[This weekend my cousin Donnie (never just “Don” in my playbook) celebrates his 80th birthday with a Boston Harbor Sunset cruise arranged by his wife Denise. We’ll be there to bear witness. My memories of Donnie are almost entirely associated with summers at that tiny enclave on Quincy Bay known as Post Island, home to this day to a thriving troop of Silverbacks. Thus, it struck me as an appropriate time to revisit an assortment of bits of Bostoniana, beginning by the journal I kept of the summer of 2013, an epic season when the hometown Red Sox went from “worst to first” in taking us From Truck Day to Duck Day. It was a summer that began with a bang, literally, the terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon, and became progressively more interesting as the season continued. SB SM]
July 1 While many Patriot fans just want to dispose of any Hernandez related memorabilia, the market for such items is hot on eBay. Koji blows save, but gets win. Sox 5-Jays 4. Results to date:
July 2 Former cocaine dealer outlines relationship paying Whitey for protection. So much for Bulger’s image as the guy who kept drugs off the streets in South Boston.
July 3 Jurors hear recordings of Bulger bantering with relatives about life of crime. Security heavy in preparation for 4th of July. Sox cruise over Padres behind Lackey. Does anyone really like this interleague play sideshow? Celtics start search for new coach.
July 4 General in Egypt take over from Morsi. Lobster prices near record lows. Abundance tied to warming ocean. Fraud surfaces in administration of One Fund for Marathon victims. Celtics name Brad Stevens of Butler University as new coach. Pinch hit homer by Gomes results in another walkoff for Sox. 2-1 over Padres.
July 5 Fourth of July is hot, hot, hot and happy. Sox Sweep Padres 8-2. Finish home stand 8-1. Bruins trade Tyler Seguin.
July 6 Anthony’s Pier 4 to close. This was the place to be seen in the 60s and 70s, and deserves much of the credit for the revitalization of the Seaport district. Anthony Athanas was a true pioneer. Connecticut man shot in Florida, allegedly by Aaron Hernandez, ordered to appear before grand jury in Fall River. Red Sox beat Angels 6-2 to start West Coast swing. Pinch hit HR for Ortiz. Stephen Drew to DL.
July 7 Sox blow four run lead. Fall in 11 to Angels.
July 8 Teresa Heinz Kerry flown from Nantucket to Mass General suffering from undisclosed ailment. Jered Weaver blanks Sox, 3-0.‘‘The future is greater than the past,’’ says Manny Ramirez, beginning yet another comeback attempt in Texas farm system.
July 9 Cape Cod traffic … always bad … turns nightmarish over holiday. Kevin Weeks takes stand in Bulger trial. Weeks, now 57, spent over 20 years as Whitey’s mobster-in-training.
Teresa Heinz Kerry’s condition improved. Suffered seizure.Robert Kraft, Patriot’s owner, claims team was “duped” by Hernandez. Mariners batter Lester, Sox 11-4. Andrew Miller out for year with foot injury.
July 10 Vintage courtroom exchange:
That’s what we paid our money for!
New details provide puzzle pieces to events surrounding Hernandez/Lloyd the night of June 14.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in court to face charges.Red Sox battle back to take Mariners 11-8. Brandon Workman called up to bolster pitching.
July 11 Tsaraev pleads not guilty. Sox take second straight from Mariners 11-4. Ortiz sets new marks for DH. Road trip record stands at 3-3. Dan Shaughnessy writes about “What a month for Boston sports.” How about Boston courtrooms and police stations?
July 12 Police to exhume remains of convicted Boston Strangler seeking DNA evidence to link him to final victim. Three finalists in bid for Globe. One group includes the Taylor family who formally owned the paper, another group headed by John Henry, owner of Red Sox. Nava’s hit in 10th wins it for Sox 8-7. “Quadruple A” player comes through again.
July 13 As Albert DeSalvo’s body is exhumed, and jurors hear more anguishing testimony from families of Whitey’s victims, Tom Menino celebrates the 20th anniversary as Mayor of this great city of Boston. Sox over A’s 4-2. Lackey and Pedroia provide keys. Sox acquire lefty Matt Thornton from White Sox.
July 14 Zimmerman found not guilty in shooting of Trayvon Martin. Bulger, Tsaraev, and Hernandez will all want that jury! Radical Islamists glamorize the work of the brothers Tsaraev:
July 15 Widespread protests about verdict in Zimmerman case, support for family of Trayvon Martin. Menino announces plans to write book. Brandon Workman flirts with no-hitter, but Sox fall in 11 3-2. Team enters All Star break still in first place.
July 16 A little more than a month ago Aaron Hernandez lived in a mansion and spent his evening clubbin’. Now his biggest privilege is spending an hour a day here:
Meanwhile, Kevin Cullen complains that Whitey has it too soft.
July 17 Obamas arrive on Vineyard for vacation. South Shore businessman tells how Whitey extorted $400,000 at gunpoint. Story rivets jury. One year short of 100th anniversary, Brigham’s ice cream shops to cease to exist. Buchholtz an All-Star, but has to sit and watch. AL wins 3-0. Mariano MVP.
July 18 Rolling Stone cover provokes strong backlash.Former
Bulger partner Steve “The Rifleman” Flemmi to testify.
July 19 Police sergeant, angry over Rolling Stone depiction releases own photos of Tsaraev capture. Flemmi and Bulger glare and mutter during testimony. Calls Whitey a “mother fucker.” Characterizes relationship as “strictly criminal.” Alleged Bulger victim Stephen “Stippo” Rakes, 59 found dead. Wanted to testify against Bulger. Detroit files for bankruptcy. Sox face toughest opponents to start second half.
July 20 DNA evidence confirms DeSalvo as Boston Strangler. Steve Flemmi outlines his own, and Bulger’s brutality in day of gruesome testimony. Deborah Hussey, one of their victims, was murdered in 1984, says Flemmi. President Obama comments on Trayvon Martin case, revealing his own experiences of fear and prejudice as a black man in America. Gomes and Ellsbury homer to key Red Sox 4-2 victory over Yankees. RIP Matt Batts, one time Red Sox catcher, 91, with one of the best names ever in baseball.
July 21 Yankees avenge loss with 5-2 win.
July 22 Walkoff in 11 on Napoli’s second blast.
July 23 Bulger’s lawyer brands Flemmi a “perverted liar.” Rumors circulate that new Celtics coach Brad Stevens is really 12 years old. Kate Middleton gives birth to a son!
Sox blanked by Matt Moore of Rays 3-0. Rays now a half game back, the hottest team in baseball. Ryan Braun banned for PED use.
July 24 Boston streets flooded by 2 inch downpour. Prosecutors making case to charge Hernandez with 2012 double homicide. Anthony Weiner admits sexting. This has nothing to do with Boston, but how can you pass up something like this?
Not only that, but he’s a pedophile, too, says Flemmi of Bulger. Apparently it takes one to know one. Sox, powered by rejuvenated Lester, beat Rays. Dustin Pedroia rewarded with $100 million contract extension. Dan Shaughnessy dubs Ryan Braun “Lyin’ Ryan.”
July 25 Bill Belichick opens Patriots training camp by fielding questions about Hernandez. Caroline Kennedy chosen to be ambassador to Japan. David Price shows why he won Cy Young award with 5-1 shut down of Sox. Lead back to 1/2 game.
July 26 Amy Berlowitz head of prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences to resign following revelations that she embellished academic achievements on resume and grant applications. Flemmi wraps of seven days of testimony that thoroughly raked Bulger (and himself) over the coals. Sox rained out. David Ross cleared to return.
July 27 Prosecution rests in Bulger case. Now the question is … will Whitey testify in own defense?Brutal murder of young woman in Southie has community on edge. At least this is one that can’t be pinned on Hernandez or Whitey. Bail set at $500k for man accused of being accomplice after the fact in Hernandez case. Orioles 6- Sox 0. Fall out of first place. Uh-oh.
July 28 Drew’s two HRs pace Sox over O’s 7-3. Don’t confuse him with brother J.D. “Don’t call me Nancy” Drew.
July 29 Sox regain first as Ortiz and Lester shine. The big dogs get the job done.
July 30 Patrick Nee to testify for defense, but should he be charged with murder?
RIP George “Boomer” Scott, one of the most colorful Sox players ever. Sox fall back on blown call. Lose to Rays 2-1.
July 31
Wanna buy a lighthouse? Graves Lighthouse is for sale. Judge refuses sequester request from Bulger defense. Red Sox acquire Jake Peavy at trade deadline. Had to give up
‘shortstop-of-the-future,” Jose Inglesias. Sox beat Mariners to keep pace in AL East:
So long to the human highlight film!