BCB After Dark: Power sources

It’s another evening here at BCB After Dark: the groovin’ get-together for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. The music is warm in here. Let us take your coat for you. We’ve got one table available over near the fireplace. Dress code is casual. 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.

Last night I asked you who was the Cub that the team really needed to step up this year. Seiya Suzuki is now officially on notice as 44 percent of you say the team is really counting on him to come up big this year. Justin Steele was in second place with 30 percent.

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

Tonight’s jazz track is a duet from two legends: pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Dave Holland. This appears to be from 2012.

Just a reminder that you still have time to vote in last night’s BCB Winter Noir Classic between Detour (1945) and The Asphalt Jungle (1950). If anything, I see a lot of you are checking out Detour for the first time and that’s a great thing, no matter what you think of it. Detour is in the public domain, so it’s available almost everywhere. Some prints are better than others and there is a restored version out there.

Welcome back everyone who skips the tunes and moving pictures.

It’s been a slow news week in the world of baseball and we’ve already got the Eric Hosmer signing covered around here. So tonight I’m just going to ask you who will lead the Cubs in home runs in 2023?

For the past two seasons, I’ve asked this question at least once and the correct answer has turned out to be “Patrick Wisdom” both times. No one guessed correctly in 2021, which I guess was understandable since Wisdom was in Iowa on a minor league contract at the time.

So can Patrick Wisdom make it three-straight years as the Cubs home run champion? Maybe a new guy like Dansby Swanson or Cody Bellinger will take over the crown? Ian Happ, Christopher Morel and Seiya Suzuki all had double-digit home runs last year. Maybe they can take a step forward. (Or, heaven forbid, they lead the team with 18 home runs or something.) There’s also the rookie, Matt Mervis, who hit 36 home runs between three minor league levels last year.

You could also vote for Nelson Velázquez or Brennen Davis or anyone else by voting “other” and telling us about it in the comments.

So who will lead the Cubs in home runs in 2023?

Thank you so very much for stopping in. Please clean up around your table and recycle any cans or bottles. If you checked anything, let us get it for you now. Please get home safely. If you want us to call a ride for you, let us know. Please tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.