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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 16, 1955)
Phils Rely on Pitching, Defense To Make Up for Lack of Hitting Editor' Note: This is the sec- end in a series on the 1955 pros pects of the major league clubs. By LEOTPETERSEN United Press Sports Editor Clearwater, Fla. (U.R) The Phillies will have to rely on pitching and defense in the 1955 National League race, because they lack power hitting. And it doesn't look as if their new man ager. Mayo Smith, will come up with enough of either to finish in the first division, let alone be a pennant contender. In addition to the lack of heavy hitters, the club lacks bench serength and may wind up needing a second baseman. " Last year, Granny Hamner, one of the top shortstops in the league, was shifted to second and while he turned in a .workman-like performance, club of ficials agree the team is stronger with him at short. He will play short this year. Roberts Tops Pitchers Heading the pitching staff will be Robin Roberts, who won 21 and lost 15 last season and again was a workhorse, pitching 337 innings. Behind him as starters Smith is counting on southpaw Curt Simmons, who has a sore arm and may not be in shape for the first part of the season; the vet eran Murry Dickson and Herm Wehmeier. who took a new lease on life when the Redlegs traded him to the Phililes last season. Simmons won 14 and lost 15; Dickson was 10-20 and Weh meier 10-11. with all of his vic tories coming after he joined the Phillies. He had lost three with the Redlegs before the shift. Bob Greenwood, who saw lit tie action last season with a 1-2 record and two rookies up from Syracuse, James Owens and John Meyer, are other starting possibilities. Owens won 17 and lost nine while Meyer had a 15 11 record. Bob Miller, 7-9 last year, may wind up as the No. 1 relief pitcher with Steve Ridzik (4-5) and (Ron Mrozinskl (1-1) also possibilities. Ortiz Weak Hitter Outside of Hammer at short and Willie Jones at third, the in field setup is not definite. Earl Torgeson, who figures to be the first baseman, is revocering from an operation to build up a ten don in his right hand, and may not be ready to open the season. Behind him at first are two rookies, Marvin Blaylock, who hit .303 at Syracuse and James Westlake, who batted .285 at San Francisco. Louis Ortiz, who hit only .225 at Rochester, is the leading can didate for second base, but there seems little chance that he will develop into a major league hit ter. Unless the Phililes come up with a second baseman, it may be that Bobby Morgan, whose best position is shortstop, but who also can play third, will wind up at the spot. The Phillies obtained Morgan from the Dodg ers last spring and he wound up batting .262, playing in 135 games. Ted Kanzanski, a bonus baby, hit only .135 in 39 games last year and may be sent out for more seasoning. The veteran Floyd Baker, nearing the end of the major league trail, will stay on as an infield reserve and pinch hitter. Stan Lopata and Smokey Burgess will share catching du ties. Lopata is the better receiv er, Burgess the better hitter. Burgess, playing in 103 games, hit .368 lats year but was at bat only 345 times, 55 short to be considered for the National League batting championship. Lopata hit .290 in 86 games, but his average jumped after he changed his batting stance to a crouch. Del Ennis, the club's power hitter who drove in 119 runs in 1954 although batting only .261, will be in left field and the fleet Richie Ashbum, who hit .313, in center. The right field spot is wide open with Mel Clark, who hit only .240 last year; Danny Schell, with a .283 average and the veteran John Wyrostek, .239, as leading candidates. Peanuts Lowrey, picked up after the Cardinals gave him his unconditional release, probably will stick on for outfield and in field reserve duty and pinch hit ting chores. Coast League Briefs Glendale, Calif. OI.R) The hard-hitting Portland Beavers, working on a four-game winning streak, play host to Los Angeles today with Ad Satalich. Royce Lint and Dick Waibel scheduled to pitch. The Beavers shut out UCLA yesterday 3-0 on a combined four-hitter by Don Herman and Jack Widner, both of whom are fighting for a chance to get on the Portland roster. The Beavers scored all three runs in the first inning and coasted home. Fletcher Robbe, an outfielder and the last Portland holdout, came to terms yesterday. El Centre Calif. U.R) Oakland's Acorns meet San Francisco today in a desert Coast League exhibition game with Karl Drews and Allen (Two-Gun) Gettel slated to do the hurling. The Oaks, currently leading the exhibition league, had the day off yesterday and Mana ger Lefty O'Doul confined training to wind sprints, in which speedy Bob Schurr excelled. two in a row over Seattle to day after downing the Rai niers 11-5 yesterday. The Padres travel to Palm Springs for the encounter. In yesterday's game, they jump ed on rookie Gene Hayden for six big runs in the fifth in ning to ice the contest. Al Zarilla and Dick Faber both batted in three runs for the Pads. Palm Springs, Calif. (U.R) The Seattle Rainiers return to their training camp here today for an exhibition game against the San Diego Padres. Anaheim, Calif. OI.R) The Hollywood Stars, after a day's rest, lake on the UCLA Bru ins today in an exhibition game. The Bruins were shut out yesterday 3-0 by the Portland Beavers. Fullerton, Calif. (U.R) The Los Angeles Angels travel to nearby Glendale today to meet Portland after edging the Fort Ord Warriors 8-7 yesterday in a practice game. The soldiers tied it up with a single run in the top of the sev enth only to see Angel catcher Dick Tindall single home the winning tally in the bottom of the same frame. Cal McLish, Turk Lown and Dick Drott are scheduled for mound duty today. Ontario, Calif (U.R) The San Diego Padres, 1954 Paci fic Coast League pennant win ners, get a chance to make it Yuma. Ariz. (U.R) The Sacra mento Solons renewed training with a vengeance today after taking their third straight loss last night at the hands of San Francisco, 7-6. The Solons pitching staff gave up seven runs in the first five innings. Leo Thomas clubbed a solo home run in a losing cause. MedforiTribune Brawley, Calif. (U.R) Tommy Heath's San Francisco Seals continue their desert Coast League road schedule today, traveling to El Centro to take on the Oakland Oaks. Yesterday, the Seals scored early and held on to edge Sa cramento. 7-8 at Yuma, Ariz. Dave Mellon got things roll ing a three-run homer in the first and Mike Baxes followed with a solo roundtripper in the same inning. Sal Taormina lost one in the three-run fifth. Bobby Shantz May Be After Job Unless Sore Arm Better West Palm Beach, Fla (U.R) The' slender, blond 27 - year Vnrlnm litf'.P Robhv Shantz ld left - hander, who won 24 . . . . ! Barnes 1 grimly admitted today he'll have to start pounding the pavement in search of "some kind of a job" if he fails in his current comeback attempt with the Kan sas City Athletics. cxmb gebbGb ffiM See as for a free inspection! Tires with hidden cuts and bruises can cause danger ous and expensive accidents. Don't take chancesi Let ms Inspect and make the repair that will save your tire and perhaps your life. Stop in for Goodyear Protective Service" today. USE OUR EXPERT SERVICE! We inspect for cuts, bruises, improper inflation, wheel balance and wear. w We cross-switch your tires for better service longer We mount or remove snow tires or other special tires. We make tire and tube repairs that will insure safer operation. Rj.EDF0RD RE, inc. 123 SOUTH RIVERSIDE PHONE 2-6314 games for the Philadelphia A's in "1952 and was voted the most valuable player in the American League, still has no inkling of whether his arm trouble has dis appeard or not. "I just keep hoping and hoDing-," he said, shaking his heed as he sat stripped to the waist in front of his locker. "But I don't know anything more about my arm than I did last fall." Has No Trade Shantz. the outstanding pitch er in all baseball only .three short years ago, faces his un certain future without moaning or iiincning, even tnougn n means he may have, to take a job for S80 or $100 a week when ; not so long ago he made more than $25,000 a year. "If things don't pan out," he said, shrugging his shoulders, "then I guess I'll have to try to find some kind of job in Philly. "What sort of job? Who knows? I don't have a trade." 100 Top Women Golfers Start North South Play Pinehurst, N. C. (U.R) A near-record field of 100 of the nation's top women amateurs set out today in quest of the 43rd annual North and South In vitational Golf championship. Co-favorites were National Amateur champion Barbara Ro- mack of Sacramento, Calif., and sensational newcomer Pat Les ser of Seattle. Thirty-two places in the cham pionship flight were at stake in today's qualifying round over the par 74, 6,000-yard No. 2 championship course. Most of the field turned in practice rounds Tuesday. Miss Lesser, making her first appear ance here, found the pineborded fairways to her liking. Miss Romack, semi - finalist here last year and a former North and South champion, is hoping to end Miss Lesser's string of victories in four pre vious clashes on the winter tour. Eighteen hole match play begins Thursday. Kezar stadium in San Fran cisco's Golden Gate park is the home of the East-West Shrine games and the San Francisco 49ers, professional football team. ipco)iHnrs Ella Kowalski Will Be Kim's Second in Go With Miss Hunter Ella Kowalski, who twice met Gerry Hunter in the local wres tling ring, will be chief second for Tiny Kim when the Hono lulu judo expert meets the blonde bombshell in the feature match of Saturday night's wres tling card at Merrick's arena. Promoter Mack Lillard said yesterday he has been informed by Miss Kim that she is working out daily with Miss Kowalski, who is attempting to teach her weak spots she noticed in her two matches with the claimant to the world's feminine middle weight championship. Kowal ski's first match with Miss Hunt er ended in a draw and she was badly trounced in the return go. Kim, a curvacious cutie of Oriental extraction, said Kowal ski will be in her corner to as sist in every way possible to bring victory over the arrogant Hunter. Grapple fans are also show ing considerable interest in the Medford debut of Cyclone Cobb, 240-pound Texas Negro who meets Yoggi Hussane in the mid dle scrap. Cobb is said to spec ialize in taming unorthodox men of Hussane's type and that would suit the fans just right. The opening match, slated for 8:30 p.m., sends Buck Davidson, who made his local debut as a youngster 20 years ago next May, against Johnny Dobbs, colorful but mean Nebraskan. All matches will be for 40 min utes or two out of three falls and arena doors will open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Rogue restaurant, 42 South Cen tral ave. JOIN CHAMPS Seattle (U.R) Stan Glowaski of Seattle University and Dean Parsons, University of Washing ton basketball captain the past season, will join the Buchan Bakers of Seattle for the nation al AAU tournament at Denver March 21-26, club officials said today. FIGHTS By UNITED PRESS Washington, D.C.: Tommy (Hurri canel Jackson. 197. New York, knocked out Chuck Saucer. 188. Wash ington. D.C.. (3i. Trenton. N.J.: Gene Takach. 139'i. Trenton. N.J.. outpointed Jimmy inockj-j Sullivan, 136 '2, Boston. Mass. (8.i. Chicago: Virgil Akins. 148. St. Louis, stopped Tommy Maddox. 149. Chicago (4). Wednesday, March 18, 1955 MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE NINE Loeffler Confident LaSalle Can Trim Big 10 Champions Salem, O. U.R) Coach Ken Loeffler was confident today that his LaSalle Explorers can beat Iowa Friday night in the NCAA eastern title basketball game even though he has had no scouting reports on the Hawk eyes. Loeffler was to rejoin LaSalle in Pittsburgh today after speak ing at a booster club banquet honoring the local high school basketball team Tuesday night before a packed house of 300 persons at the memorial build ing. While he was here, the Ex plorers were handled in work outs at Philadelphia by Frank O'Hara, the tiny captain who led LaSalle to the NCAA crown last year. Plans Workouts Loeffler and the team were scheduled to fly from Pittsburgh to Kansas City where he hoped to hold workouts later in the day and also Thursday. The LaSalle coach said that he would start his boys on a man-to-man basis in the Iowa game, but might switch to a zone de fense to battle the Hawkeyes, who have seen little of that sys tem in Big Ten play this season. "I'll use anything that"s le gal," Loefler said. "Ask the same question of Iowa." He apparently hoped Iowa would use a zone defense, for he said his team liked to play against it for "we've had pretty good success against it." Wants Victory Loeffler admitted that he'd be "very unhappy if they lost" at Kansas City. The Explorers' coach said he had brought his team - along slowly this season, saying he "would rather lose in December I and win in March. While defending champion La Salle and Iowa battle for the eastern championship Friday night, Colorado and San Fran cisco will be playing for the western title. The two winners will meet at Kansas City for tha NCAA championship. is every ounce your best bourbon buy. . . because: 31 P3! jj . rg cvetyoance is bottled at gQL 1 -j thepeakofperfectionl.gl wSw a raan's whisW 1 $A55 L FIFTH KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKY 86 PROOF EARLY TIMES DISTILLERY COMPANY LOUISVILLE 1; KENTUCKY Don't say yw ccafin'tf afford MrcMvy efore yoio check the price of this roe L. ..I... i. .1. f.-. i. i.i . i. n . ..i. 'S ..v.. - Co-o Mercury's lowest-priced car the 188-hp Custom 2-door 6-passenger Sedan is shown above. 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