Less than a day after news broke that Craig Breslow would be the guy, the Red Sox made it official.

The Red Sox announced Wednesday afternoon that Craig Breslow has been hired as chief baseball officer, handing the keys to the former left-handed pitcher who helped lead the club to a World Series championship in 2013.

Breslow will succeed Chaim Bloom, who was fired in mid-September after nearly four years on the job.

A 12-year big league veteran, Breslow has emerged as a rising star in the front office world, making a quick impression since joining the Chicago Cubs front office in 2019. Breslow has played an integral role in turning around the Cubs’ pitching development program, rising from director of strategic initiatives to his most recent role as assistant general manager/senior vice president of pitching.

The Red Sox hope he’ll be able to get similar results, both in terms of building the major league club back towards contention and ending the organization’s recent track record of frequent front office turnover.

In a statement announcing the hire, Red Sox owner John Henry acknowledged the organization’s recent struggles and their belief in Breslow to turn things around.

“Our organization continues to have significantly high standards and expectations with a goal of being able to compete annually for that coveted privilege. After the 2018 World Series, we sought to build a future that would avoid the ups and downs normally associated with winning. That plainly hasn’t happened,” Henry said. “Despite the results, over the past few years, substantial efforts have been made and considerable organizational progress has occurred behind the scenes, but not at the major league level. We feel strongly that Craig is the right person at the right time to lead our baseball department.”

Henry went on to praise Breslow’s “remarkable” understanding of the game and that what set him apart was his highly strategic philosophy and his grasp of what it takes to excel in today’s game. Red Sox chairman Tom Werner also praised his baseball expertise, and Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy said Breslow came with strong recommendations from respected members of the Red Sox family.

“Craig was a standout candidate,” Kennedy said. “The praise from fellow baseball executives was impressive, but what truly distinguished him were the resounding character references from former teammates, including David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, David Ross, Brock Holt, and Kevin Youkilis. Craig knows what it takes to be successful in Boston and he’s up for the challenge.”

How Craig Breslow became a top candidate for Red Sox GM job

A Yale graduate, Breslow’s professional baseball journey began in 2002 when he was drafted in the 26th round of the MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. Breslow broke into the majors in 2005 with the San Diego Padres and wound up posting a 3.45 ERA while appearing in 576 games for seven teams, including five seasons with the Red Sox in 2006 and between 2012-15.

His best season came with the Red Sox in 2013, when he posted a 1.81 ERA in 61 appearances while serving as one of the club’s top relievers throughout the playoffs.

“I couldn’t be more excited to return to the Boston Red Sox, an organization that means so much to my family and to me,” Breslow said. “I am humbled by the opportunity to lead baseball operations and to work alongside so many talented people. I’d like to thank John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, and Sam Kennedy for entrusting me with executing the vision we share for this organization. I know firsthand how special winning in Boston is, and I look forward to once again experiencing that passion and success with our fans.”

“I’d also like to thank Tom Ricketts, Crane Kenney, Jed Hoyer, Carter Hawkins, and the Chicago Cubs for giving me my first opportunity in a Major League front office,” Breslow added.

Breslow is the fourth former Red Sox player to lead the club’s baseball operations department and the first since Haywood Sullivan between 1978-83. In addition to his front office credentials, Breslow earned a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale and was named “Smartest Man in Baseball” by the Wall Street Journal in 2009.

Originally from Connecticut, Breslow lives in Newton and worked locally throughout his tenure with the Cubs. Now he has a chance to stay home and help lead his old club back to the promised land.

Republicans have pushed through an aggressive gerrymander of North Carolina’s congressional map that will help them flip several seats in Congress.

Those looming GOP pickups will bolster the party’s chances of defending their narrow House majority next year by erasing or even surpassing Republican losses elsewhere in the South, where courts have begun tossing out congressional lines for diluting the power of Black voters.

North Carolina’s new map, which was approved Wednesday by the state legislature, is particularly efficient at securing a GOP advantage in a state that’s closely divided for many statewide races — setting off a scramble among Republicans for the opportunity to run in the newly safe seats.

The map packs as many Democratic voters as possible into three blue districts, while distributing Republicans across the remaining districts to make sure they remain largely out of reach for Democrats. The maps were drawn so Republicans would hold a strong majority of the state’s seats even in particularly bad years for the GOP.

The new map will remake the state’s delegation from an even split of seven Democrats and seven Republicans to one that would likely lock in 10 Republicans and three Democrats, with one competitive battleground seat that Democratic Rep. Don Davis currently holds.

The state used a court-drawn map with a handful of competitive districts for the midterm elections; the new proposal was created by the GOP supermajorities in the state’s legislative chambers. State law gives the governor — Democrat Roy Cooper — no role in the redistricting process, so the map immediately goes into effect.

Republicans’ new lines obliterate three Democratic districts, all but guaranteeing that Rep. Kathy Manning and first-term Democrats Wiley Nickel and Jeff Jackson won’t return. The new map also makes Davis’ district — which was already a battleground — into even closer to a coin flip, giving Republicans an opportunity to hold 11 of the state’s 14 districts.

“It’s a 50-50 state,” Nickel said. “Seventy-nine percent of the seats for Republicans in a 50-50 state. It’s just wrong.”

New deep-red districts — and the decision by GOP Rep. Dan Bishop to run for state attorney general — mean the delegation could see as many as five new members come 2025. Ambitious Republicans have already begun launching bids for districts that have yet to shift lines.

Former Republican Rep. Mark Walker has already announced that he will run in the new 6th district, ending his gubernatorial bid.“Transparently, it would be disingenuous of me to act as if there were a clear path in the gubernatorial race,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to representing many friends as well as family members in the new 6th.”

Other names to watch: Grant Campbell, an Army veteran and OB/GYN, and former state Sen. Dan Barrett.

State House Speaker Tim Moore has long been eyeing the new seat that will now include his home in Cleveland County. Jackson represents it under the current lines. 2022 nominee Pat Harrigan is also running.

A crowded field is already forming in Nickel’s district, including state Rep. Erin Paré. Other possible contenders: businessman John Cane Jr.; 2022 candidates Kelly Daughtry and DeVan Barbour IV; and former Rep. Renee Ellmers. Fred Von Canon, who initially launched a run against Davis under the old lines, could also run here.

In the east, Davis’ district will become the only true competitive seat. Army veteran Laurie Buckhout launched a campaign there last week and seeded her bid with $1 million. 2022 loser Sandy Smith is running as well. State Sens. Buck Newton, Bobby Hanig and Lisa Barnes are other possible candidates.

In Bishop’s now-open Charlotte-area district, Mark Harris, whose apparent victory in 2018 was the subject of fraud allegations that caused an election do-over, is running. Another name to watch: Bo Hines, who initially filed for a rematch against Nickel but could run here — or in another seat.

Republicans in the state were not shy about this map being one drawn to benefit their party.

“There’s no doubt that the congressional map that’s before you today has a lean towards Republicans,” Republican state Rep. Destin Hall, who chairs the state House Rules Committee, said on the floor on Wednesday, while arguing that it doesn’t “foreordain” future elections.

North Carolina Republicans have repeatedly drawn maps for political advantage over the years.

After the decennial census, the Republican-controlled state legislature drew a congressional map in 2021 that was heavily tilted toward the GOP — and the liberal state Supreme Court struck it down as an illegal partisan gerrymander. That led to the court-drawn map in use last year.

But Republicans flipped control of the state Supreme Court in the midterms, and the new conservative majority decided to rehear that decision — a highly unusual move. That court ultimately ruled that it would no longer litigate partisan gerrymandering, giving the Republican legislature a free pass to draw lines to their own advantage.

(The U.S. Supreme Court similarly ruled in 2019, in a case challenging North Carolina’s congressional map at the time, that the federal judiciary also wouldn’t police partisan gerrymandering claims.)

Republicans are also ushering through state legislative maps this week that will cement their control of both chambers, giving the party a clear path to control the next mapmaking process.

It is possible that civic groups or Democrats bring a challenge to the new maps, with one of the party’s top lawyers threatening to do so when they were revealed. But it isn’t clear yet what grounds they could be brought under — and any litigation would be highly unlikely to be resolved before 2024.

One North Carolina Democrat suggested that Davis’ new district could be challenged under the Voting Rights Act. “There’s a good chance we may have violated” that law, state Rep. Pricey Harrison said on the floor on Wednesday.

It will still likely be a busy year in the state.

President Joe Biden’s campaign has already indicated it will try to compete in the Tar Heel State in 2024. The state has been the source of repeated political heartbreak for Democrats, who have lost close presidential and Senate races there recently.

Democrats have carried the state just once on the presidential level this millennium — Barack Obama’s 2008 win — but Biden came tantalizingly close to doing so in 2020, with the state handing former President Donald Trump his closest margin of victory.

It will also feature what is likely the most competitive gubernatorial race in 2024. Democratic state Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson are their parties’ primary frontrunners to succeed Cooper, who is term-limited.

Jackson, the Democratic member of Congress, has long been rumored to be eyeing Stein’s attorney general seat if his district got wiped out.

Several other states may also see new congressional lines ahead of next year’s elections. Alabama already has a new map that will be used next year which will likely add a Black and Democratic member to the state’s delegation, after a federal court found — and the Supreme Court affirmed — that the old lines likely violated the Voting Rights Act.

Georgia and Louisiana also have ongoing racial gerrymandering cases that could together add a pair of Democratic-leaning seats to Congress by increasing the voting power of Black voters.

And New York Democrats are in the midst of a lengthy legal process, pushing for the opportunity to redraw their state’s lines. A court-drawn map used last year created several hypercompetitive districts that Republicans won in the midterms, which helped the party secure their fragile House majority.

Democrats want the opportunity for their legislative majority to draw — and gerrymander — those lines for 2024, which could help them pick up a handful of seats, or at least make some currently held by the GOP more competitive.

Madison Fernandez, Natalie Allison and Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

Northern Iron and Machine foundry in St. Paul was fined $41,500 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for air quality violations.

An investigation carried out by the MPCA found Northern Iron had removed, modified or replaced pollution control equipment throughout the facility without updating its permits, according to a Tuesday news release from the agency.

The foundry’s violations occurred over 15 years, the MPCA said, and over the course of five separate inspections the facility failed to disclose updates or changes made to the equipment.

Located in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood at 867 N. Forest St., Northern Iron is a full service foundry that produces metal castings and machined parts and has St. Paul roots dating back to 1906.

The inspections revealed that Northern Iron had removed and replaced emission units and control equipment and failed to recertify hoods after making changes that could lead to less efficient capturing of particulate matter, according to the MPCA.

The foundry was also operating some of its pollution control equipment out of the permitted ranges, per the release, and had failed to disclose all of the facility’s activities in previous permit applications that would have required it to conduct ambient air modeling, which demonstrates compliance with ambient air quality standards.

In addition to paying the fine, the foundry was ordered to submit a plan for annual hood certifications, seek appropriate permits for equipment modifications, operate all air quality control equipment within its permits, submit major permit amendments and ambient air modeling protocol as well as track operating hours of furnace melting, metal casting and metal finishing.

Northern Iron could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.

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Bruins fans can be forgiven if they’re not terribly moved by the Bruins’ record-tying start to the season. The 2022-23 B’s broke all sorts of regular season records, of course, and never lived to see the month of May.

But the B’s 6-0 start this year, which tied them with the 1937-38 team for the franchise record for best start to a season, is remarkable in that the half dozen performances have all been quite noticeably flawed in one way or another, yet they’ve still managed to come out on top, all in regulation no less.

Yes, the B’s have gotten very good goaltending from Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. But they haven’t had to steal games, only hold the fort for a period or so before their teammates got their act together.

And yes, the B’s competition has been pretty light. But let’s not forget that the Blackhawks, whom the B’s have beaten twice, went into Toronto and beat the Maple Leafs and the Predators, whom the B’s beat once, knocked off the Rangers in Madison Square Garden. They also beat a good Kings team that has one of the best 1-2-3 center lineups in the league. Having to play four games in six nights as they did on their just completed road is a challenge as well, no matter which NHL teams you’re playing.

So is it time to start believing in the B’s? As a team that could/should make the playoffs? Sure. As a true Stanley Cup contender? Well, let’s hold off on that for while, at least until they play a team or two from the Eastern Conference.

Still, they are a more intriguing team than this observer expected to see thanks in great part to new additions, some youthful, some not so much.

Here are a few takeaways from the just concluded road trip, and a look ahead to what should be a more telling homestand coming up:

*Let’s go out on a limb and say 19-year-old Matt Poitras should remain a Boston Bruin and not go back to his Canadian junior team in Guelph.

Not only does his development scream out for more NHL work as a opposed to playing against fellow teenagers, the simple truth is that the Bruins need him in their lineup. While the B’s are tops in the league defensively (1.17 goals against average), they’re just 13th overall in offense (3.17). They can’t afford to lose any point producers.

Taking nothing away from Pavel Zacha or Charlie Coyle, Poitras already appears to have the best offensive instincts of any of the B’s centermen. While known as a pass-first pivot, Poitras has shown little hesitation in going to the net with the puck when he sees his opening.

But to these eyes, the most impressive trait that Poitras possesses is his doggedness in puck battles. Undersized in most of them, he finds a way to come away with the puck more often than not.

“He’s a competitive little bugger,” said coach Jim Montgomery.

It will get harder for Poitras. If his production continues, his reputation will proceed him and he’ll get some of the attention that the B’s lavished on Connor Bedard in their two meetings. The Blackhawks’ outstanding rookie was held without a shot on goal in Tuesday’s meeting while Brad Marchand was seen quite literally blanketing him as he tried to get off the ice.

It will be fun to see Poitras take on those challenges. So far, he’s met everyone that’s been put in front of him.

*At 6-0, the B’s can afford to be a little patient with the power play, but the guess here is that it will need some personnel adjusmtent at some point. They’ve clicked on just three of 22 chances this season and the execution seems to be getting worse. All it did in Chicago was to stall momentum.

So what to do? The answer feels inevitable. After having a right-handed shot in the bumper for over a decade with Patrice Bergeron, the left-handed Zacha has been placed there and it’s just not working. That is not to lay it all on hard-working Zacha. Far from it. Their two most explosive offensive players, David Pastrnak and Marchand, have experienced their woes with the puck. But we’ve seen it succeed with Pastrnak and Marchand, not so with Zacha. Iff it doesn’t get straightened out soon, they may no choice but to try the right-handed Poitras in the bumper to see if that makes things click.

If the PP keeps going like this, it will eventually cost the B’s games.

*We weren’t sure what to expect from 34-year-old James van Riemsdyk, but he may be the steal of the free agent class at a cool $1 million. He has fit in well with Coyle and Trent Frederic on a will-imposing grind line. And while he may no longer fly up and down the wing, his skill in close quarters is still outstanding. The backhand feed on Frederic’s goal in Chicago was sublime.

*We were equally skeptical about what 34-year-old Kevin Shattenkirk could bring after three years lost in the Anaheim rebuild. He didn’t jump out in any positive way in preseason and it’s still undermined how much they’ll miss Connor Clifton’s youthful legs and physicality on the third pairing with Derek Forbort. But Shattenkirk’s hockey IQ and his ability to put passes on teammates’ tape has been eye-opening. His delivery to Zacha’s blade on the B’s first goal in Chicago was flawless.

*We’re going to start learning more about these B’s in a hurry. After their return engagement against the Ducks at the Garden on Thursday – the first game back from a long roadie is never easy, no matter the opponent – they settle in for an Atlantic Division stretch against Detroit – which finally looks ready to stake it’s claim in the division – the Florida team that dashed it’ dreams last spring and the Maple Leafs to finish up the home stand. They then travel to Motown for a quick two-game roadie that concludes in Dallas.

With the addition of Alex DeBrincat, the Wings look like the real deal, at least offensively. They lead the league in goals per game with a 4.86 average and are second in power play, succeeding at a 41.4% clip.

If the B’s are still standing atop the ultra-competitive division after that run, then it will be time to really take them seriously.

Loose pucks

The B’s signed prospect defenseman Jackson Edward, 19, to his three-year entry-level deal with an NHL cap hit of $860,000. The rugged 6-foot-2, 193-pound D-man, currently playing with the London Knights, was the B’s seventh-round pick in 2022.

The B’s also placed defenseman Ian Mitchell for the purpose of assignment to Providence. Presuming he clears and the B’s send him down, that would leave the B’s with only six defensemen but they very well could be looking to add a forward. Milan Lucic has missed the last two games after taking a shot off his foot and Jakub Lauko suffered a scary cut near his left eye in the win in Chicago on Tuesday.

Mitchell played two games for the B’s and picked up an assist on Poitras’ first NHL goal.