It’s Wednesday night here BCB After Dark: The coolest place for night owls, early risers, new parents, and Cubs fans abroad. We’re glad you decided to come over. Come on in and get out of the cold. There is no cover charge tonight. We still have a few tables available. The hostess can show you to your table. Bring your own drinks.
After Dark BCB It’s your place to talk about baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to say freely, as long as it adheres to the site’s rules. Those who stay up late are encouraged to start partying, but others are invited to join when you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
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Last night I asked you about the situation with infielder/left fielder Miguel Andujar, who has been linked to the Cubs in at least one report. I’m very skeptical about signing him (even though I think he’s a solid player) because I don’t think he’s a good fit. Most people agreed, but 68% opposed the idea.
This is the music and film part. second round BCB Winter Sci-Fi Classics It’s coming to an end. But as always, you’re free to skip to the final baseball content. We agree.
For those who enjoy performance music, tonight we have singer Jordan Fisher performing “Pure Imagination” Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Emmett Cohen is playing the piano. Peter Martin plays keyboards, Tivon Pennicott plays tenor saxophone, Yasushi Nakamura serves as bassist, and Joe Farnsworth plays drums.
(Fun fact: My wife hated that movie. She hated it as a child and she hates it today. Her well-meaning sister gave her a Blu-ray copy for Christmas one year and she had to pretend to like it.)
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This is a brand new video that was just released yesterday.
you voted BCB Winter Sci-Fi Classics I have a lot of Star Trek fans among my readers. I imagine there are a lot of Star Trek fans among the people writing here. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Beyond the No. 1 seed, blade runner. As I wrote, blade runner If you don’t choose, this is a movie most often called the best science fiction movie of all time 2001: A Space Odyssey. But you love Kirk, Spock, McCoy and especially Ricardo Montalban as Khan.
Tonight we move into the final quadrant of the tournament, the “Modern” bracket, completing the second round. second seed Brazil (1985) Confrontation Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
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2. Brazil. (1985) Directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro and Katherine Helmond.
This is what I wrote last time Brazil.
3. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Directed by James Cameron. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Robert Patrick.
This is what I wrote last time Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Both movies are scary in their own way. Brazil I was horrified by its depiction of a totalitarian world in which the wealthy live a life of pointless conspicuous consumption. The rest of us live in a world desensitized to the capricious violence and cruelty of the state, and the only way to survive is to remain as anonymous as possible.
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While I’m not worried about time-traveling killer robots, I do worry about the future of artificial intelligence, which creates nightmarish futures Terminator 2.
So now it’s time to vote.
You have until Monday to vote. The final game of the second round will be played on Monday. The Matrix bear Back to the future.
Welcome back to all those who skipped music and movies.
Earlier this week, I asked you if you thought the Cubs should improve their pitching depth by signing Zach Gallen. I don’t think it’s accurate to say Galen would “add depth” because he’s probably one of the best pitchers in the rotation. But that means other pitchers will move down the rankings and provide more depth.
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One pitcher on the free agent market who could improve the Cubs’ depth but who for some reason gets little attention is right-hander Chris Bassett. Over the past five years, Bassett has been as reliable a pitcher as you could ask for. He just signed a three-year, $63 million contract with the Blue Jays, where he started more than 30 games per year and pitched more than 170 innings per year. He posted a fan chart In all three seasons with the Blue Jays, WAR ranged from 2.3 to 2.6. In fact, according to fan chartBuster has had more than two WAR in every season since 2019, not including the shortened 2020 season. But he also performed well in 2020.
I haven’t heard the Cubs being linked to Bassett at all, but I’ve heard people argue that Bassett is a better pitcher than Zach Gallen. He does have a better 2025 season than Gallen, although we’re already aware that 2025 could be an unusually bad year for Gallen. Bassett is also a more extreme ground ball pitcher, which helps the Cubs’ strong infield defense. He’ll probably cost a lot less than Galen, too.
I will add that Buster also had a great season with the Blue Jays in the playoffs last year.
So why is Gallen more valued than Bassett? For one thing, age is an important factor. Bassett is entering his age-37 season and Gallen is entering his age-30 season. Buster’s fastball velocity is declining as he ages. His fastball averaged just 91.4 mph last season, down from 92.7 the year before and significantly lower than the 94 or so mph he averaged in his youth.
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Bassett also struggled more than Gallen with left-handed pitching. While their overall results are similar, Bassett is the type of pitcher you might want to skip against a left-handed lineup. However, this may not be as much of an issue for the Cubs as they have several quality lefties.
Bassett also has some pitching experience, so if he’s not one of the Cubs’ top five or six starters, he could be the long man in the bullpen.
So basically, if you think Bassett is better than Colin Rea, Bassett will serve as an upgrade over Colin Rea.
Bassett’s age is actually good for the Cubs, as he likely won’t get a contract for more than a year at this point. I offered Chris Bassett a one-year, $17 million contract? If you were the owner of the Cubs, would you make such an offer?
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Thank you for stopping by tonight and throughout the week. We appreciate your business. Please come home safely. Get out and stay warm. Recycle all cans and bottles. Tip your waiter. Join us again next week to learn more BCB after dark.
