BCB After Dark: The big question

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the heat for a while. It’s so good to see you. Your name is on the guest list. We’re all in a good mood tonight. The 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.

The Cubs thumped the White Sox tonight, 7-3, behind two home runs by Dansby Swanson and one from Christopher Morel and another from Nico Hoener. They also got a quality start from Kyle Hendricks—thanks to Seiya Suzuki robbing a home run. It was the Cubs’ fourth-straight win. And there’s this:

Honestly, this is the team that I was expecting (hoping?) to get all season. Yes, the White Sox and Cardinals are not good teams and the team has looked erratic—periods of good play followed by periods of putrid play. But maybe, just maybe, they’ve figured something out and can turn a corner. I guess we’ll find out.

The Cubs’ playoff odds according to Fangraphs are up to 15.9 percent as I write this.

Yesterday, I asked you what the Cubs should do with outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger. A firm majority of 67 percent of you said the Cubs should keep Bellinger and try to sign him to an extension this winter. Another 25 percent of you would trade him and try to re-sign him, also known as the Jason Hammel maneuver. But when you add up the four choices, the vote was 60/40 in favor of not trading him at the deadline.

On Tuesday nights/Wednesday mornings, I don’t normally do a movie essay. But I did watch Oppenheimer tonight and I have to say I was blown away. Oh, there are a few choices I wouldn’t have made, but overall I thought it was a magnificent piece of filmmaking—and surprisingly good history. I don’t want to spoil anything because I know some of you are planning to see it once the crowds die down, but I will say that I recommend it highly. And try to see it in the biggest screen and the best sound system that you can. I understand that most of us (including me!) can’t really watch it in 70mm IMAX like director Christopher Nolan intended, but try to get as close to it as possible. I saw it in a digital IMAX theater and it was worth it. This is not a “wait until it comes out in streaming” kind of movie. You need to see it in the theaters.

But I always have time for jazz, so those of you who skip that can do so now. You won’t hurt my feelings.

Tonight, I’ve got the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet from the BBC in 1966. James Moody is on sax, Kenny Barron on piano, Christopher Wesley Wright on bass, Rudy Collins on drums and of course, Diz is on trumpet.

Welcome back to all of you who skip all that jazz.

The Cubs are now two games under .500 at 49-51. The Cubs playoff odds now sit at around 16 percent. This is making team president Jed Hoyer’s job very difficult. This isn’t a team that anyone would think is one player from going over the top, but it’s also not a team that anyone should just give up on. Especially with a fanbase that is exhausted from selloffs of the heroes of 2016 over the past two seasons.

The Cubs play the White Sox on Wednesday before starting a four-game series in St. Louis. Then there is one game at home against the Reds before the trade deadline.

If the Cubs go 4-2 over the next six games, they will be at 53-53 at the deadline. But we know that teams have to start making trade talks well-before the deadline, let us just count the next five games. If the Cubs go 4-1 in those games, they’ll be a game over .500 heading into the last day in July. Against the White Sox and Cardinals, that seems very doable.

So if the Cubs go 4-1, do they buy or sell. Or maybe both? Or do they stand pat?

You probably know what buying and selling means by this point. Standing pat would mean that the Cubs did not want to give up on this team, but also don’t feel that their chances are good enough to add anything. Buying AND selling would probably mean that the Cubs dealt Marcus Stroman for whatever they could get for him now, but would likely add a player to replace him and maybe one or two more. I suppose Cody Bellinger could be involved as well.

So if the Cubs go 4-1, what do they do?

Thank you so very much for stopping by this evening. I hope we helped you settle down and cool off a bit this evening. If you need anything from us, let us know. Please get home safely. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark. Go Cubs.