Jewel of a Gentleman

I’m bringing back Papi & Circumstance prompted not by the new year or new decade, but the loss of Southington’s Jim Wallace shortly before Christmas.

Jim Wallace was the sort of man whose passing reminds us even the best eras must end.

Mr. Wallace was still involved in American Legion baseball when I returned home in 1998. He was one of those old-guard Southington guys I always enjoy seeing — the Ray Walshs, Bill Snows, Joe LaPortes and Joe Orsenes of our corner of the world, gracious gentlemen with a selfless air of class and an appreciation for things done right.

Now and then, Mr. Wallace would let me know he’d enjoyed something I’d written. It was usually a piece that had involved extra thought, extra creativity, extra patience.

“I write for readers like you,” I replied to one of his e-mails.

Most Southington folks are familiar with Jim’s legacy, or they should be. Town councilman, Hospital for Central Connecticut incorporator, YMCA, Bread for Life — that’s just the start of it.

I find myself thinking the ultimate measure of a man lies in his children. What truer reflection of one’s values, character?

Southington folks my age had the pleasure of going to school with Ted and Sally Wallace, the youngest of Jim’s five kids. Sally was in our class. She was smart, pretty and polished. She did one of her senior English papers on Faulkner’s “Intruder in the Dust,” if I recall correctly. Simply miles ahead down the road.

Ted, who eventually went to the Naval Academy, was a year older and, in our days at St. Thomas Junior High, part of a tremendous class of athletes. In basketball, he, Rob Dibble, Barry DePaolo, Kevin McCarthy and Pat Kelly comprised a starting five that rolled over most opponents and geared up for it by rolling over younger teammates in practice.

Coach Dave Valentine would wind the scrimmage clock to 30 minutes and, man, even on running time that was an eternity.

One night I managed to do something above average to net two textbook points for the scrubs. Pick-and-roll? No-look bounce pass? Can’t recall. I just remember Ted running back down court alongside me saying, “Nice play; now don’t get cocky.”

That was the most influential advice I got all season. I now recognize the influence behind it. Shape your sons well and you’re bound to shape the sons of others.

I’m not sure if Mr. Wallace coached Ted or his oldest boy, Jim, in sports. He was better known for refereeing midget football games and umpiring Little League games. Late in life, he was the scorekeeper for Southington Legion baseball.

Shape the sons of others and you’re bound to shape a corner of the world.

And that, I’d say on second thought, provides the true measure of a man in the eyes of scorekeepers Great and small.

BERLIN, CT BASEBALL In World Series!!

The Berlin, CT American Legion baseball team won the Northeast Regional and has now advanced to the American Legion World Series, which is Fargo, North Dakota.

Two of the players (Chris Morin and Doug Ferraguto) on the team will be blogging live from the event.

You can catch all their baseball posts clicking here or visiting the BerlinCitizen.com web page.

Best of luck team!

Cape cod league baseball

Future star? Heading to see the game in Orleans in an hour. Cape cod
league is the real deal.

Pro Baseball Players Using TWITTER!

Jose Canseco
Curt Schilling

Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies - @moyerfoundation
Chien Ming Wang, New York Yankees - @chienmingwang
C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees - @cc_sabathia
Todd Wellemeyer, St. Louis Cardinals - @todalion
Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants - @barryzito
Chad Durbin, Philadelphia Phillies - @chaddurbin
Jason Grilli, Texas Rangers - @jgrilli49
Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals - @joakimsoria
C.J. Wilson, Texas Rangers - @str8edgeracer
Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins - @justinmorneau
David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox - @davidortiz
Nick Swisher, New York Yankees - @nickswisher
Chris Getz, Chicago White Sox - @chrisgetz
Coco Crisp, Kansas City Royals - @coco_crisp
Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers - @detroit_tigers
Matt LaPorta, Cleveland Indians - @gator4god
Erik Allison, future MVP of the Boston Red Sox @erikallison

MORE TO COME!!!

Lucky Seven. Go Red Sox!

This is one of those times that Karma is gonna get me. It must be stated again though.

Sox - 7

Yankees - 0

What is happening to the rivalry? I know they match up MANY more times but this is just silly.

Go Red Sox.

Word.

Papi being Papi

Finally.
I wasn't as down on him as some other Sox fans, or at least I didn't want to let myself be. I continue to think he'll be alright. He may not hit 51, but if he hits 25 and drives in around 100, I won't complain. I never thought he should be dropped in the order. Hopefully, that pop yesterday will get him going against the Mets this weekend. I could see a big weekend for him with a few homers and RBIs. Would love Lester to get on track tonight and sweep the Jays. It's about time for them to go into their customary lose 20 of 25 streak they seem to every season.
Looking forward to seeing what Dice does on Friday night although it's against Santana so that could be a problem. Bay and Lowell have been outstanding so far this year and with Youk back, the offense shouldn't have to many games of less than three runs.
Yankees seem to have righted the ship. Who knows if it's A-Rod's return or just all of them are hitting their stride at the same time. Either way, seems to be shaping up for a good race, especially since the Rays look like the old D-Rays.

Stayin' Up Late

Sweet win for the Sox last night in Anaheim to start the road trip. A 'W' in the books without Pedroia or Youkilis in the lineup.
Proof anew, too, of the value of a great bullpen. No matter what the deficit, we've got a chance to win the game.

And did J.D. actually get excited about something last night?
Could do without Lugo. Don't know about you, but when the ball is hit to him, I expect an error. He wears expectation like an armored suit.
(A golden smog production)

Manny Being Suspended Manny!!!

Manny Ramirez is busted. 50 game suspension coming for testing positive for a banned substance. Read up people!

BUSTED

That's five in a row.

Sox take a fifth straight from the Bronx bombers. Ugly in the city.

Joba is a punk. Love him for his passion. Hate the way he goes about
the game. To bad you don't get an at bat.

Perhaps it's his upbringing. Bad mommy.

Nice job red sox. Now, go beat the tribe!

Twitter.com/eallison

Thoughts on new Yankee Stadium

So we've got round II tonight, weather permitting, and I'm just pulling for a split. If that happens, the Sox would have taken four out of five from the Yanks and I could live with that. In the past, this would be the time the Sox would lose both of these games after sweeping last weekend. That's why I'm just looking for a split.
Anyway, got to go to the new Yankee Stadium on Saturday with some friends. There's no denying that it's amazing, but I do have a few issues.
When you go into this place, baseball becomes secondary. It's all about excess. There was a line about 45 minutes long to get cheese steaks and the girl in front of me was eating sushi. There's a Boar's Head deli counter in the stadium. The thing that really put me over the edge was the Farmer's Market. Seriously, just think about that for a second. A Farmer's Market inside a baseball stadium. Oh, and beers are $9 for a bottle of Coors Light.
That being said, they did fix alot of the problems I had with the old stadium. The bathrooms were small and you would waste an inning waiting in line. When you went out to get food, you literally missed the game. Now, there are TVs everywhere and they opened up the walkways so you can see the field when you're waiting in line for food or walking around.
The most immediate thing I noticed was the empty seats and it's not just behind the plate and dugout like you see on TV. There are a good amount of empty seats in the upper deck and the luxury boxes were literally being unused.
All in all, a good time. Yanks wound up losing so that was good and I had some good nachos. The only thing with that is they are now putting the caloric information on the menu next to every food item, which is so unnecessary at a ball game. I think my nachos said 1,750 next to them. I was just glad that wasn't the price. At Yankee Stadium, you just never know.