BCB After Dark: Bodies in motion

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the speakeasy for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Thank you for stopping by. We’ve got a light program tonight, but it’s always better for your presence. Bring your own beverage. The hostess will seat you now.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Today both the Dodgers and the Astros came from behind to keep their respective opponents in the League Championship Series from getting one game away from the World Series. The Dodgers scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to beat the Braves 6-5 and cut the Braves’ lead in the series down to two-games-to-one. The Astros scored one run in the top of the eighth and a whopping seven in the top of the ninth to beat the Red Sox 9-2. The ALCS is now tied at two games a piece.

You’re free to discuss those games here if you wish.

Last time I asked you which down-and-out MLB team would be the first to shake off the cobwebs and win a World Series some time in the future. The winner, with 34 percent of the vote, was the Detroit Tigers. Detroit makes sense, in my mind, for a few reasons. One, they were the best team in 2021 of the six listed. Two, they have a strong farm system. Three, they play in a division without any other heavy-hitters who are likely to spend their way into contention year after year.

In second place were the Twins with 22 percent and the Marlins had 21 percent for third place. The poor Pirates were in last with only two percent.

It’s Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, and that’s the day that I do a light version of BCB After Dark without a film discussion. But I always have time for a jazz tune, so that’s coming up next. Feel free to skip ahead if you wish. You won’t hurt my feelings.

I’ve been doing this column long enough now that I can’t remember all the jazz tracks that I’ve laid down for you. I can’t remember whether or not I’ve featured Herbie Hancock’s classic “Watermelon Man,” but I am sure that I haven’t featured this remastered version of his 1962 classic. So with Hancock on piano, Dexter Gordon on saxophone, Freddie Hubbard on Florida Manet, Butch Warren on bass and Billy Higgins on drums, here’s “Watermelon Man.”

We got two really good games as baseball fans, especially if you’re a neutral observer and not a fan of the Red Sox or Braves. Both the Dodgers and Astros looked down and out and heading for an early vacation when they both stormed back in the late innings to keep their hopes not just alive, but thriving.

So tonight I’m going to ask two questions. The first is do you think the late-game heroics on the part of the Dodgers and Astros are going to carry on into the rest of the Championship Series? Basically, I’m asking you if you think momentum is real and do the Dodgers and Astros have it? There’s an old saying in baseball that momentum is only as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher, but tomorrow’s starting pitcher has probably already pitched in relief twice in the postseason, so he’s likely not going to go long. (And how often has using a starter in relief backfired this postseason?)

So the first question is “Do the Astros and Dodgers have momentum in their respective series?”

And secondly, make your World Series call now that we’ve played four game in the ALCS and 3 in the NLCS.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I’ll have them bring your car around. I hope we’ll see you again tomorrow night with another edition of BCB After Dark.