The Atlantic League Is Burning
by Mike Ashmore

You may know that ESPN will be debuting a series called "The Bronx is Burning" on July 9th, which is about the 1977 Yankees team that Patriots manager Sparky Lyle was a closer on.

What you might not know, however, is that Camden Riversharks reliever Aric LeClair will be playing the role of Lyle.

You read that right, another Atlantic League player will be portraying the famous Atlantic League skipper.

"It was awesome, it's quite an experience to play a Cy Young winner," LeClair said.

LeClair and then Nashua Pride teammate and current Patriots outfielder Elliott Ayala went to the open casting call, just hoping to land small roles in the series, which will debut after the MLB Home Run Derby.

"The goal was to be a Yankee so you got to stay there for a while," LeClair said.

But both players were more than just Yankees, with Ayala playing the role of Roy White and LeClair being tabbed to play Lyle.

Although he's never reached the big leagues, it sounds like Leclair will serve as a pretty solid carbon copy of the Somerset skipper. Well, except for one thing.

"You can't pull off a 'stache like that in a month," joked LeClair, going on to say that he needed a little movie magic to replicate Sparky's famous facial hair.

As for Ayala, he wasn't so sure about his role in the film.

"I didn't know who I was going to play when I got there," he said.

"The first day we got there, we went to a little high school field and had some practices and stuff with some of the actors. We tried to help them out, it was like a little mini-camp. That's when they told me I was going to play Roy White. I actually didn't know a lot about him at the time."

So why did these guys decide to be a part of this?

"I'd see those stupid Verizon commercials all the time," Leclair said.

"I'm always telling my wife, 'Why can't I do that,' so it was interesting to see what actually goes into it."

Ayala and LeClair both have speaking parts in the film, but Lyle isn't quite sure what they'll be saying.

"I don't know how (ESPN) can (do the series) without asking permission from me," Lyle said.

"As long as they stay within the boundaries, everything will be fine. But I don't really know anything about the series, to be honest."

Lyle had no interest in the series, but Graig Nettles, father of Patriots third baseman Jeff Nettles and a member of that '77 Yankees squad, was on the set for about a week, according to Ayala.

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