BCB After Dark: Who do you trust?

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the afterparty for night owls, early-risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. So glad you could stop in tonight. We’ve saved a seat for you. Make yourself at home. You’re probably at home anyway. Bring your own beverage.

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 beat the Twins 3-1 behind 4.2 scoreless innings by the Cubs bullpen. It wasn’t always pretty and the Twins have almost as bad a record as the Cubs. But a win is a win is a win and the players did what they were asked to do. The bullpen was good. More on that later.

Last time, I asked you if you had a rooting interest in baseball after the Cubs get eliminated from contention. Full one-third of you, or 33%, say that you just move on to something else and don’t root for any particular baseball team in a season like this one. The White Sox were in second place with 19% and my Giants (I can call them “my Giants,” can’t I?) were in third place with 13%. Every team but one got at least one vote. The team that was shut out was the Astros. I can’t imagine why that happened.

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning is the night that I keep it short because I have a lot to do on the site here and I have a lot to do at home. But I can at least give you a jazz track to keep you entertained while you read.

Today’s track is from pianist Ahmad Jamal, who I’m pleased to say is still out there playing jazz at age 90. This is probably his most famous track, a performance of the jazz standard “Poinciana,” recorded live in January of 1958 at the Pershing Hotel in Chicago. I’ve never lived in Chicago and maybe someone else knows more, but my quick research tells me that the Pershing Hotel was demolished in the 1980s and there’s been an empty lot at 64th and Cottage Grove where it once stood ever since.

Anyway, enjoy some cool jazz from an era of Chicago gone by.

Today’s question is about the Cubs bullpen as it currently stands. Earlier this season, the Cubs had a magic formula of just getting the game to the sixth inning with the lead and then letting Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel finish the job.

That plan actually worked this past evening with the Twins, although the bullpen had to enter in the fifth inning and it was Manuel Rodriguez, Codi Heuer, Adam Morgan and Rowan Wick who closed things out.

So what I’m asking you is not who in the Cubs bullpen should be the closer. It’s pretty clear that David Ross is going to go with matchups and who’s rested the remainder of the season. Or at least until someone starts to stand out.

But if you had David Ross’s job, who is the member of the Cubs bullpen that you trust the most? Which current reliever is the one that you feel the best about putting on the mound when the game is on the line, no matter what inning it is? Yes, I know that these things are going to be driven by matchups and the like, but which current Cubs reliever gives you the most sense of calm when he’s pitching?

I know that none of these pitchers have established themselves as reliable bullpen arms yet. But pick the one that you think is the closest to being one at the moment.

Thank you so very much for stopping by. I hope you’ll come by again. Be sure to tip your waitstaff. We’ll be back tomorrow with another edition of BCB After Dark.