BCB After Dark: I need to check that first

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the nightspot for night owls, early-risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Your host will be with you shortly. Please have a seat at the bar while you wait. We don’t have a liquor license, but you can help yourself to whatever you have on you. I’m drinking sparkling water at the moment.

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 were off today (or yesterday, depending on where and when you read this) and on their way to the West Coast to take on the Dodgers later this evening. The Brewers beat the woeful Diamondbacks Wednesday afternoon, so the Cubs are now half a game out of first place.

I hope some of you caught the Iowa Cubs doubleheader on Marquee.

Yesterday I asked you if you were to play a baseball position, which position would you want to play? Many of you answered with what position you played when you were younger, and that was perfectly acceptable. I kind of intended it to be a bit of a personality test, however. I wanted to know what position you felt fit you the best. Maybe what you played as a kid and your personality match up. That’s great for you.

Every position on the diamond got at least one vote, but the winning position was the one I picked, second base, with 18% of the vote. I don’t know whether or not that is because that’s Ryne Sandberg’s position and so many of us grew up loving Sandberg. But that would be my guess.

In second place was first base with 15% of the vote. Starting pitcher and third base were tied for third with 14% and 11% of you wanted to wear the “tools of ignorance” and be a catcher. (Why is it that the person on the diamond who is generally the smartest is the one that gets to wear the “tools of ignorance?”)

I’m going to have to apologize for tonight’s edition. Between a medical appointment for me, one for my daughter, a service call for our dryer and some massive minor league games this evening, I really didn’t have time to do a full edition of After Dark. So this is more going to be like my Tuesday night/Wednesday morning abbreviated editions. No movie talk, although you can always say something in the comments. I’ll try to do better next week.

For our jazz track of the night, I’ve got pianist Diana Krall and orchestra performing the Burt Bacharach and Hal David classic, “Walk On By.” [VIDEO] Yes, Ms. Krall is also known as Mrs. Elvis Costello, although she was famous before the two of them got married. While I don’t think this version is as good as the Dionne Warwick original, that’s not a sin the original was pretty close to perfect. (Although I have always loved the version by The Stranglers [VIDEO])

This week MLB has started their crackdown on pitchers using sticky foreign substances. Pitchers are getting checked regularly and no one has been found using anything. There have been no suspensions. Commissioner Rob Manfred says that everything is going well, but that is not a universal belief. Certainly Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer was furious when he was called out by Phillies manager Joe Girardi for a mid-inning check. And then there was Athletics reliever Sergio Romo, who dropped his pants when the umpires checked him, as you can see in the photo above.

Probably the biggest complaint from the pitchers and coaches is the “optics” of the situation. They say that the on-field checks in front of the fans make it look like they are guilty of using a foreign substance even when they aren’t.

So what do you think? Do you think MLB is handling this situation well? Is there a different way to deal with it? Or do you go all Bob Marley and think MLB should just “Legalize It”? [VIDEO] (Although I don’t think Marley was singing about Spider Tack.)

Sorry for such a convoluted poll, but it’s not an easy question.

We’ll see you all again next week. Let’s see if someone gets ejected for sticky stuff by then!