The Boston Red Sox enter play on Friday at 54-47 and in contention for a wild card spot in the American League. The Red Sox haven’t been to the playoffs since 2021 and are ahead of where most prognosticators thought they would be at this point in the season.

One of the driving forces behind the success this year is star outfielder Jarren Duran. Duran, who won All-Star Game MVP, has been the catalyst of the lineup this year, even as Triston Casas and Trevor Story have been hurt.

According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Duran is on pace to accomplish something that hasn’t been done in baseball since 1925.

Jarren Duran is on pace for: 48 2B, 19 3B, 21 HR, 35 SB

players with 40/15/15/30 since modern SB rules began in 1898:

1925 Kiki Cuyler: 43 2B, 26 3B, 18 HR, 41 SB
1920 George Sisler: 49 2B, 18 3B, 19 HR, 42 SB

Any time you can do something that hasn’t been done in 99 years, you are doing something right and Duran certainly is. In addition to being All-Star Game MVP, Duran is hitting a cool. 292 with 13 homers, 51 RBI and 22 stolen bases. He’s posted an OPS of .865 and is in line to get some MVP votes at season’s end.

The Red Sox open a critical divisional series with the New York Yankees on Friday night at Fenway Park. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET as Nestor Cortes (NYY) pitches against Brayan Bello (SOX).

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It was no coincidence that an alleged meth and fentanyl kingpin was arrested and charged Wednesday, the day after Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn called for a new plan to deal with the resurgence of the Mass and Cass drug market.

You can’t have addicts without drugs, and efforts to clear open-air drug markets are bound to be short-lived as long as the suppliers are working.

As Gayla Cawley reported in the Herald, Flynn’s hearing order stated: “There is an urgent need to reevaluate the current strategies in addressing the public safety, quality of life, neighborhood services, and public health issues related to the situation in Mass and Cass and in the impacted neighborhood of South End, Roxbury, Dorchester and South Boston.”

“We need to identify ways to improve the city’s response to the opioid crisis, drug-dealing activities, and homelessness,” Flynn wrote.

The Boston Police Department’s Drug Control unit has been doing a terrific job of arresting and charging people with drug trafficking, selling, and possessing firearms and ammo. We need more officers.

But that’s half the solution. Getting addicts off the streets and arresting dealers won’t ultimately take down the opioid crisis in Boston and the country.

For that, you have to follow the money.

As Flint McColgan reported,  Schuyler Oppenheimer. of Cambridge,  allegedly conducted illicit trade with Chinese suppliers under the name “Michael Sylvain.” He was arrested last week and charged in federal court in Boston with possession of 500 grams and more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and two counts of wire fraud. This followed an investigation which indicated he could have produced millions of counterfeit pills — partially funded through Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but a key takeaway is Oppenheimer’s alleged work with Chinese traders.

According to a DEA report, China is the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail…as well as the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States.

In February, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas met with People’s Republic of China State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong in Vienna, to boost cooperation with the PRC to fight against fentanyl. Discussions were held, commitments were made, and the fentanyl continues to flow.

Senator Elizabeth Warren isn’t having it.

At a January hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Warren called for action to address crypto’s role in facilitating the illicit fentanyl trade.

“Crypto plays a role at every stage in the illicit fentanyl trade,” Warren said. “Chinese companies sell the chemical ingredients used to make fentanyl to drug cartels and they get paid in crypto. The drug cartels and the traffickers sell their deadly drugs in the darkest marketplaces, and they get paid in crypto.”

Warren’s bipartisan Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act aims to close loopholes in U.S. anti-money laundering rules to crack down on crypto’s use by drug traffickers and other bad actors.

The bill hasn’t moved since the January hearing. The victims of fentanyl and their families need action now.

FOXBORO — In his bid to become the Patriots’ next great cornerback, Christian Gonzalez is taking pointers from one of his superstar predecessors.

Gonzalez said Thursday that former New England standout Stephon Gilmore has been a valuable resource for him as he enters his second NFL season.

“It’s real cool to be able to talk to somebody like that,” Gonzalez said after Day 2 of Patriots training camp. “(I can) talk to him any time that I need to and just want to talk about ball.”

The two never overlapped in Foxboro, but they’ve been connected since the earliest days of Gonzalez’s pro career. In a follow-up conversation with the Herald, the 22-year-old said Gilmore contacted him shortly after the Patriots selected him 17th overall in last year’s NFL draft.

Gilmore, who made two All-Pro first teams, won a Super Bowl and was the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year during his four seasons with the Patriots, placed that call despite being under contract with the Dallas Cowboys at the time. He currently is a free agent.

“As soon as I got drafted last year, he reached out to me and talked to me,” Gonzalez told the Herald. “All the coaches, they tell me Steph is somebody you can look up to and somebody you can talk to. He lives out in the area that I’m from (in the Dallas area), so we pass by each other and see each other and just talk about ball.”

Gonzalez takes cues from Gilmore in the film room, too. Though the latter hasn’t played for the Patriots since his messy breakup with the franchise in 2021, coaches routinely reference him when instructing New England’s current corners.

“That’s Steph Gilmore,” Gonzalez said. “You’re definitely going to bring up a Hall of Famer, for sure.”

Gonzalez called Gilmore “one of the best to ever do it” and said he tries to “mimic things” he does on the field. It’s easy to draw a connection between the two soft-spoken cover men, as fellow cornerback Jonathan Jones did earlier this week.

“He comes in, doesn’t say much,” said Jones, who’s been with the Patriots since 2016. “He kind of reminds me of Gilmore in the sense that he doesn’t really say much but when they step onto the field they’re playmakers. So, it’s exciting to see him back coming off of an injury, I think it’s going to be good for him.”

Whether Gonzalez can become a Gilmore-level difference-maker for New England’s defense remains to be seen, but he showed All-Pro potential during his abbreviated rookie year. The Oregon product earned Defensive Rookie of the Month honors for September after a string of strong outings against A.J. Brown, Tyreek Hill and Garrett Wilson, only to suffer a shoulder injury in Week 4 that ended his season.

Now healthy, Gonzalez has looked like the Patriots’ clear No. 1 corner in training camp and is impressing his veteran teammates. Jones, the favorite to start opposite Gonzalez, trumpeted the youngster’s talents during spring practice, saying Gonzalez “has every attribute that you want in a corner” and is “going to be one of the best players in the game.”

The Patriots will need Gonzalez to live up to that hype as they prepare for a schedule stocked with high-caliber pass-catching threats, beginning with Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in Week 1.

Originally Published: July 25, 2024 at 2:18 p.m.