It’s Wednesday night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on and join us for a while. You’re always welcome here. There’s no cover charge. We still have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
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 Blue Jays blew out the Mariners 13-4 to cut their deficit in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series down to two game to one. For a while there, I thought we were going to get a position player pitching in an LCS.
Last night I asked you if the Cubs should exercise the three-year team option on Shōta Imanaga. Team president Jed Hoyer was asked about that today and he was quite noncommittal in his answer. Of course, if you asked Jed Hoyer if the sky were blue, he’d say a bunch of nice things about the sky but refuse to answer what color it is, so I don’t think what Hoyer said today means anything.
In any case, your vote was exactly two-to-one in favor of picking up the option, with 66.6 percent saying the Cubs should pick up the option and 33.3 percent saying they shouldn’t. I normally round up or down to the nearest integer when reporting these polls, but there were exactly two yes votes for each no vote when I stopped the count. I thought that was neat.
Now the time for music and movies. You can skip that if you want. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Tonight we’re featuring a video of saxophonist Joshua Redman from his upcoming album. The video was just posted earlier today. Redman is joined by Paul Cornish on piano, Philipp Norris on bass and Nazir Ebo on drums.
This is “Icarus.”
I’ve been busy watching as many science fiction films as I can before we start the BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic. Some of them are films I’ve seen before but not in a long time and others are new to me. The biggest question is what will be the eighth and final entry in the 1961 and before “classic” bracket. I really liked The Incredible Shrinking Man. The Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is a better poster than it is a movie. She doesn’t go on the rampage until the final eight minutes of the movie! I’m currently watching Them! but I’m not far enough along in it to offer my opinion. I guess so far, so good. I think I saw it decades ago, but I’m not sure. In any case, I’m not remembering it. I know it has ants in it.
So because I’m busy tonight and it’s Halloween season, I’m throwing the floor open to you to offer your opinions on your favorite horror movies. I’ve said in the past that I’m squeamish around horror films, or at least modern slasher horror films. I loved Get Out, so I don’t hate all modern horror films. I liked Last Night in Soho as well.
Of course, I’m a huge fan of the old Universal monster movies. I rewatch some of them every year. I also recommend Cat People (1942) and the Michael Curtiz-directed pre-Code horror films—Doctor X and Mystery of the Wax Museum, as well as the Code-approved The Walking Dead.
So tell us your favorite horror films to watch in October. And if you still want to recommend science fiction films, you can do that too. Just remember, I can only include 32 films in the tournament. There are some good ones that are going to be excluded. Still, it’s good to tell people about them anyways.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
The big question for the Cubs this offseason is whether or not to make an effort to sign outfielder Kyle Tucker to a long-term deal. This, of course, has been the big question since the moment Jed Hoyer traded for him, but now there is no putting off the question any longer.
Tucker, for his part, made this post on Instagram today.
That post is a Rorschach test for Cubs fans. For those convinced Tucker is gone, it’s him saying goodbye. For those who think he might stay, it’s a statement of how much he enjoys playing here. In reality, it’s probably Tucker saying what we’ve always known: He enjoys playing for the Cubs, but he’s going to test free agency and see what’s out there for him. If the best contract and/or situation offered him comes from the Cubs, he’ll re-sign. Otherwise, thanks for the memories.
Earlier in the year, when Tucker was one of the best hitters in the majors, it seemed like a no-brainer that the Cubs would want to re-sign him if they could. But after an injury-filled second half where he posted a triple-slash line of just .231/.360/.378? Is that someone you want the Cubs to commit to a huge chunk of the future payroll to? Which half is the real Kyle Tucker going forward?
When Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed his $500 million extension with the Blue Jays, there was talk that Tucker would be able to at least match that on the open market. That always seemed a bit unlikely—Vladito is two years younger than Tucker for one—but it seems impossible after Tucker’s poor second half. It even seems unlikely that any team would offer Tucker $400 million. Not impossible, but certainly not likely.
But a $300 million deal? Yeah. Tucker is almost certain to get a deal that high. What about $350 million? That’s certainly realistic. But let’s say that Tucker gives the Cubs a small hometown discount and is willing to re-sign with the North Siders for an eight-year, $340 million deal. Would you sign him for that?
Tonight we’re not asking “Would Tom Ricketts sign Tucker to that deal?” That’s irrelevant tonight. What I’m asking you is if you were running the Cubs, would you sign him to that kind of deal? That’s about double of any other deal the Cubs have given one player. The current record deal, which went to Jason Heyward before the 2016 season, didn’t turn out very well, his speech during Game 7 notwithstanding.
Even if you’re willing to spend a lot more on payroll than Tom Ricketts is, I’m going to assume that there is a limit to how much you’re willing to spend on payroll. The Cubs are a big market team, but their revenues are dwarfed by the Yankees and Dodgers. A $400 million annual payroll just isn’t likely to happen for the Cubs anytime soon. So a big deal to Turner might mean not signing other players in the years to come.
On the other hand, it’s not like hitters of Tucker’s quality come on the market that often. If the Cubs don’t sign Tucker, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to sign a different free agent in the years to come.
There’s also the issue of the upcoming collective bargaining talks. The owners are going to insist on a salary cap and if they get one, then having a huge contract could be a big millstone on the team if Tucker doesn’t continue to perform like an All-Star.
So if you ran the Cubs, would you still sign Kyle Tucker to a big free agent deal?
Thanks for stopping by tonight. We’re always happy to host you. Please get home safely. Tell your friends about us. Remember to get anything you may have checked. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.
