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."

The current temperature is 20° but it feels like 12° under clear-skies with light winds blowing @ 6 mph. There is currently a 0% chance for snow. Today's high is forecast to reach 34°, under partly-cloudy skies. That's 6° warmer than yesterday. It is only four more days until spring. The sun will rise today @ 7:53 a.m. and set later @ 6:05 p.m.

Yesterday was a black day for fans of my beloved Boston Red Sox. Maybe not the equivalent of the 1919 Black Sox Scandal that caused the newly-appointed Commissioner of Baseball, Judge Kenesaw Mountains Landis, to permanently ban eight players from baseball, including the famed Shoeless Joe Jackson. Some pundits say that Jackson was not in on the deal, and that he got no money for throwing the World Series™ between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds. Yesterday's trade is close enough to a scandal for me.

Yesterday, the Red Sox formally conceded the 2020 Major League™ baseball season to the NY Yankees. The Sox traded their franchise player, Mookie Betts, and starting LHP David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with some cash considerations. Yes, Betts was in the last year of a contract that would allow him to become a free-agent. By the time Betts reaches the open market, he'll have youth, numbers and accolades all in his favor. The going rate for a player like that will be at least $300 million but probably more like $400 million. Betts might even get the kind of money that Mike Trout got for12-years, $430 million!

The Sox still owe Price about one-half of the $217 million he was signed for in 2015. He has had health issues, but when he is healthy, he is a terrific pitcher.

Boston is trying to shed big money from their payroll, just like the Cubs, so the trades of Betts and Price make sense from a business standpoint. But, Betts is a five-tool player who won the MVP award in 2018! Sigh. Oh well, that's baseball as a business, something that fans have to deal with in the current free-agency, salary-cap driven system.

I think, if you have the time, this reading of the poem, Casey at the Bat, written by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, and read by James Earl Jones, is a fitting way to end my story about my beloved Red Sox.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xWtysMlrcA

We had some snow yesterday that has stuck to the grassy areas of our fair city. I handled the snow on the driveway of the Palatial Estate with some judiciously spread salt. My yak is none the worse for wear.

Yesterday, we collectively finished the indoor chores and then ran some errands before going to the chiropractor.

Earlier this morning, I made some vegan Italian sausages and cleaned up after myself. We have a few things to do today, but nothing that can't wait for another day. Sometimes, I just like to kick-back and do as little as possible. I have a novel to finish and I want to start a book that Mary recommended I read. Otherwise, I have no idea what I'll be doing. Ciao.