Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:30 a.m. in "The City."

Well, yesterday's weather was not like a great bit of writing or oration, wherein you under promise and over deliver. In the case of the NWS, they over promised and under delivered. We were expecting T-storms in the early morning that never materialized. We were expecting a cool day, when what we got was warmer than expected, at least according to my weather source. Those minor discrepancies allowed us to walk the fur-children and then later, walk to the favorite watering hole for our History Book Club meeting. All in all, a nice variance that I'll take anytime.

Tomorrow, the forecast calls for sunny-skies and a high temperature of 74°. Saturday, the forecast is for 81° under partly-sunny skies. Sunday and Monday the NWS is predicting 70s and 60s with more rain in the forecast, but who knows?

The sun already rose this morning @ 6:06 a.m. and it will set later @ 9:21 p.m. In between, we are anticipating a high temperature of 66°, up a full 10° over our current temperature of 56° under partly-cloudy skies. In fact, those partly cloudy-skies are the harbinger of a Dense Fog Advisory that is in the forecast until 8:00 a.m. today. Naturally, inexperienced mariners are advised to avoid sailing upon the "Big Lake" until the fog clears.

As I gaze out the (WW), Weather Window, I can see that fog materializing right now. Or, since it is getting lighter, maybe I can see what was already there. We are about one-mile from the shoreline, so perhaps it is denser there. Whereas the forecast called for near zero visibility, I can see nearby houses and watched as the trash collector picked up our recycling, so...

Speaking of the fog, last night's game at The Friendly Confines, AKA Wrigley Field, was often shrouded in fog, as the 34 - 26, 1st place in the NL Central Cubs, eked out a victory over the Rockies, 9 - 8. The outcome of the game was also shrouded at times. David Bote had a career night, notching 7 RBIs on 4 hits, a feat not seen since the days of the immortal Ryne Sandburg. Yu Darvish pitched well, but when he exited the game after 5 1/2 innings with a 3 - 1 lead, the Cubs bullpen surrendered those runs and more, being rescued by that Bote performance. The win finally went to reliever Brandon Kintzler, his second. Darvish is still stuck @ 2 - 3. 

In a stunning turn of events, the Cubs departed from their usual "We don't need any assistance with our pitching staff" stance, and signed closer Craig Kimbrel to a three-year, nearly $45 million dollar contract, pending a positive physical. Kimbrel just turned 31 and had planned to sit out the 2019 season if he didn't get the contract.dollars he wanted. I guess that $45 million for three years must have been the magic numbers. Here's hoping that he isn't the next Yu Darvish.

At any rate, the Cubs and the Rockies play a day game @ 2:20 p.m. EDT today.

My beloved, 32 - 29, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox, upended the hapless, 19 - 42 Royals last night, 8 - 0, behind a complete-game, 12K performance, by starter Chris Sale. Sale is now 2 - 7 on the season. The Sox have drafted well, going for more college players, who will theoretically be big-league ready sooner than the traditional progression through the minor-leagues. Only time will tell. The Sox and the Royals go again tonight @ 6:15 p.m.

The 29 - 35, 4th place in the AL Central Tigers, relapsed in their game against the 36 - 23, 2nd place in the AL East Rays, 0 - 4. The Tigers are emphasizing offensive players in their draft strategy, since players like Miguel Cabrera are aging out of their primes and many other players have been traded or left through free-agency. The Tigers and the Rays try again tonight @ 6:10 p.m.

The 20 - 39, 7th or 8th place in the MWL East West Michigan White Caps, AKA the Caps, dropped a heart-breaker to the also 20 - 39, 7th or 8th place Dayton Dragons, 3 - 4. Nothing like battling for that cellar position I guess. The Caps and the Dragons play again tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

Today, a chiropractor's appointment, and reading in our shared book, Dave Barry's Lessons from Lucy. A fun read and a great book to share. I 'd like to get into the kitchen and also do some coloring and drawing too. Ciao.