The late-night/early-morning spot for Cubs fans asks you to grade Seiya Suzuki.
It’s Wednesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest gathering of night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We are so glad you decided to stop by. We’re open late tonight. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. I think there are still a couple of 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.
The Tigers jumped out to a 2-1 lead over the Guardians with a 3-0 win. The Mets advanced to the National League Championship Series with a 4-1 win over the Phillies. The Yankees took a two-games-to-one lead over the pesky Royals with a 3-2 win in KC. The Dodgers are routing the Padres as I write this, so that series is likely heading back to Los Angeles tied up at two wins each.
Last night I asked you a question about the Cubs closer position, specifically whether you think Porter Hodge should have the job to start next season. Fifty-three percent of you feel that the job is Hodge’s and he should keep it to start the 2025 season. Another 44 percent feel the Cubs should find someone through free agency or trade to close and that Hodge should pitch in a less prominent role.
Here’s the part where we talk about music and movies. Those of you who skip that can do so now. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Tonight we have Brazilian bossa nova singer Eliane Elias singing the Petula Clark/Chris Montez song “Call Me.” Satoski Takeisa is on drums, Gustavo Saiari plays guitar and Marc Johnson is on bass. This appears to be from Spanish television in 2004.
Since it’s October, it’s time to watch horror films. So tonight I’m going to ask you to recommend your favorite horror films, much against my better judgement.
I’ve made it clear that I’m pretty squeamish when it comes to horror films. Stuff from before the collapse of the Production Code in the late-sixties are generally fine with me and I was able to enjoy such contemporary horror films such as Get Out and Last Night in Soho without too much difficulty. But when you get to the slasher/torture films with lots of blood and gore, I tend to check out.
The Roger Corman films are fine with me, and I wrote about A Bucket of Blood earlier this week. The English Hammer Film Productions works from the fifties to the early-seventies are fine with me. I didn’t have any problems with The Wicker Man (1973) either, nor Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
But of course, my favorite horror films are the pre-Code ones from the early-thirties, including the famous Universal Monster films. I’d argue The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) was the best of them, even though that was after the enforcement of the code. But yes, pre-Code Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) are also fantastic, and I believe I sung the praises of the 1931 Spanish-language version of Dracula in this space a few years ago.
But I want to take time to recommend two pre-Code films by the great director Michael Curtiz, who would go on to direct such classics as Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Yankee Doodle Dandy. Before Curtiz was entrusted by the studios with such presitge projects, he directed lots of b-movies. Two of his pre-Code horror films, Doctor X (1932) and Mysteries of the Wax Museum (1933), are both excellent. Not only do they both have engaging stories that deal with topics that would be forbidden when the Code gets enforced in 1934—cannibalism and prostitution, for example—but they were both filmed in two-color Technicolor, which I find fascinating to look at. Yes, the films are in color, but they aren’t in any natural color. That makes them more compelling.
Here are the first three minutes of Doctor X. The two-color Technicolor truly shines here.
Anyway, come at us with your horror recommendations. If you dare.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
Earlier this week I asked you to grade the Cubs’ 2024 left fielder, Ian Happ. Tonight I’m going to ask you to grade the Cubs’ right-fielder, Seiya Suzuki.
Of course, maybe it’s wrong to say that Suzuki is the Cubs’ right fielder, since he played right field exactly once after August 14. He was a full-time DH after that. We were told that Suzuki was a good defensive right fielder before he came over from Japan, but that hasn’t proven to be true. Whether Suzuki’s defensive struggles are because of age or injuries or just that his reputation was overstated, it doesn’t really matter. At the moment, Suzuki is a DH. Maybe that changes next year if Cody Bellinger opts out of his contract. Maybe it doesn’t.
But as far as being a DH goes, Suzuki was very good. His triple-slash line of .283/.366/.482 lead the Cubs in all three categories. They were also career-highs for Suzuki in batting average and on-base percentage and just .003 behind his 2023 slugging percentage. That’s all the more impressive because Wrigley Field played like an extreme pitcher’s park this past season for some reason. Suzuki hit .308/.368/.546 with 13 of his 21 home runs on the road.
Suzuki’s OPS+ was 138, which was tied with Francisco Lindor for seventh in the National League, and Lindor has been touted as an MVP candidate. Of course, Lindor being an excellent defensive shortstop makes him more valuable than Suzuki as a below-average right fielder/DH. But still.
Of course, the other knock on Suzuki has been his inability to get through an entire MLB season without getting hurt. Once again, Suzuki missed nearly a month in April and May with an oblique strain, which is the same injury that caused him to miss the beginning of the 2023 season and the World Baseball Classic.
Sahadev Sharma has a story today in The Athletic (sub. req) today about Suzuki’s 2024 season and the promise of 2025 if you want more information.
So give Seiya Suzuki a grade for his 2024 season.
It’s been so good to spend the first three days of this week with you. A big thank you goes out to all of you who stopped by and another thank you to those who comment. Please get home safely. Let us know if you need anything before you go. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.