Idle chatter during that lull where all the heavy summer activities have ceased as people endeavor to enjoy August, and the official opening day for fall sports which this year seems to be a week from Friday.
The Gallant youth baseball tournament is at Harry Ball Little League complex in Beverly this year as the usual venue — O’Grady Field at Forest River Park — is being rehabbed as part of a Salem construction project.
Nothing against the Harry Ball facility. It is as impressive a venue as there is in this part of the state (with Peabody’s Lt. Ross Field complex being right up there), but a lot of the beauty of the Gallant was always the location.
And we’re not just talking about the ambiance (though being on the fringes of woods, picnic grounds and the ocean has certainly a nice way to spend the afternoon). The field is pretty cool too. I always called it The Launching Pad, because home runs flew out of their like airplanes out of Logan.
That was always part of the allure. When you’re 12, or 13 (as some of these kids are by the time the tournament starts), hitting one out of the park is a singular thrill.
Let’s hope Harry Ball Field has an appropriate runway for these blasts.
Can we please stop talking about the Patriots going undefeated? Does anyone remember what happened the last time they ran the table in the regular season?
We’re into August, the Red Sox are red-hot, and they’re heading to New York for a series with the Yankees. What could be better? Or worse?
Actually, it really could go both ways. The rivalry has certainly produced a lot of tumult over the years — mainly with the Yankees torturing the Red Sox.
Does anyone remember 2011? What Sox fan doesn’t?
The Red Sox had just swept the most bizarre doubleheader in their history on Aug. 27 over the Oakland A’s. Hurricane Irene was bearing down upon us, and the Red Sox decided to play the doubleheader on a Saturday (the scheduled Sunday game being the back end of it). The next time they played was Aug. 30 at home against New York.
The Red Sox were 30 games over .500, but only two up on the Yankees in the AL East. New York came into Fenway and took two out of three … and thus began the most hideous collapse since the Foldin’ Phillies of 1964.
The Red Sox finished out of the playoffs, the club was keeping Popeye’s Louisiana Fried Chicken in business, and Terry Francona was most unceremoniously dumped.
Bad things happen when the Red Sox face the Yankees. So let’s not be premature here when it comes to any bragging.
The other similarity between 2011 and this season is the relative likeability (or dislikeability, as it were) of the team.
In 2011, there was apparently a ton of bickering and snickering behind the scenes. This year, David Price seems to have set the tone of the clubhouse with his imbecilic behavior toward Dennis Eckersley.
It’s a long season, and the players are in each other’s pockets for almost every day. A harmonious atmosphere counts.
For a guy who seems to be everywhere all the time, Jeff Earp sometimes flies under the radar. But over the last few years, it’s Earp, as much as anyone, who has helped hold up the Lynn youth baseball structure. He was front and center for the John Holland Memorial Softball Tournament in May; he’s right there for the Lynn Babe Ruth baseball program and the two state tournaments it held this summer; he’ll be the coach for the Lynn Gallant Tournament team.
Earp is the ultimate sports volunteer. He understands it’s often a thankless job, and he understands even more that it often comes down to the reality that “if you don’t do it, no one else will.” It can be a lonely feeling.
He’s an easy guy to rib, and I’ve done my share of it. He once held up the start of a softball game, during a tournament when games were heavily scheduled, so he could gussy up Rogato Field just a little more. For that, he earned the nickname “Picasso,” as in “Hey, Picasso, we have a schedule to keep.”
Running these organized youth sports programs can be tough. Nobody’s happy. Parents who wouldn’t know a tractor from a BMW suddenly become experts on the ins and outs of field management. When the requests go out to help with fundraising, there are parents who never seem to be on the other end of the phone, or they’re not home … until the lack of funds prevents a program from being run, or being run with all it bells and whistles. Then, it’s Earp and others from Babe Ruth, such as Jim Beliveau and Dave Raymond, who get to handle all their complaints.
So how about having a heart next time you see him?
