Daily Archives: July 7, 2011

A Halfway Look At The Much-Hyped Sox

Published July 7, 2011

Adrian Gonzalez has had an MVP-caliber first half of the season for the Red Sox. (AP)

Adrian Gonzalez has had an MVP-caliber first half of the season for the Red Sox. (AP)

If I had told you in March that the Sox would be half a game behind the Yankees just before the All-Star break, you probably would’ve been disappointed.

In April, if I’d said the same thing, you’d have been elated.

Point is, no one ever knows what to expect. So, 86 games into the 162-game season, just how are the Red Sox doing? Because manager Terry Franconca never seems to settle on a lineup, here’s a snapshot of the Sox’ season, in no particular order:

– Adrian Gonzalez is really good. If anyone not made out of solid gold is worth $154
million, it’s the hard-hitting first baseman. He turns major league pitchers into batting practice fodder. Just look at these stats.

– The jury is still out on Carl Crawford. The Sox’ other big time offseason acquisition, Crawford hasn’t quite won fans like Gonzalez. A slow start to the season made him look uncomfortable in Boston, and a recent injury has cooled off his rebound.

– The young are old and the old are young. Pups Clay Buccholz and Jed Lowrie have struggled with injuries that have derailed their seasons. Meanwhile, 31-year-old Josh Beckett and the ancient 44-year-old Tim Wakefield have made 30 look like the new 20.

– Big-money men John Lackey and J.D. Drew have been dreadful. With the amount of boos targeted at them, Lackey and Drew must feel as if they play every home game in New York.

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Fallen Falmouth Soldier Is Laid To Rest

Published July 7, 2011

Hundreds of mourners today attended the funeral of a soldier from North Falmouth who was killed in Iraq.

Army Sgt. Matthew Gallagher (Courtesy)

Army Sgt. Matthew Gallagher (Courtesy)

Army Sgt. Matthew Gallagher died on June 28 in Iraq’s Wasit province. He was 22.

Following his death, Gallagher’s mother, Cheryl Ruggerio, told the Falmouth Patch that her son “really found his niche in the Army. He loved being a soldier.” A Falmouth High graduate, Gallagher was on his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed.

Gallagher died of non-combat-related injuries in an incident the Army continues to investigate. At the funeral today, people who knew Gallagher had questions about his death.

“I got a pretty good sense that in general people were kind of puzzled by the fact that the Defense Department is not revealing more about the circumstances of his death,” said WBUR’s Fred Thys, who attended the funeral. (Fred will have a report on the services in tomorrow’s Morning Edition.)

Gallagher was buried at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne. According to USA Today’s ongoing tally, Gallagher is the state’s 77th Iraq War fatality. The last fatality was in 2009.

Thursday Morning: Bulger Case Begins

Published July 7, 2011

Two weeks to the day after his arrest, James “Whitey” Bulger was formally charged yesterday with committing 19 murders and numerous other crimes, many allegedly committed while he was a secret FBI informant.

Former FBI agent Bob Fitzpatrick said that back when he worked in the Boston office it was obvious to him that something about the FBI’s relationship with Bulger wasn’t right. Obviously, Fitzpatrick was.

The man who weaseled his way into Boston’s high society as “Clark Rockefeller,” is set to be arraigned tomorrow on murder charges in California. As you might remember, Christian Gerhartstreiter is a bit of an odd duck.

Hoping to finally close the book on its controversial relationship with Cleve Killingsworth, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts said it will refund to customers the $4.2 million in severance it paid the former CEO. The rebate breakdown is just under $2 per Blue Cross subsciber.

An estimated 35 percent of Boston’s population is between 20- and 34-years-old, the highest percentage among U.S. cities.

A Boston developer wants to build a 16-story complex of retail, office and residential units near Fenway Park. The Abbey Group filed paperwork with the Boston Redevelopment Authority yesterday, in a preliminary step toward developing the property on Boylston Street.

What we’re following:
We’ll continue to report on the future of Raynham Park, abuse at Carney Hospital and the state of tornado relief operations.