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A pre-Opening Day conversation with Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:11:55 GMT

On Thursday, the Red Sox embark upon their 123rd season, their 112th year at Fenway Park, and their fourth campaign under the stewardship of Chaim Bloom.Has it really only been three years and change since the Red Sox hired him?So far, his time in Boston has been quite the tempestuous, turbulent roller coaster ride. His teams have finished last twice in three seasons, with a shocking ALCS run like the creme filling in between two disappointing halves of a cookie. He traded Mookie Betts and lost Xander Bogaerts, but got Rafael Devers to sign a franchise-record extension.Bloom won’t make excuses, nor is he looking for pity. And he’ll be the first to tell you that he’s unconcerned with his own legacy; his focus is on the team. Ahead of Opening Day, the Herald caught up with him at Fenway Park. Here’s the chief baseball officer in his own words.Boston Herald: “How are you feeling about the team compared to (when) pitchers and catchers (reported)?”Chaim Bloom: “Yo...

The Orioles’ last World Series title was 40 seasons ago. Fans hope rebuilt team is close to ending that drought.

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:11:55 GMT

Dominique Scott doesn’t know what he’s missing.Scott, a Baltimore native, was just a baby when the Orioles won the World Series in 1983 — the club’s third championship in 18 years, and also its most recent.“When you never had something, it’s hard to say what it feels like to miss it,” Scott, 40, said. “Every year, you hope you get your own, but I don’t know what it’s like to have one.”The Orioles’ 2023 season, which begins Thursday, will be the 40th since that plucky 1983 team reached baseball’s pinnacle. In the years since, the Orioles have been one of Major League Baseball’s worst franchises — only 13 winning seasons, five trips to the postseason and zero World Series appearances. The 39-year championship lull is the seventh-longest active drought in the sport.But now, with the painful rebuild and the 100-loss seasons in the rearview mirror, there’s optimism — among Baltimore fans...

Baseball strikes out with its new pitch clock: Putting a timer on changes the game in bad way

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:11:55 GMT

Baseball, the once national pastime, stood apart from all other major sports as the clock did not tick nor matter. After 150 years, this is changing as Major League Baseball is implementing a pitch clock for the season starting today.Early feedback from spring training is mostly positive as proponents of the change highlight that the clock forces the hitters to hit and the pitchers to pitch, instead of wasting time fixing batting gloves and stepping on and off the mound, while games averaged 2:35, 26 minutes faster than last year.But for this Mets die-hard and baseball purist, this is a change the game and its fans will soon regret.It is worth noting that the World Baseball Classic did not incorporate the pitch clock, despite the significant number of Major League players participating and the league’s desire to engage a global audience. For the title game, 4.5 million watched Japan defeat the United States, and the ratings for the tournament exceeded expectations — all ...

One person hurt in fight onboard TTC subway

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:11:55 GMT

One person has been taken to hospital after a fight onboard a subway train.It happened at Donlands Station around 7 p.m. Wednesday.Police say a male victim suffered minor injuries.They are looking for one suspect who fled the scene.ASSAULT:Donlands Subway– reports of a fight onboard a TTC subway @TTCnotices– police o/s– officers confirmed fight took place on the subway– male victim assaulted, @TorontoMedics took patient to hospital w/ minor injuries– suspect fled– ongoing investigation#GO693571^al— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) March 29, 2023 

World stocks rise as bank fears ease; China economy improves

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:11:55 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mostly higher Thursday as worries over turmoil in the banking industry eased and a top Chinese leader said the No. 2 economy was gaining momentum. France’s CAC 40 rose nearly 0.9% to 7,250.49. Germany’s DAX jumped 1.0% to 15,484.54. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.4% to 7,597.14. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 0.4% and the contract for the S&P 500 was up 0.4%. Oil prices rose. In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.4% to finish at 27,782.93. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.0% to 7,122.30. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4% to 2,453.16. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.6% to 20,309.13, while the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.7% to 3,261.25 after China’s new No. 2 leader, Premier Li Qiang, said the recovery from a long slowdown picked up pace in March. The economy showed “encouraging momentum of rebounding” in January and February, Li said at the Boao Forum for ...

Finland says Russia spy operations weakened in Nordic nation

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:11:55 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Expulsions of Russian intelligence officers and visa refusals have substantially weakened Moscow’s intelligence operations in neighboring Finland in the past year, the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service said Thursday.The intelligence agency, known by the abbreviation SUPO, said in a statement that Russian intelligence has been “squeezed” in the Nordic country because of the agency’s ability to compromise spy operations in 2022.“The Russian intelligence station (in Finland) shrank to about half of its former size last year,” SUPO Director Antti Pelttari said, adding that the main reason for the decline were expulsions of suspected spies and visa refusals on the advice of his agency.The falling number of intelligence officers and restrictions on travel across the Russian-Finland border amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine have significantly undermined operating conditions for Russian spies in Finland, SUPO said.It noted that operations under diplomatic cover have ...

Fox lawsuit highlights effects of conspiracies on Dominion

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:11:55 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — In Arizona’s most populous county, elected officials are bracing for what could happen when it comes time to replace its $2 million-a-year contract for voting equipment.Officials in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, say they have no concerns about their current vendor, Dominion Voting Systems. The problem is that the company has been ensnared in a web of conspiracy theories since the 2020 presidential election that have undermined public confidence in U.S. elections among conservative voters, led to calls to ban voting machines in some places and triggered death threats against election officials across the country.“I have concerns over my own personal security if we re-enlist Dominion,” Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican elected in 2020, said in a court filing. “It went from a company that nobody had heard about to a company that is maybe one of the most demonized brands in the United States or the world.”That sudden turnabout in fortunes fo...

EU reaches provisional deal to raise renewable energy target

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:11:55 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries and negotiators from the EU’s parliament reached a provisional deal Thursday to raise the share of renewables in the bloc’s energy mix, another step to accelerate its green transition.The European Council, which represents the 27 member nations, said the agreement reached after all-night negotiations would raise the renewable energy target to 42.5% of total consumption by 2030. The current goal is 32%.To meet the EU’s goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050, the EU’s executive commission supported a target of 45%. The council and the European Parliament left a door open for such an increase, agreeing on “an additional 2.5% indicative top up that would allow to reach 45%.”Russia’s war in Ukraine has accelerated the EU’s green transition. The bloc reduced its dependency on Russian fossil fuels and increased its renewable energy use over the past year.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the agre...

French foreign minister hopes Sweden, Finland join NATO soon

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:11:55 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — France’s top diplomat said Thursday that she hoped the NATO applications of Sweden and Finland would be “ratified quickly” as the Turkish parliament was expected to vote soon on whether Finland should join the 30-member alliance.French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna referred to an upcoming NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital in July when she said that “we hope this summit will be a success and that there will be 32 countries at the Vilnius summit.”“The applications of Sweden and Finland should be ratified quickly,” she told a news conference.Both Sweden and neighboring Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022, abandoning decades of nonalignment in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. NATO requires the unanimous approval of its members to take in new countries. On Monday, Hungarian lawmakers ratified Finland’s request to join NATO. However, the approval of Sweden’s bid has stalled because of opposition from Turkey and Hungary. The...

Oscar Pistorius eligible for parole, could be free this week

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 15:11:55 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius has applied for parole and is expected to attend a hearing on Friday that will decide if he can be released from prison 10 years after killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her multiple times through a toilet door in his home.Pistorius, who was convicted of murder in Steenkamp’s Valentine’s Day 2013 killing, could leave the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria on Friday if his parole is granted, although the Department of Corrections said the process may take days to finalize if his application is successful.Barry and June Steenkamp, the parents of Reeva, have said they oppose Pistorius’ release and are allowed to address the parole board at his hearing. A submission by a victim’s relatives is one of numerous factors taken into account.“He is a murderer. He should remain in jail,” Barry Steenkamp said in an interview with Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper pu...