BCB After Dark: The long road back MLB World Series

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the swinging hip spot for night owls, early-risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Good to see that you survived the weekend. Glad to see you back here. Let us take your hat and coat for you. 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 Red Sox pounded the Astros, 12-3, to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series. The Braves have a surprising 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series, thanks in part to poor hitting with men on base by the Dodgers and Dave Roberts continuing to use his starting pitchers on short rest.

Feel free to discuss any of the Championship Series here.

Last time I asked you what you thought the Cubs would do with catcher Willson Contreras. Not what you want the Cubs to do, but rather what you thought they would actually do. Well, 56 percent of you think that the Cubs’ sell-off stops here because you think the team will sign Contreras to a contract extension. Another 40 percent think the Cubs will trade him, with the people who voted for that option split evenly between those who thought they’d trade Contreras this winter and those who thought they would do it during the 2022 season. Only five percent thought that Contreras would reach free agency.

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

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Tonight I’m featuring another piece from pianist Horace Silver. This is “The African Queen” from a live performance at the Half-Note in New York City in February of 1966. This performance was also broadcast on WABC Radio in New York.

As Silver says in the introduction, this was an attempt to integrate some African rhythms into his music. The song was from the album The Cape Verdean Blues, released earlier in 1966. Silver’s father was from Cape Verde and the album was intended as a tribute to him.

In addition to Silver on piano, we’ve got Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Teddy Smith on bass and Roger Humphries on drums.

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I’ve got to confess that I’ve been so busy over the past week that I really haven’t had a chance to watch a movie and write up an essay on it for you. I have watched parts of films, but I wasn’t able to give them the attention that is necessary to write a solid essay. I did watch one movie on Turner Classic Movies: 1959’s The Big Circus starring Victor Mature, Rhonda Fleming and Red Buttons. You don’t want me writing about it. It wasn’t good.

So I’ll try to have a film essay for Wednesday night/Thursday morning, although I can’t make any promises.

So meanwhile, I thought I’d ask you for recommendations for your favorite movies to watch for the Halloween season. I’ve got to admit that I’m not much for modern horror films—the slasher picture and its variants just aren’t for me. When I wrote about Dracula last week, I think I mentioned that I have a fondness for watching the classic Universal monster pictures this time of year: I’ve got a big classic DVD sets for Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and The Mummy. If I had time this week, I was going to write about 1942’s Cat People, starring Simone Simon and Kent Smith. I remember someone on NPR recommending it once as a “scary picture for people who don’t like scary pictures.” That’s about right, because it really isn’t scary. It is a pretty good film anyway.

So why don’t you offer up some of your Halloween favorites. It doesn’t matter what they are, but it’s always good to explain what kind of audience would like it. If it’s really gory, then say “this is a film for people who like to see blood and gore.” If it’s more a a psychological horror film, like say, Cat People or the original version of The Wicker Man, mention that. Or Stephen King films or the Evil Dead franchise. Or maybe just Hocus Pocus or something for the kids. Whatever. But it’s always best to explain why you like it and what other kinds of people would like it.

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The Cubs and the Astros were the worst two teams in baseball in 2012. They went on to both win the World Series in 2016 and 2017. Maybe you heard about it.

So I thought I’d ask you what currently bad team is going to be the next one to win a World Series. The teams I’m including in this poll are somewhat arbitrary. For one, I’m excluding any team that won a World Series recently. So the Cubs (whom most of you would vote for anyway), the Nationals and the Royals are excluded. And I’m not including teams with current huge payrolls who just consistently underperform. That allows me to exclude the Angels and Mets because they don’t deserve to be included with these teams. Why? Because they shouldn’t be as bad as they have been. And because both franchises have been placed under an ancient elder god curse. It’s a well-known fact. I saw it in a horror picture.

But the teams I am including have been really bad, but have also been accumulating a lot of early draft picks over the past few seasons. The Orioles may be the worst team in baseball, but they’ve also got the top prospect in the game in Adley Rutschman. The Tigers have Spencer Torkelson. The Royals have Bobby Witt Jr., even though I excluded KC from the poll. I’d actually be shocked if any of those three players didn’t become a superstar sometime in the next three or four seasons. The other teams have quality players in their farm system as well.

So which of these following eight teams do you think will be the first one to win a World Series? Arizona, Baltimore, Colorado, Detroit, Miami, Minnesota, Pittsburgh or Texas?

Thanks again for stopping by. I hope we’ll see you again soon. Be sure to tip your waitstaff. We’ll be back again tomorrow night with another edition of BCB After Dark.