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American League East preview: Another powerhouse division in 2023?

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:28:13 GMT

Season after season, the American League East is one of the most competitive divisions in Major League Baseball.Some years, it’s one of the most compelling races in all of North American professional sports.In 2018, the Red Sox won their third consecutive division title and a franchise-record 108 regular-season games. The Yankees finished second, with 100 wins, and entered the playoffs via Wild Card. The Rays “only” won 90 games that year, a total that would’ve made them a Wild Card team in the AL Central or NL East, but instead, was only good for third place in their own division and no postseason berth.In last year’s postseason, the first with the new expanded format, three of the six AL teams were from the East.It’s high-stakes baseball at its best, and it’s always brilliant or brutal, depending on the year and your team of choice.But it will be interesting to see how the new balanced schedule impacts the annual divisional melee. In order...

The 2023 Red Sox: Underwhelming, or underdogs?

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:28:13 GMT

No one expects much from the 2023 Red Sox.Outside of the organization, anyway.The outside world sees an organization that spent the fall and winter letting go of proven winners. Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, Christian Vázquez, Matt Barnes, and many others are gone. The 2018 championship squad, the team with more regular-season wins than any other in Red Sox history, has been torn down to its last three studs: Rafael Devers, Chris Sale, and Ryan Brasier.In turn, it appears the Red Sox constructed a roster full of newcomers, question marks, lateral moves, and short-term contracts, with a few high-priced talents sprinkled on top of the Rocky Road sundae.It makes sense that many are ready to write off this team that finished last twice in three years, and then got rid of most of their proven champions. Most projections have them finishing last in their division again; the kindest evaluators say they might be a fourth-place team.It’s been a long, tumultuous offseaso...

Enjoy pops of color with new spring shades

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:28:13 GMT

It’s finally spring, and it’s safe to say the majority of us are here for it. Winters in New England tend to linger, so if you’re looking ahead to the brighter skies that are just around the corner, then make getting through the next couple of weeks easier by embracing color — on your toes, face, and in your wardrobe and home.Nails: Who doesn’t get a jolt of energy just looking at a pretty pop of pink? Gucci’s brand new shades of Glossy Nail Polish $33 on sephora.com) include a Valentine Fuchsia that will liven up your mood every time. It also has a high shine finish, for attention-grabbing gleam.Lips: When you want to make a bold statement about spring color, let your lips do the talking. I love Chanel’s new Rouge Coco Gloss ($36 on chanel.com), a moisturizing gloss that comes in shades like fiery corals such as Amuse Bouche and strong pinks like Rose Pulpe. The iridescent colors makes lips plump and smooth, with even coverage thanks to a dual-sided applicator.Bags: A b...

Pup’s enzyme levels cause concern

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:28:13 GMT

Dear Dr. John,My Welsh Terrier is ten months old. She went in for her spay after going into heat a short while ago. The original bloodwork and surgery were both delayed until now. I received a call from the vet informing me that one thing in her pre-surgery bloodwork was abnormal and, as such, they wanted to delay the anesthesia and surgery pending further diagnosis. They told me that a liver enzyme called ALT was around 1000. They ran it twice to be sure and one time was slightly over and the second just under that figure. They did not go into the possible causes yet but what could they be? Will my puppy be okay? She is otherwise acting completely normally and has never had any health issues whatsoever. — W.R.Dear W.R.,If your puppy is otherwise normal in all other aspects, I would relax for now. Liver problems in dogs lead to their being jaundiced, decreased appetites, and even vomiting and diarrhea and your puppy has not displayed such. By the time you receive my response, ...

When ex ignores requests for documents

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:28:13 GMT

Q. My ex took me back to court to modify our parenting plan only a year after our divorce trial.  He never responded to discovery requests during the divorce, and he never got in trouble for failing to follow the rules.  I sent document requests again.  He again ignored them.  Is there anything I can do differently this time without wasting a ton of money trying to compel him to produce information?A. In a divorce, you cannot start issuing subpoenas for documents until you have exchanged self-disclosure documents under Supplemental Probate Court Rule 410.  A modification is different – you do not need to wait to issue subpoenas.  So, if there are documents you need, don’t waste the time asking him to produce, go right to the source for documents.Get any medical or school records directly from the sources as they may support the fact that your children are doing well with the current plan and there is no need for a change.You should ask him interrogatories if you have not yet done th...

Editorial: Too many rail accidents for D.C. to ignore

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:28:13 GMT

Ayer got lucky.Although a train derailed in the Nashoba Valley town on Thursday, the contents spilling from the rail cars were trash and recycling, which authorities said posed no threat to area residents.“There were no reported injuries to the crew, no hazardous materials involved, no leaks orspills of any freight and no impacts to the environment,” a representative for the CSX freight company said in a statement.The same, of course, can’t be said for East Palestine, Ohio, the site of last month’s fiery derailment of a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals. That sent up a toxic cloud and contaminated the air and soil. While that incident received national attention, not many derailments do, unless there’s loss of life or the spilling of toxic materials. And there are many accidents.The Department of Transportations’ Federal Railroad Administration has reported an average of 1,475 train derailments per year between 2005-2021, according to Time.The Department o...

Apologize for badmouthing mom

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:28:13 GMT

Q. I was talking to my sister on the phone yesterday about how angry my children’s mother makes me, when I peered around the bathroom door and there was my 7-year-old, with tears in her eyes, listening to every word. I was confident my children have never heard me talk about their mother in a negative way, but maybe they have, and what have I done? What’s good ex-etiquette?A. Good ex-etiquette is to never talk about your children’s other parent in a negative way — and you can see from your daughter’s reaction why this is so important.Kids don’t understand the ins and outs of their parents’ disagreements. They don’t understand why you are angry with each other or why you broke up. That’s their mommy or daddy. They hear something like, “I’d like to kill that (expletive) and they think, “My mommy? You want to hurt my mommy?” It’s no joke. It can set a child back and hurt them irrevocably.Kids inherently know they are half mommy and half daddy. They personalize all the good things...

Vinyl reissues celebrate 3 decades of Elton, Tori & New Order

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:28:13 GMT

Like your favorite FM station, I give you the best of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. As the vinyl revolution rolls on, here are three recent A+ reissues from three different decades.“Honky Château,” Elton JohnElton John’s career has been so damn epic that whole albums get lost. During his early ’70s streak (seven albums in half a decade, four achieving multi-platinum status)  the blockbusters tended to crowd out “minor” records. “Honky Château” is one of these records (probably the biggest, grandest “minor” masterpiece ever made).The UMe record label celebrates the album’s anniversary this week with a few different packages:  two CDs, two LPs, a limited-edition gold vinyl LP. Feel free to dig in a deluxe or special edition (the live version of the title track simply stuns!), just make sure you put one of the sets in your collection.John and lyricist Bernie Taupin spent this record doing whatever they wanted when they wanted, which makes it wild but never uneven. This means recalling the c...

Chris O’Dowd finds winning role in ‘The Big Door Prize’

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:28:13 GMT

Chris O’Dowd likes his new “The Big Door Prize” series primarily because it’s offbeat, unusual. The AppleTV+ series, streaming Wednesday, is set in small town America and begins with a low-key surprise: A general store discovers a mysterious Morpho machine that supposedly reveals the residents’ life potential.Put your hands on it and out pops a card which might say “Royalty.”No one knows how the Morpho got there.  No one is really sure what it does, much less how it works.  But life — and lives — change.“The Big Concept was the big draw,” a relaxed O’Dowd, 43, allowed in a Zoom interview, his Irish accent intact. “It’s a small town story with the Big Idea – that’s right in my wheelhouse.“I’m playing an Irish guy in a show otherwise occupied by Americans. I think that’s always interesting because I seem to find versions of us everywhere – I hear there are one or two in Boston,” he said, straight-faced.“I was drawn in initially by the concept and then I r...

What to watch: ‘Succession’ sets the table for an epic finale

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:28:13 GMT

Settle in for some noteworthy TV this week:“Succession”The Roys are back trying to win daddy’s love — and fortune — with bickering that makes the Ewings look like the Waltons. The insult fest, while still razor sharp, has gotten a bit tedious. But creator Jesse Armstrong drops a bombshell in the first four episodes that escalates the drama and reminds viewers that this is the final season. Armstrong could have easily extended the life of his Emmy-winning series another five years, but he’s learned a lesson the Roys never have: Don’t be greedy. 9 p.m. Sunday, HBO“CSI: Vegas”“CSI” actors rarely are in the running for Emmys. The franchise’s shows have always been more about procedure than performance. But don’t be surprised if guest star Regina Taylor gets award attention. The “I’ll Fly Away” standout is moving as the mother of a long-deceased child in this episode, co-written by series creator Anthony ...