Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 3:00 a.m. in "The City."

I don't know what to do with myself. As you may remember, one of my favorite sayings is, "Baseball is life!" It has been 108 years since their last World Series victory, so a parade to allow the many fans of the team throughout Chicago and the world deserve a chance to see and applaud the team seems in order. But, once the Cubs have their victory parade from Wrigley Field to the downtown area and then back, what then?. I must respectfully disagree with those who say that the Ricketts family, the management, the coaches, and the players should be thanked because it is their long-suffering fans who deserve thanks from the team for their 108 years of faithful fandom. But, that's the way it is I suppose.

Not that there won't be some Cubs and other baseball events/news until the Cubs' first spring training game against the Oakland As on February 17, 2017. No, the annual Cubs Convention will be held from January 15 - 17, 2017 @ a downtown Chicago hotel. It is expected that the Cubs will ask all of their coaching staff to return next year. Also expected is that GM Theo Epstein will stay active in the trade and free-agent markets throughout the winter months. The Cubs will need a catcher to replace the retired David Ross and they will have to evaluate their pitchers for a closer if they decide not to re-sign free-agent closer, Aroldis Chapman. Perhaps Carl Edwards Jr.?

Now that they have seen the other side, they will want to remain on top of the mountain for as long as possible. Will they re-sign leadoff man Dexter Fowler? Will Jason Heyward rebound from a sub-par 2016 season? Will Javier Baez be able to refine his hitting stroke to cut down on strikeouts? So many imponderables to ponder over the next few months.

Of course, my beloved Red Sox need to bolster their starting pitching staff and add to their relief corps. They need to find a replacement for retired DH David "Big Papi" Ortiz too. They need to win the AL pennant next year in a tough league that includes the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Indians.

The Tigers are going to have to add relief pitching. The Tigers' A-level farm team, the West Michigan Whitecaps, will be back too. Relax Jack, baseball is alive and well in Chicago, Boston, Detroit, and West Michigan.

John is making solid progress on the painting here at the PE. He is nearly done with the mud-room and will then move to the dining room to complete his efforts. We'll be glad to have the manse back to normal. We are tired of running around to select paint and supplies. We should be done with that now. I know that I'm done, that's for sure.

I want to kick-back and do as little as possible today. There is reading to do and girls to play with after the morning safari with the fur-children.

Mary has been cooking in her newly painted kitchen and she is enjoying the view. She has a chat session this afternoon @ 2:00 p.m. before we go to the chiropractor.

The current temperature is 43° under clear skies. Later today after the sun rises @ 8:23 a.m. the high temperature is expected to reach 55° under mostly sunny skies. That's long before the sunset @ 6:32 a.m. Ciao.