BCB After Dark: Closing Time

It’s closing night for the week at BCB After Dark: the hip spot for night owls, early-risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. I know that I need a place to hang after a week like this and I’m so happy you could join me. Are you coming from the US/Honduras soccer match in St. Paul this evening? If so, then you need a warm drink or two. Make yourself at home. No cover charge tonight. The main show will start shortly.

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.

Last night I asked you how many games you thought we’d get out of the 2022 season. The leading answer was “Between 120 and 140” with 33 percent of the vote. That seems like a decent length to the season and while it would be a disappointment not to get the full 162, a 130-game season would still be a real season, in my mind. In second place was those who thought we’d lose some games, but that we’d get more than 140 games. That was 20 percent of the vote. Seventeen percent of you are optimists who think there will be a full season and I’m happy to say that there were only two of you who thought we’d get less than 60 games or “none.”

Here’s the part where I talk about jazz and movies. Feel free to skip ahead to the baseball question at the end. You won’t hurt my feelings.

Here’s a colorized performance by Miles Davis in Germany in 1967. He’s backed by the “Second great quartet” here of Wayne Shorter on sax, Ron Carter on bass, Herbie Hancock on piano and Tony Williams on drums. Imagine being so good that fans refer to your “first great quartet” and “second great quartet.” It’s like if John Lennon, after the Beatles broke up, went on to form, I don’t know, The Clash or something.

Today’s movie topic of discussion is movies of the 1990s. My wife and I were discussing this last week and we noted that so many of the films of that decade that were well-regarded at the time but seem dated today. (And we were not just talking about Dances With Wolves, although that’s the obvious one.) But we also noted that there were a ton of films that are still regarded as all-time classics like Goodfellas, Silence of the Lambs, Pulp Fiction, Fargo and even The Matrix. (The original one) Then there’s Groundhog Day. I wonder why I thought of that tonight.

The nineties were a weird decade for films as there were competing forces of Hollywood blockbusters and the rise of independent filmmaking. Most of the best films came from the independents or from directors who emerged from the independent movement. But maybe you disagree.

If you’re having trouble remembering movies of the nineties, here’s a few lists of the top films of the decade. Here’s one from Rolling Stone (Although JFK? Seriously?) and here’s one from Paste. (Man, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Three Colors trilogy on VHS tape.) I know you can google some more lists if you don’t like these.

So tell us your favorite movies from the nineties! Give us your Blockbuster Video memories!

Welcome back to those who skip the jazz and films.

Since we’re closing down for the week tonight and it’s closing time, I thought I’d ask you whom you thought would lead the 2022 Cubs in saves.

Since the Cubs traded Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox at the trade deadline last year, they haven’t really had an established closer. Rowan Wick got the majority of the chances and I guess he was the unofficial closer for the final two months. But I don’t think anyone thinks Wick had the job by anything other than default. I think he has the most career saves of anyone on the team at the moment with 11. That’s not exactly an established closer.

So who is going to get the most saves for the Cubs this upcoming season. I thought about including Kimbrel in the vote since the White Sox are reportedly trying to trade him, but if you think it will be Kimbrel or Kenley Jansen or someone not currently on the team, you can just vote “Someone Else” and tell us about it in the comments.

I’ve got a few candidates here. Who will get the most saves for the 2022 Cubs?

That’s all for tonight and this week. Last call. We’ll bring you your hat and coat. Stay warm out there. Get home safely. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.