Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re glad you decided to stop in. We need the company. There’s no cover charge. We’ve got lots of tables available. Bring your own beverage. Lots of it.
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 lost the most brutal game of the year tonight, 9-7 to the Mets. Beyond that, the Cubs ace, rookie Cade Horton, left with back tightness after only three innings. I’m trying to spin a bright side of this, but there doesn’t appear to be one. Sorry.
Last time I asked you if the Mets would still make the playoffs. Seventy-eight percent of you said “no,” but there chances took a huge step forward tonight. Maybe I should have asked you if the Cubs will still make the playoffs. I know they’ve clinched, but they seem determined to find a way to blow it anyways.
I don’t normally do a movie thing on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, but I’m still interested in your opinion on our upcoming Science Fiction tournament. But I still have time for music, so let’s take a break for that.
Tonight we have a rising star in the jazz world from Taiwan, 23-year-old Ponpon Chen. She both sings and plays guitar here.
This is from a gig in Palm Springs earlier this year. Chen is joined by keyboardist Aaron Provisor, Jim Jedeikin on sax, Lakshmi Ramirez plays bass and Mark San Filippo is the drummer.
This is the George and Ira Gershwin song, “But Not For Me.”
Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.
I try to not to be a negative person about sports and the Cubs and I know that momentum is only as good as the next day’s pitcher. But right now, the most optimistic thing I can say to Cubs fans is “Cheer up. At least you’re not Tigers fans.”
(Unless you are a fan of both teams, and then I truly feel sorry for you.)
The Cubs magic number to clinch home field advantage in the playoffs is still four, which seemed like an easy goal to accomplish a few days ago. But since then, the Cubs have lost five in a row and have looked bad doing it. The number is still four and there are only five games to play. Certainly the odds say the Cubs are still going to be playing the Wild Card series at Wrigley. But it certainly doesn’t feel that way at the moment.
I will point out that a team that struggles heading into the playoffs doesn’t necessarily struggle in the playoffs. The 2000 Yankees famously lost seven in a row and 15 of their final 18 games and still won the World Series.
To that you may say “Yeah, but the 2025 Cubs aren’t the 2000 Yankees” and to that I say “Of course they’re not.” But the point still stands. A team can look bad going into the playoffs and still put on a good run. That doesn’t mean they will, but momentum can turn the other direction just as quickly as it went downhill.
So tonight’s question is “Will the Cubs still hold off the Padres for the first Wild Card spot?” Yes, I know that none of us can know that and this is just going to be a gauge of how worried you are at the moment. And I get that the comments are going to turn into a massive complaint section. (Just keep it clean and not too hyperbolic or rude.) But I don’t really have any other question at the moment. I don’t think there is any other question right now as the team drops it’s fifth-straight game for the first time this year.
After voting and commenting, I suggest listening to the music and not dwelling on tonight’s game. Forget about the Cubs until 7:05 tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by. I needed the company. Please get home safely. Check around your table so you don’t forget anything. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.
