BCB After Dark: I don’t know who’s on third

It’s another night here at BCB After Dark: the hip hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Thank you for stopping in this evening. We’re all in a bit of an ornery mood this evening, but we can get through this together. Come on in and grab a table. The show will start shortly. Please tell us if we can do anything to make your experience better. 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.

I’m getting really tired of all these late/close losses by the Cubs. Tonight they lost to the Cardinals 6-4. The Cardinals scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning off of Javier Assad, who had started his fifth inning of relief. The Cubs went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position again and hit into two key double plays. Cripes. This team is going to drive me crazy.

Last night I asked you if you thought that catcher Miguel Amaya should stay with the team after Yan Gomes returns from the injured list. The majority of you, with 59 percent of the vote, think that Amaya needs to go back down to Iowa. Another 27 percent want to live life dangerously and cut Tucker Barnhard. The rest of you think the Cubs should carry three catchers for a while.

On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. I don’t do a movie essay. But you can certainly go back and see what I wrote last night about The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976). But I always have time for jazz, so those of you who skip that can do so now. You won’t hurt my feelings.

If there’s one thing that jazz musicians of the 21st century love to do, it’s cover Radiohead songs. OK, there are a lot of other things they love to do too, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Radiohead had the most jazz covers of any still-active rock act. (The Beatles are certainly number-one overall) So here’s The Bad Plus with a cover of “Karma Police.” It starts out low and slow and then explodes near the end. Just a warning if you’re listening to it while falling asleep.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music.

I found it interesting tonight that with Nico Hoerner out and Patrick Wisdom getting the night off, manager David Ross decided to play Nick Madrigal at third base and Christopher Morel at second base, rather than the other way around. Madrigal’s natural position is second base and while Morel may not have a “natural” position, he’s played more third base than any other position, if you count his minor league career. So you would think Madrigal would play second and Morel third.

First, I’m going to admit I was wrong. I truly believed that the effort to get Nick Madrigal to play third base was going to fail. But he’s impressed me with what he’s been able to accomplish at the hot corner. He may not be a Gold Glove-quality defender there, but I’m convinced he can play the position and not be a liability. Whether Madrigal can hit enough to play third base regularly is a different question, but he can handle the position defensively.

But was playing Madrigal at third and Morel at second the best defensive alignment that David Ross could have employed? Madrigal may be able to play third base, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he’s better at second. He certainly has far more experience there. And Christopher Morel has a lot more experience at third base.

To be clear, I don’t think the defensive positioning made a difference in who won or lost the game tonight. But I do think it’s possible that it could have made a difference.

So should Ross have put Madrigal at third base and Morel at second base tonight, or Morel at third base and Madrigal at second?

And of course, you can tell us about why you voted the way you did in the comments.

Thank you so very much for stopping in this evening. I hope we didn’t bring up any bad memories and that you were able to enjoy yourself anyway. If you checked anything, we can get that for you now. Please get home safely. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow for more BCB After Dark.