BCB After Dark: The state of the Central

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the nightclub for night owls, early-risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Pull up a chair. Bring your own beverage. We’ll waive the corkage fee. Be sure to tip the staff.

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.

The Cubs lost 6-3 to the Mets for the third straight night. Except this time the Mets lost too because Jacob deGrom left early with a shoulder injury. In any event, the Brewers lost again the the Reds so the Cubs remain in a tie for first place, but the Reds are now breathing down the two leaders’ necks. The Cardinals, left for dead on Sunday, are back in it.

Last night I asked you about the “send” when third base coach Willie Harris waived Jake Marisnick home from first base on a single to right-center field. Marisnick was out, of course, but there was some debate about whether or not it was the right decision to take the gamble and send Marisnick. Sixty-five percent of you said that it was not a good idea to take that chance and 35% of you thought it was worth the gamble, no matter how it turned out.

Here’s the part where I discuss jazz and movies. Those of you who want to skip to the baseball poll question at the end are free to do so now. You won’t hurt my feelings.

I’m not feeling very chatty tonight, so I thought I’d present someone who needs no introductions. Here’s the great Ella Fitzgerald signing the Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart song “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” from their 1940 musical Pal Joey. Yes, it’s one of those “Great American Songbook” songs that I’ve pooh-pooh’d from time to time. I don’t really have anything against those songs, I just find that they have a different context and meaning in the 21st Century than they did sixty years ago or so. That’s not a bad thing, but I think it makes it harder for modern ears to appreciate them.

I can’t do two movie essays a week and follow the minor league season, so since the minor league baseball season started I’ve just been throwing out questions about movies for discussion.

Today I’m asking if there is an obscure or semi-obscure film that you just love. Do you have a favorite movie that no one else you know has ever seen? It’s always hard to determine what is obscure these days since everything is on the internet and it seems like every movie has some fans. But is there some movie that you praise that gets blank stares from everyone you know?

I’ve written about Night Nurse before as a film that I love. I don’t think it was all that obscure when it came out in 1931 and it had some big stars in it. But no one ever mentions it when listing their favorite Clark Gable or Barbara Stanwyck films these days. Like most pre-Code films, it’s too old for most of today’s audience to be familiar with. Another cult film that I love is 1979’s Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, although the theme song is not obscure and is one of the better-known Ramones tunes. I’m sure there are other obscure films I love, but they’re so obscure that at the moment, I can’t even think of them!

Anyway, please share some more off-the-beaten-path cult films in the comments. Oh, and while Monty Python and the Holy Grail was a cult film for many years, it’s long since passed into the mainstream. So that doesn’t count.

As I wrote above, the NL Central is getting really crowded with four teams within three games of first place. So while I’ve asked this question before, I think it’s time to ask again: Who is going to win the NL Central?

I’m leaving the Pirates out of the voting this time. If someone wants to make the case in the comments about how the Pirates can overcome a 14 ¹⁄₂ game deficit and four other teams and take the division title, be my guest to present that argument in the comments. But otherwise, I’m going to assume that any potential vote for Pittsburgh was just trolling.

When I asked this question last month, the Cardinals won the voting in a rout, gaining 62% of the voting. The Reds, to my surprise, got zero votes. I want to see if a month of games has changed your feelings.

So which of these four teams do you think will win the NL Central?

Thanks again for stopping by. We’ll see you again Monday night/Tuesday morning.