was not a slugger, but he was a| hitter when there were runners on the bases. Has Trio of Southpaws. Cobb has two-—possibly three — southpaw pitchers for 1925, in Leon- ard, Whitehill and Cole. “Leonard will be with us all of the | 1 Mogridge made a good showing fm his 1925 debut against the Boxton | seagon if he shows well,” said Cobb. | Braves yesterday, but Ogden failed to demonstrate good form, indicating that | «“with him and Whitehill T have = he needs more training before he will be fit to do himself justice. 0 l good pair of left-hand pitchers to If the Tygers had not so oiten c get it through some misfortune to players on the field, there little more emphasis placed on the strength of this year's teaum Cobb ventures upon championship talk with some’ trepid he declares that he will never give up—and he won't COBB NOW WELL SUPPLIED WITH RESERVE MATERIAI Tyrus Has a Cofipelent Substitute for Every Infield Position and a Complete Change of Flychasers for the Garden Jobs. BY JOHN B. FOSTER. Q UGUSTA, Ga., March 18—The tenders for the 1925 championship of the Americ Detroit Tyger League appears to be better than it was la much better, but even if it wer to Washington for the pennant ome close to the titie and failec work for me There sl of He a I expected last sent West I have h he is show he will stick games this yve pens to be the first ule and his tean LEWIS THROWS DRAAK CHICAGO, March I18.—Ed “S Holland's champi e —————— Dress Well and Succeed IDETRIM The young man's style of the hour. 20c COLLARS GEO, P. IDE & CO., INC., TROY. N. ¥ (O TS0 TN Small profit and greater value in each White Owl; constantly spread- ing popularity and mil- lions of sales—these are the reasons- for White Ow!’s constantly grow- ing success.