BCB After Dark: Look at the bright side

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the glumest get-together for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We are all in mourning here after tonight’s game, so come on in and have a drink—that you brought yourself. Misery loves company, so I’m glad to see you. Pull up a chair and grab a table.

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.

Tonight’s 7-6 loss to the Braves was the kind of gut punch that as a fan, you remember the rest of your life. As crappy as I feel right now (and admittedly, I have other things to feel crappy about), I remind myself that the purpose of sports is entertainment. And part of the thrill of winning is that we always know there is the chance that we’re going to get kicked in the private parts like we were tonight. So feel crappy, but remember, this is only a game and we’re all here because we enjoy the game and each other’s company along the way. Be nice to each other.

Still, I don’t feel like writing anything tonight. But I will anyway.

Last night. I asked you how you would feel if (and it seems likely) Marcus Stroman opts-in to his player option next year. The overwhelming majority of you want Stro back, as 79 percent thought it would be a good thing if he exercises the option.

On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I don’t normally do a movie essay. But I always have time for jazz, so those of you who skip that can do so now. I have no feelings left to hurt.

I was planning to play some upbeat South African jazz today, but after tonight’s game, I’ve switched it to Billie Holiday’s melancholic classic “Gloomy Sunday.” This is from 1941.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the jazz.

I thought of asking you to compare tonight to Don Young dropping a fly ball, the grounder going through Leon Durham’s legs, Brant Brown dropping a fly ball and almost killing Ron Santo and that play in the 2003 NLCS that shall not be named. At least not by me and hopefully not by you. But then I thought we’ve had enough of all that. We need to move on and forget it. The season is not over yet—and I should point out that the Cubs still won the Wild Card after Brown dropped that fly ball. It’s not looking good, but it’s not over.

So instead, I’m going to look at the bright spots. I’m taking off from this article on Marquee Sports and asking you what your favorite moment at Wrigley Field in 2023 was.

The candidates offered by author Jake Mozarsky in that piece are as follows:

1. Christopher Morel’s walkoff home run against the White Sox
2. Justin Steele’s eight-scoreless, twelve-strikeout effort against the Giants
3. Marcus Stroman’s one-hit, complete-game shutout of the Rays
4. Alexander Canario’s grand slam
5. Cubs beating the Mariners 14-9 after trailing 7-0
6. Drew Smyly’s near-perfect game

So you can vote for one of those moments or give us one of your own. Remember, we are just doing games at Wrigley.

Thank you so much for stopping by this evening. We really didn’t want to be alone. I hope we were able to cheer each other up. Please get home safely. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow for more BCB After Dark.