BCB After Dark: Closing time

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the hot spot for night owls, early-risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Glad you could join us again tonight. The hostess will be with you shortly. We’re getting the best table in the joint ready for you. Sit down and join us for a while.

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.

Tonight the Cubs beat the Rockies 3-2 behind a bases-clearing three-run double by Patrick Wisdom that was almost just the third out of the inning. They also got good pitching from Alec Mills, Adam Morgan, Codi Heuer and Manuel Rodriguez. I’ll say more on that later. But you’re free to offer your thoughts on tonight’s game here if you wish.

Last time I asked which free agent would you like the Cubs to make their top priority this coming off-season. In the end, we had a tie as both Freddie Freeman and Kris Bryant had 21% of the vote. In third was Carlos Correa with 14%. Every candidate got at least 5% of the vote and “Someone else” got 5% of the vote as well.

Here’s the place where I talk about movies and jazz. You’re free to skip ahead to the baseball question if you wish. You won’t hurt my feelings.

One thing I’ve learned so far when picking out jazz music is that Miles Davis always gets a great reaction. That’s no surprise, “the Prince of Darkness” is often considered to be the greatest jazz musician of all-time, with only Louis Armstrong really being a viable alternate candidate. I guess Charlie Parker belongs in the conversation as well, but his career (and life) was so short by comparison.

I’m not picking a Miles track tonight, except that I am. Tonight’s jazz song is “Autumn Leaves” by saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley. Adderley was playing saxophone for Davis in 1958 (Miles could really recognize talent) and played on Davis’ albums Milestones and the all-time classic Kind of Blue, which I’ve written about before. But in between those two albums by Miles, Adderley released his own record, Somethin’ Else, and Miles Davis agreed to be his sideman for a change. So while this is Adderley’s take on a jazz standard, one that Davis played often as well, Miles and his trumpet do play a unmistakable and memorable complimentary role here.

Tonight’s movie question is about home viewing versus in a theater. We’ve had the ability to watch films at home for forty years or so now, but it’s only until recently that televisions and home theater systems have been able to provide anything close to what the director intended the audience to see. Sure, theater sound systems and acoustics beat the best of home systems and no one has a 40-foot television screen.

But home viewing has some advantages. For one, you don’t have to deal with other people. That’s become a big deal during the pandemic, but even before it was nice to know that no one at home is going to stick their feet over the chair next to you and hang their toes near your face. Snacks are ridiculously expensive at theaters, especially compared to what making a bowl of popcorn costs at home. On the other hand, it’s nice to not having to worry about cleaning up after the mess.

So what is your rule about seeing movies in theaters versus watching them at home? Personally, I’m part of the problem that Martin Scorsese keeps complaining about—the decline of the mid-budget movie. Unless a film has a big spectacle that really benefits from being seen on a big screen with a big sound system (A “Marvel movie,” in other words), I’d rather just watch the movie at home. This means I, along with millions of other people, don’t go to see those “mid-budget” films in theaters. Which in turn, means that a lot of those mid-budget movies don’t get made and that’s what is upsetting Scorsese so much. I’d argue that a lot of those mid-budget movies are getting made, only now they become limited television series for streaming services. But that’s not what Scorsese wants.

So what’s your rule for seeing a film in a theater versus seeing one at home? Are you like me and just watch the big budget action films in theaters and save the rest for home? Or do you go to the movies regularly and see whatever you think looks most interesting? Or maybe you save everything for home viewing?

I’m talking about your pre-pandemic habits here. I’m assuming that most of you didn’t see many movies in a theater last year and maybe not this one. But you can also talk about what you think your viewing habits will be going forward.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the jazz and movies. Tonight, Manuel Rodriguez got his first professional save. But that raises an interesting question: Who should be the Cubs closer?

Earlier this season, the Cubs had one of the best bullpens in the majors, thanks to Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Chafin and Ryan Tepera. Now, all three of them are gone. So who should be the closer?

Now manager David Ross is probably going to go with a bullpen by a committee for a while and that’s OK. But who do you think is the most likely to emerge as the guy whom Ross trusts the most at the end of the game?

I presume the Cubs aren’t going to have as many save opportunities as they had earlier this season, but I also presume that they will win some games the rest of the way. And I assume that some of those wins will be close. So who would you call on to close the door?

I’m including all of the current members of the Cubs bullpen in the vote. If your answer is Rowan Wick or someone else on the injured list, vote “Someone else” and tell us in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope we’ll see you again next week. Be sure to tip your waitstaff.