It’s a new week here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Please come on in and join us. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. 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 Cubs staged a fantastic comeback and beat the Braves, 7-6 in ten innings. I’m not going to break out Judy for that because the Cubs are still 5 1/2 games behind the Brewers, but it kind of felt like a Judy win. Maybe if the Cubs sweep the series.
Last week, I asked you who you thought should bat leadoff versus right-handed pitching. Fourty-two percent of you said “Pete Crow-Armstrong.”
Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You can skip that if you want.
Tonight we’re featuring the great saxophonist Sonny Rollins playing the jazz standard “There Will Never Be Another You,” written by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon. This was written for the Sonja Henie 1942 musical Iceland.
Joining Rollins in Denmark in 1965 are NHØP (Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen) on bass (and he has an amazing featured jam here) and Alan Dawson on drums.
I was planning to write a movie essay for tonight when I remembered it was Labor Day. I still have to work for some reason, but I could spend the holiday working an extra 60-90 minutes writing a movie essay for you or I could spend it with my family. You people lost.
So I thought I’d just ask you about your favorite movies about work. It can be a serious documentary like Barbara Kopple’s Oscar-winning films Harlan County U.S.A. or American Dream. It can be semi-fictionalized stories of real events in the labor movement like Norma Rae or Matewan. Or they can be lighter comedies like Office Space, Clerks or 9 to 5. I guess in a weird way Anchorman qualifies as well.
Of course, the greatest Labor Day movie ever made is Weekend at Bernie’s, although that’s mostly just by default and it’s not really about work.
So tell us your favorite work and workplace movies.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
The Cubs added veteran guitarist . . . err . . . first baseman Carlos Santana, meaning that the Cubs still have one player from the 2016 World Series on the roster. Santana was signed to give the Cubs another bat on the bench and in particular, someone who can hit lefties. Over the course of his career, the switch-hitting Santana has been much better against left-handers than righties. His career numbers batting from the right side are an excellent .274/.372/.447.
Of course, most of those numbers were put up by a much younger man. Were Santana still that good, the Guardians would never have released him. This year Santana is only hitting .235/.328/.353 with four home runs in 119 at-bats against left handers.
Those are OK numbers. Not great, not terrible. League average this year against left-handed pitching is .242/.310/.391, so he’s a little above average against left-handers in on-base percentage and a little below average in the other two rate stats. Of course, those are the numbers for all players. First basemen are held to a higher standard when it comes to hitting.
But of course, the issue isn’t whether Santana can outhit the league. It’s whether or not he can outhit the alternatives on the Cubs. The two other alternatives for at-bats at first base are Michael Busch and Justin Turner. Busch is clearly the better hitter at this time—at least when you add in facing right-handed pitching. Against lefties, Busch is hitting a poor .195/.271/.299 in 85 plate appearances. Many have argued that he just needs more opportunities against lefties before he can succeed, but at this point in the season, that’s water under the bridge. The Cubs need a first baseman who can hit lefties now, not after another 200 at-bats.
The other option is Justin Turner, and I think you can be forgiven if you think Turner is on the roster because he’s a great teammate and mentor to the other players. He’s that, of course, and that’s something we’ll never be able to quantify. But Turner is also hits lefties. While his numbers against right-handers this year are horrific, Turner’s performance against lefties is quite respectable—.271/.319/.435 with three home runs in 94 plate appearances.
So tonight’s question is “Who would you give the majority of starts at first base against left-handed starters for the rest of the season?” It should be noted that while Turner is the best hitter against lefties, he also appears to be the worst defensive first baseman, at least by the numbers. Those numbers also say that despite being 39 years old, Santana is still a solid, slightly above-average defensive first baseman. Busch can look good in the field at times, but the numbers say he’s still below average with the glove.
So who would you give the majority of starts at first base to?
Thank you for stopping by tonight. It’s always good to see a friendly face. Please get home safely. Tell us if you need a ride. Recycle and cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.
