It’s another week BCB After Dark: The most exciting gathering of night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come in and sit with us for a while. You are always welcome here. The show is about to begin. The hostess will now seat you. There is no cover charge, but there is a two-drink minimum. 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 week I asked you if you thought it would be a good idea for managers (or coaches) to have access to PitchCom in order to pitch from the dugout. It seems that most of you are either opposed to the idea or have no opinion, as 46% are opposed and 18% have no opinion. Another 36% think this is fine.
This is the part where we listen to music and talk about movies. But you are free to skip it if you wish. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Here’s some (rare?) video of saxophonist Hank Mobley on Danish TV in 1968. Joining Mobley is an all-star backing band, including Kenny Drew on piano, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (NHØP) and Albert “Tootie” Heath on bass.
you voted BCB Winter Sci-Fi Classics between the end 2001: A Space Odyssey and Terminator 2: Judgment Day and 2001: A Space Odyssey Is your champion! This isn’t really a surprise. This was the number one seed going into the tournament, and it’s easily the most popular science fiction movie of all time, most recently becoming the sixth best movie of all time (of any genre). BFI audiovisual Critics poll. The film did have its critics – Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky Solaris and stalker Fame) particularly disliked it, but most critics and academics consider it a film that changed the way we think about movies.
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As I said in my original article about the film, 2001 was the first film to truly capture the purity of awe A story from outer space that perhaps no film has touched upon since then. It’s also a film that leaves you with a lot of questions at the end, even if director Stanley Kubrick is more than happy to explain when asked. It came out at a time when the “New Hollywood” movement was breaking free from the constraints of the Production Code and truly pushing the boundaries of film. Fortunately, in 1968 this new form of expression found an audience.
This is the last bracket and everything is filled out.
Running a sci-fi tournament is more difficult than our previous tournaments. For one, I wanted to cover the entire 20th century this time, and film noir “Western Championship” is limited to 1941 to 1959, “Western Championship” is limited to 1939 to 1972, and “Hitchcock” is limited to Hitchcock’s career from the 1920s to 1976. Second, there has always been some disagreement about what qualifies as science fiction. Genres are always hard to pin down, but science fiction is a very broad category that has changed a lot since 1902 trip to the moon to 1999 The Matrix. Thank God I didn’t include 21st century movies in the contest, otherwise I would have gone crazy trying to figure out what was important.
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I just want to thank everyone who participated and voted. I am particularly grateful to those who contributed to the discussion. What’s really valuable is how we share how we interact with the film. This is how I learn new things. Even those I disagreed with—heck, maybe especially those I disagreed with—taught me to look at movies differently.
But you are still wrong back to the future. Very so-so. Like Huey Lewis and the News. and repurchase person and Brazil Should do better. So there should be stalkerbut that’s my own fault because I turned it against blade runner In the first round. I saw it too Incredible shrinking man First time participating in this competition and it turned out that I loved it. So that was a great moment for me.
Welcome back to all those who skipped music and movies.
The Cubs signed Michael Conforto to a minor league deal today, just another sign that the Cubs believe their biggest question heading into spring training is who will be the fourth outfielder. The Cubs already have non-roster invitees Chase McCormick and Dylan Carlson in training camp, as well as rookie Kevin Alcantara and waiver claimer Justin Dean. Prospect Brett Bateman also entered training camp as a non-roster invitee, but he wasn’t considered a serious candidate for the fourth outfielder job, at least not in spring training. Maybe in August.
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So tonight, I’m asking you which non-roster invitee has the best chance of contributing for the Cubs this season. Not necessarily after spring training, but throughout the season.
The model here is Mike Tauchman, who the Cubs signed to a minor league deal and received an invitation to spring training in 2023. Tauchman did not make the Opening Day roster but accepted an assignment with Iowa’s Class 3A team and was called up to the majors in May. Of course, Tauchman is an important player for the 2023 and 2024 Cubs.
Two pitchers who were NRIs in recent years ended up making significant contributions to the team, Mark Leiter Jr. in 2021 and Brad Keller last season. It’s easier to make the roster as a reliever than as an outfielder. If anything, other relievers are more susceptible to injuries than other outfielders.
Let us quickly review these three NRIs. We’ll bypass Dean since he’s on the 40-man roster and will likely play for Iowa State. If he performs well in the majors and gets injured in the majors, he could certainly see some time in the majors. But he has options and the Cubs don’t have to make a decision on him in March. We won’t count Kevin Alcántara because he’s the top prospect and is currently in the Cubs’ long-term plans. They want him to be more than just a fourth outfielder. The same goes for Brett Bateman, although he’s not as revered as Alcántara.
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The first candidate is Dylan Carlson. There was a time, 2021 to be exact, when Carlson was one of the top 20 prospects in baseball and expected to become a star with the Cardinals. His rookie season in 2021 was quite good. He hit .266 with 18 home runs and an on-base percentage of .343. Carlson finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. He didn’t captivate the world during his rookie season, but he was promising enough that you could easily predict stardom down the road.
That didn’t happen. Instead, Carlson suffered a series of injuries that sapped his playing time and strength. In particular, he injured his shoulder after a collision with Jordan Walker in spring training in 2024, and he has never been like himself since. Last year with the Orioles, Carlson hit just .203/.273/.336 with six homers in 83 games. Hamstring and slash injuries also cost him enough speed that he’s no longer an acceptable center fielder except in emergencies.
On the plus side of Carlson, he’s still only 27 years old, and if he gets healthy, the top prospect he once was may still be around somewhere.
Al did a great job covering Conforto earlier today. Just last year, the Dodgers valued Conforto and gave him a one-year, $17 million contract. This is a two-year, $36 million contract with the Giants. As Ayer wrote, Conforto was a pretty good outfielder with the Mets from 2015 to 2021. But he missed the entire 2022 season with a shoulder injury and has struggled since then, although he played consistently enough for the Giants in 2024 that the Dodgers gave him a chance on a one-year deal.
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Another downside to Conforto is that he turns 33 on March 1. He also hasn’t played in midfield since 2019.
Finally, there’s Chas McCormick, who has spent his entire career with the Astros until now. In 2021, approaching his 26th birthday, he made his major league debut in Houston. McCormick is an excellent fourth outfielder from 2021 to 2023. He played in over 100 games in those three seasons and hit a total of 50 home runs in those three seasons. McCormick had a 117 OPS+ over those three seasons and was a solid defender at all three outfield positions.
McCormick suffered a hamstring injury early in 2024 and hasn’t been in form since. He hit a low .210/.279/.290 last season, and his numbers in 2024 are nearly the same. McCormick also turns 31 in April, so his decline could be as much to do with age as it is injury.
The plus side for McCormick is that he remains a solid defender at all three outfield positions. Unlike Carlson and Conforto, McCormick still has minor league options, so he could be sent to Iowa to start the season. However, most minor league invitation-to-spring training contract deals have an opt-out clause that allows the player to leave the organization if he is not on the major league (or 40-man) roster by a certain date. As a result, McCormick may not be as nimble as he initially appears.
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Obviously none of these outfielders are without their flaws. If they were, they wouldn’t have signed a minor league deal. Teams will compete for their signatures. But all three of these players were once very good, and not too long ago. Which one do you think is most likely to do well again in 2025?
Thanks for stopping by tonight. Please come home safely. If you’re out here in the snow, please take extra precautions. We hope you are in good health and able to visit again. Recycle all cans and bottles. Tip your waiter. Join us again tomorrow to learn more BCB after dark.