It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Thanks for stopping by. You’re always welcome here. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. 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.
Last night I asked you if you would trade Seiya Suzuki before the trade deadline. Forty percent of you said “no,” you wouldn’t. Of course, that means that sixty percent of you would, which broke down to 33 percent if the Cubs could actually get a starting pitcher for him and 27 percent would just trade him for prospects.
On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I don’t write about movies. But I’ll try to find some music for you.
We lost the great South African jazz artist Abdullah Ibrahim (gift article) at the age of 91 yesterday. Ibrahim, who recorded as “Dollar Brand” before converting to Islam, played with Duke Ellington, Elvin Jones, Max Roach and others. Nelson Mandela called him “Our Mozart.”
Ibraham’s song “Mannenberg (Is Where It’s Happening)” became an anti-apartheid anthem and was a favorite of Mandela. who listened to it on records smuggled into Robben Island. Mandela often played it at his rallies after his release.
Welcome back to those of you who skip the music.
The Cubs pitching has been disappointing this year, although if you look at their overall ERA and runs allowed are just around the major league average. But that’s disappointing for this team. While they may not expected to have an elite pitching staff coming into this year, I think the Cubs had hoped for a little more than “average.” And certainly some pitchers that the Cubs expected to be major contributors have either been hurt (Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd) or bad (Jameson Taillon, Edward Cabrera).
But I always want to look at the positive. Not because I’m optimistic by nature (I’m not), but because I find dwelling on the negative to have deleterious effects on my mental and physical health. So let’s look at Javier Assad, who has been called upon to step up this year
And Assad has stepped up this year. Al listed him as one of the “who’s up” players just yesterday after a start in San Francisco.
Assad started the season in the majors, but went down to the minors after a couple of appearances where he just got hammered: nine runs in 4.1 inning start in Philadelphia and six runs in 2.1 innings of relief in Los Angeles. That, and just a general numbers and having options thing, got Assad sent down to Triple-A Iowa.
Injuries forced Assad’s return to Chicago, and he’s made two appearances since his return. The first was a relief appearance after an injury to Jameson Taillon. Assad went 6.1 innings, allowed no runs and just one hit. Then there was that start in San Francisco, when he pitched six shutout innings with only three hits.
Overall, Assad is 4-1 with a 3.99 ERA in four starts and six relief appearances, totalling 38.1 innings.
So while it’s not time for a final grade for Assad, let’s give him a mid-semester progress report. What grade do you give Javier Assad so far?
Thank you for stopping by. We always enjoy having you. Please get home safely. Call a ride if you need to. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.
