BCB After Dark: Are we good now?

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the swinging spot for night owls, early-risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. It’s our last show of the week, so come on in and sit with us for a while. There are still a few good tables left. No cover charge tonight. Bring your own beverage. The hostess will seat you now.

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 Nationals today, 3-2. This is the fourth-straight series the Cubs have won. I was thinking of running the celebratory Judy Garland video, but honestly, those four series were two against the Nationals, one against the Marlins and one against the Reds. And the Cubs swept none of them. I’ll tell you what. If the Cubs take two out of three from the Brewers over the weekend and then beat the Cardinals on Monday, we’ll celebrate with Judy. (They get a pass on the Orioles game.)

Last night, I asked you if you thought Cubs infielder Nick Madrigal would be on the Opening Day roster next year. Quite frankly, I expected the vote to be closer, but 71 percent of you think Madrigal will announced with the rest of the team on Opening Day in 2023.

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

I honestly had no idea what to play for our jazz track tonight, so I just pulled up the JazzWeek charts and found the number one album for the week. It’s pianist Cyrus Chestnut’s new release My Father’s Hands. So here’s the first track from that album, “Nippon Soul Connection.” I think you’ll find it boppin’. This also features Peter Washington on double bass and Lewis Nash on drums.

I thought tonight for our movie discussion to throw it out to you and let you discuss your favorite horror films.

I’m going to say right off the bat that I’m not really a fan of most horror films. I especially don’t like the slasher/torture films, so I don’t watch them and can’t say much of anything intelligent about them. The only real new horror film that I’ve seen over the past few years is Jordan Peele’s Get Out, and I have to admit that was a pretty darn good movie. I suppose I should check out Peele’s more recent horror films one day.

I do watch older horror films and I’m a big fan of the old Universal Monster Movies of the 1930s. Cat People from 1942 is excellent as well, even if it’s not going to scare anyone. (Skip the sequel The Curse of the Cat People.) I do love Night of the Living Dead as an all-time classic and the first sequel Dawn of the Dead is very good as well, although it might be a little graphic for my tastes these days. I haven’t seen it in a while, but I know I liked it when I was younger.

Of course, the original The Wicker Man is great too. I haven’t seen the Nicholas Cage version.

Psycho? I guess. I think it’s good, but I just find it inferior to a lot of other Hitchcock films. But there’s no doubt it’s a classic and deserves to be considered one.

So anyway, horror fans tell us your favorites. And it might not be a bad idea to say which ones you’d recommend for the squeamish like me and which ones are for those who are hard-core horror fans.

Welcome back to those of you who skip the music and the movies.

I’ve got to admit that I’m stumped for a poll question. I almost went with “Would you rather the Cubs have 26 duck-sized Nico Hoerners or one Nico Hoerner-sized duck on the roster?” But that’s an easy question to answer. The duck-sized Nico Hoerners might have trouble pitching or fielding, but they’d draw a walk every time up at the plate. Whereas a Nico Hoerner-sized duck couldn’t do much of anything except get hit by a pitch. And ruffle some feathers.

Since I can’t think of any question as creative as that, I’m going to ask you to grade manager David Ross again. I asked this question a little over two months ago when the Cubs were 23-38, or a .377 winning percentage. Since then the Cubs have played 55 more games and have gone 26-29, or a .473 winning percentage. And of course, the Cubs traded away their four best relievers since I last asked this question.

Last time, 46 percent of you gave Ross a gentleman’s “C.” Slightly more of you (21 percent) gave Ross a “D” rather than a “B” (20 percent.). And on the extremes, 11 percent of you gave Ross a big fat “F” while only 3 percent of you gave him an “A.”

So after another third of a season, what kind of grade would you give Ross now?

Thanks to all of you who stopped by and commented this week. If there is anything else we can do for you, just let us know. Please get home safely. Tell your friends about us. Tip the waitstaff. And join us again next week for another edition of BCB After Dark.