Day 149

Lets start off with the good stuff, because their is plenty of bad stuff to talk about. Last night we were lucky enough to dine with Uncle Kenny and Aunt Linda at Joe's Stone Crab. Kenny had been to the one in Miami years ago and Linda had never been. We have only been touting this place to them for 5 years and when they said they were coming in for a conference, Uncle Kenny said "we have to make it happen." So we met at 6:30 for a drink at the bar before dining at 7. KD and I wanted to put on an eating display that would make my dad proud. I think he would be impressed. In between glasses of wine, Cutty Sark, and Canadian Club, we laughed and ate. We started with a medium Stone Crab appetizer and a tomato, onion, and blue cheese salad. For dinner, Leah and Aunt Linda both had the appetizer stone crabs and KD and I went for the big boys - the 16 oz bone-in Filet. I promised one of the best steaks that he would ever have and I believe it lived up to all of the hype. In true Bobby D fashion, we had three sides - sweet potato fries, onion straws, and hash browns. Who needs Asparagus! It was great. Nothing better than watching Uncle Kenny's slow and steady eating routine on full display. At last glance on the table, both steaks and all stone crabs were polished off, as were the sides. We finished off the night with Leah and I splitting a piece of peanut butter pie and Uncle Kenny and Aunt Linda splitting a coconut cream pie. What a meal. As always, you cannot leave that place unsatisfied. Everytime I walk out of there, it re-affirms my declaration that it is the best restaurant in the city and the best restaurant i've ever been to. I have to thank Uncle Kenny and Aunt Linda for a wonderful time last night. Leah and I, as always, love to dine with them. They are so much fun and have such a great vibe. The two of them are quite a team.

Now to the bad stuff. Our poor Casey is sick. Over the last two days, she has thrown up a few times, but we though that it was no big deal, maybe something she caught at day care this past weekend. But yesterday afternoon, she was having a hard time swallowing which usually means she has gassy buildup in her. We give her some pepcid and it usually goes away. This time, it hasn't. When we got home from dinner, she had thrown up bile on the rug (the whole place is hard wood floors, yet she throws up on the rug of course) and we could tell she was sick. During the night, she was up struggling to swallow, walking all over the bed, jumping off the bed and trying to throw up. We were up most of the night. I was up at 1. I was up from 2:30-4 before I went into the living room to sleep on the couch. I was asleep from 4:30-6 before Leah woke me up and I move back into bed until 7:15. We are both dragging today and I am taking Casey to the vet at 10:50. I'm sure she will be ok, but we cannot spend another night like that. The main issue is that going to the vet is pretty much a guaranteed $150 visit minimum. Last night was great practice for having a baby I suppose, but we certainly didn't need it! UPDATE: Last night she had eaten part of one of our plants that she had never touched before. As we came back from the vet (where they said she was overweight and needed to lose 2 pounds) she took a big dump outside and it was mostly parts of the plant. Then she started to pass an un-digested root-wrap of the plant that was probably 12-14 inches long. I had to pull it out bare-handed as she was struggling to get rid of it! Who says having a dog isn't hard work.

Then there is my beloved Cleveland Indians. As you all know, they are my number one team and a big passion of mine. I subscribe to the MLB package on digital cable so I can watch all of the games from here. I read all of the articles online. I go to games. Today I am as frustrated as I have been with them as I have been in a long while. Over the last two days, I have watched our pitching staff blow lead after lead and get swept by that sad sack Kansas City Royals. Yes, the same Royals who are 5-21 against the rest of the league, yet 5-1 against the Indians. The losses moved the Tribe to 17-18, 1 game below .500 and already 7.5 games behind the White Sox, who have charged out of the gate again to have the best record in baseball. What is strange is that the Tribe leads the American League in batting average and runs scored. So that can only mean one thing, the pitching is atrocious. We signed two veterans for the back end of the rotation in Paul Byrd (2 years, $14 million) and Jason Johnson (1 year, $4 million) to replace Kevin Millwood and Scott Elarton who left during free agency. Yet me we have two major league ready starters in Buffalo. So far Byrd's ERA is 6.52. Johnson's is 5.82. They barely can get through 5 innings which strains the bullpen. That is just the starting rotation. Last season's Indian bullpen was the best in the majors. We had 5 guys who you could count on to get the job done. Bob Howry left to sign with the Cubs. Arthur Rhodes was traded to Philadelphia for LF Jason Michaels, and Matt Miller is out for the year. Rafael Bettancourt, perhaps the best arm in the pen, has been sidelined for a month with a back injury. In their stead, veteran Danny Graves has been a gas can and won't be on this team beyond the next three weeks in my opinion. Jason Davis, who has a million dollar arm and a 2 cent head, has been almost as brutal. Tribe brass expected big things from up and comer Fernando Cabrera, but he is been injured and wildly inconsistent since missing most of spring training while pitching for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. They have tried Brian Slocum. They have tried Jeremy Guthrie. Scott Sauerbeck, the lone lefty in the pen, can't seem to get the one guy he comes in to face out. Then there was the key guy to the pen's success in Guillermo Mota. He was to be this year's Bob Howry, the 8th inning guy. Yesterday I watched him give up back to back homers to the vaunted duo of Aaron Guiel and Angel Berroa after we battled back to tie the game at 8. Changes must be made and made soon. Time to bring up one of the two kids from Buffalo and put him in the rotation. Move Johnson to long relief. Dump Graves and bring up veteran Steve Karsay who is pitching well in Buffalo. The season is inexplicably getting away from the Tribe and we aren't even into June yet. I won't jump ship, but my patience is running very thin. I won;t even get to how much I despise Aaron Boone and how finished he is. I must give credit to Casey Blake though, the man I have been all over for two years. He has done a great job of proving me wrong this year. Too bad he can't pitch for us as well.

American Idol. While I was at dinner, I didn't see the results show, but the clear best remaining singer, Chris Daughtry got the boot, while that grayed-haired clown Taylor Hicks continues to skate through. You heard it here - Daughtry will sells millions of albums and Taylor Hicks will be a glorified Karaoke singer for his career. So now the final three is Elliot Yamin, Katherine McPhee, and Hicks. If McPhee doesn't win, they should cancel this show.

Song of the Day: "Thorn in my Pride" by The Black Crowes