It’s World Series week here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. We’ve got the fireplace going here. There’s no cover charge. We can check your coat for you. There’s no cover charge. 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 Dodgers and Blue Jays are playing Game 3 of the World Series and as I write this, the score is tied.
Last week I asked you for your thoughts on the World Series. First off, 85 percent of you are cheering for the Blue Jays. But 59 percent of you thought the Dodgers would win, with 30 percent of you thinking that they’d win the series in five games.
Here’s the part where we listen to music and talk movies. You’re free to skip that if you want. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Before we get into some Halloween jazz, I want to take a moment to note the passing of jazz great and Chicago native Jack DeJohnette at age 83. Although he had great range as a musician and played piano, DeJohnette was best known as a drummer and in particular, as one of the pioneers of jazz fusion in the seventies. He replaced Tony Williams as the drummer for Miles Davis, just as Davis was moving in to what would come to be known as jazz fusion. In that role, DeJohnette was one of the drummers for the seminal album of that genre, 1970’s Bitches Brew. (There were two drummers on every track of that album.)
We’ll pay tribute to DeJohnette next week with a full week of his music.
But for now, we’ll stick with our regularly-scheduled Halloween jazz with the English vocal group the Puppini Sisters. They aren’t actually sisters, but one of them really is named Puppini. But this is their take on the Classics IV song “Spooky.” I play this pretty much every October. It’s a good Halloween-themed video.
We’re getting close to the start of the BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic and I’ve finalized the brackets for our 32-film tournament. This is by far the most ambitious off-season movie event we’ve ever had here, so be sure to keep checking in all winter to check in and vote.
Before I reveal the final brackets, let me remind you of the rules.
- Only 20th Century films are eligible. So no films made in a year starting with a “2.”
- There are four brackets of eight films. The “Classic” bracket is years 1901 to 1960. The “New Hollywood” bracket is 1961 to 1976. The “Star Wars” bracket is 1977 to 1983. And the “Modern” bracket is 1984 to 1999.
- The goal of this tournament is to have fun talking about some old movies. The winner of the tournament is not necessarily the greatest science fiction film ever made. It is, however, the winner of our tournament.
- Some great films may have been left out of the tournament because of their inaccessibility. Likewise, some movies may have made the tournament because they are accessible. I want people to at least have the option of watching the movies, even if it’s not a requirement. (Because how would I know?)
I say this is the most ambitious tournament because it’s the largest with 32 movies. It also covers the widest period of time. The “noir” tournament was limited to 1941 to 1959. The “Western” tournament had films from 1939 to 1972. The “Hitchcock” tournament was naturally limited by the career of Alfred Hitchcock, who made his final film in 1976.
I decided the top four seeds would be The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and The Matrix. After that, I had some fun, setting up the best matchups while still keeping the better films (in my mind) near the top of each “region.”
As I said, I had some fun. We are guaranteed to get a silent film in the second round as A Trip to the Moon and Metropolis face off against each other in the first round. Likewise, we are going to get a French New Wave film in the second round with La Jetée and Alphaville facing off. (Although as I will mention when we get to it, director Chris Marker called La Jetée a “Photo Novel” rather than film.)
If both 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris make it to the next round, they’ll face off in a grudge match as Andrei Tarkovsky made Solaris as a kind of answer to the Stanley Kubrick’s classic because Tarkovsky really disliked 2001. Likewise, Kubrick was no fan of Solaris.
Please note that Godzilla is the 1954 Japanese-language original, not the 1956 American English-language edit starring Raymond Burr that is now legally known as Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The Americanized version can be fun to watch, but it’s clearly the inferior picture.
I’m sure there are some very good films that did not make the tournament. Even with 32 films, it doesn’t seem like enough. But I had to make the call.
I don’t know if we’re going to start the tournament on Wednesday or next Monday. I tend to think it’s better to start these things on a Monday and frankly, the World Series will still be going on Wednesday. While many of us are here because we like movies, all of us are here because we love baseball. I haven’t decided the order that the contests will happen, but I tend to think it is better to start with the older films and work our way to the present. But I’m open to suggestions on that point.
While I’m probably not going to change the tournament at this point, I’d love to hear your comments about these matchups. What faceoffs are you looking forward to? What films do you think are the favorites? What are your picks for the “Final Four”?
So please join us all winter for some fun movie talk and voting.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
The Cubs acquired Andrew Kittredge at the trade deadline from the Baltimore Orioles. For the most part, Kittredge pitched quite well for the Cubs down the stretch. He seemed to struggle against the Reds and the Angels, of all teams, but was nails with the rest of the majors, picking up five saves in six opportunities.
With the Cubs, Kittredge had a 3.32 ERA over 21 2/3 innings. He struck out an eye-popping 32 batters in that time and only walked three. That’s the same number of home runs he allowed.
When the Cubs traded for Kittredge, they inherited his team option for 2026 of $9 million. But it’s really an $8 million option because if the Cubs decline the option, they owe Kittredge one million anyway.
So it would seem like a no-brainer to pick up Kittredge’s option for 2026. But not so fast.
For one, Kittredge turns 36 before Opening Day. Now there have been lots of great relievers pitching well at age 36 throughout baseball history, but there are more that begin to lose their effectiveness as they age. Kittredge certainly did not pitch well against the Brewers in the Division Series as well. So there may be some fear that he is starting to lose some of his stuff.
The other issue is that beyond closer Daniel Palencia, who isn’t eligible for arbitration yet, the Cubs have three more very good relievers in Brad Keller, Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz who are free agents this upcoming winter. While Kittredge was good last year, those three were even better. Thielbar and Pomeranz are both older than Kittredge, but Keller is six years younger and looks like a potential elite reliever.
So if the Cubs sign Keller and say, Thielbar (because he’s a lefty) back for next year, that would potentially make Kittredge the 4th option out of the pen. Eight million is a lot for a guy pitching the sixth inning. Considering that Keller and Thielbar could probably be signed for less than that (although Keller will probably need a two-year deal), it seems like Kittredge could be replaced with someone younger and cheaper on the free agent market. And since the Cubs basically found Keller and Pomeranz for free on minor league deals, maybe spending $8 million on Kittredge doesn’t make a lot of sense.
But let’s hear from you. If you were running the Cubs, would you pick up Andrew Kittredge’s one-year, $9 million option?
Thanks for stopping by tonight. I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself. I know we were glad to host you. Please get home safely. Tell your friends about us. Don’t forget anything you may have checked. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.
