Welcome to another show at BCB After Dark: the grooviest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the heat. Everyone is welcome here. There’s no cover charge. We still have a few tables available. 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 what you’d give up for Padres reliever Adrián Morejón. The plurality of you, 31 percent of you to be exact, wouldn’t give up any of my suggested prospects for Morejón. Thirty percent of you were willing to part with last year’s first-round pick, Ethan Conrad.
On Tuesday night, I don’t do movie stuff. But I will say, in reference to what I said about The Odyssey last night, I was in a Barnes & Noble today and there were a couple of big Ancient Greek/Homer displays. But in any case, I always have time for jazz and that time is now.
Tonight I have pianist Robert Glasper performing Radiohead’s “Everything in its Right Place” in Paris last month.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
I’m going to take a break from trade proposals tonight to ask you about Alex Bregman. Specifically, do you think that Bregman has put his disappointing first half behind him?
Alex Bregman signed a big free agent contract this past offseason that came with big expectations. And while I can’t say that Bregman was bad his first few months as a Cub, I’m not going to say he was good either. The defense was good, but the Cubs were paying for both the glove and the bat. He certainly wasn’t playing up to the almost $30 million a year (after deferments) that the Cubs were paying him. To be fair to Bregman, he’d be the first one to admit that.
But since the All-Star Game, Bregman seems to have turned a corner. Before the Break, Bregman hit .241/.336/.359 with nine home runs. Again, that’s not bad, but it’s not what the Cubs were expecting out of him when they signed him. But since the All-Star Break, Bregman is hitting .286/.362/.500, which is pretty good. It’s only ten games, but that’s almost exactly what the Cubs were hoping for out of Bregman.
Of course over the past two games in St. Louis, Bregman has used one of Dansby Swanson’s bats and has gone 7 for 10 with two doubles and a home run.
So tonight’s question is “How optimistic are you about Alex Bregman in the second half?” On a scale of 1 to 5, what do you expect Bregman to do the rest of the way?
Lets get some definitions out of the way. If you say “Very,” you’re thinking that Bregman will continue to hit the way he has over the past ten games or better the rest of the way. Not the “7 for 10” of the first two games of this series. That’s ridiculous. But you think he’ll have some of those 7 for 10 streaks the rest of the way along with solid production the rest of the time.
If you say “Somewhat,” you mean that you think Bregman will be better than he was in the first half, but not quite up to his career norms. Bregman’s career triple-slash numbers are .270/.363/.471. Like I said, pretty similar to what he’s done since the All-Star Break.
If you answer “Somewhat pessimistic,” you think Bregman’s second half will be like his first half. If you vote “very pessimistic,” you’re thinking that Bregman is going to fall off a cliff and be even worse the rest of the way.
So how are you feeling about Alex Bregman?
Thank you for stopping by. It’s always good to be around friends. Please get home safely. Don’t forget any personal items. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.
