{"id":8158,"date":"2024-11-14T09:59:23","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T09:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158"},"modified":"2024-11-14T09:59:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T09:59:23","slug":"bcb-after-dark-should-the-cubs-trade-for-a-closer-from-the-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158","title":{"rendered":"BCB After Dark: Should the Cubs trade for a closer from the North?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Wednesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and <\/em>Cubs fans abroad. <\/em>It\u2019s so good to see you. The cover charge has been waived tonight. We can check your coat if you want. We still have a few tables available. Bring your own beverage.<\/p>\n

BCB After Dark<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

Last night, I asked you about your level of interest in free agent left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. That one failed to excite you either way, as 45 percent of you gave such a move a big \u201cmeh.\u201d The \u201cyays\u201d and \u201cnays\u201d were pretty evenly split, with 26 percent giving it the thumbs-up and 29 percent giving it a thumbs down.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the part where I talk about music and movies. Those of you who skip that can do so now. You won\u2019t hurt my feelings.<\/p>\n

\n

We\u2019re still paying tribute to drummer Roy Haynes, who passed away yesterday at the age of 99. Yesterday we featured him as a old man\u2014and Haynes continued to perform well into his nineties\u2014so today we have him much younger, on British television in 1966. Here Haynes is backing up saxophonist Stan Getz, along with bassist Steve Swallow and vibraphonist Gary Burton. This is the Charlie Parker-composed tune \u201cScrapple from the Apple.\u201d So some bebop to take you into the rest of your week.<\/p>\n

\n

I know I\u2019m supposed to be working on doing a winter tournament on screwball comedies, but I\u2019m finding the whole thing to be a lot more difficult that I expected. If I do manage to get this thing off the ground, it will probably be a smaller tournament that we\u2019ve had the past two winters. The Cubs offseason is going to be shorter anyway with the trip to Japan. But I may end up bagging it and trying again next winter. We\u2019ll have to see. A big issue has just been getting ahold of the films for me to watch\/rewatch without me breaking my bank account. I don\u2019t mind renting one or two, but I don\u2019t get paid enough to rent a ton of them.<\/p>\n

But I do have a quick essay on a late-noir, Murder by Contract<\/em> (1958), which was directed by Irving Lerner and starring Vince Edwards. Murder by Contract<\/em> is a lean, minimalist and stylish thriller about a professional hit man trying to carry out a difficult assignment. Today, it\u2019s famous for being highly-influential, as director Martin Scorsese has praised Murder by Contract<\/em> as one of his favorite films and one that influenced him more than almost any other film. You can also see the film\u2019s influence in the films of Jean-Luc Godard, in particular Breathless<\/em> and Pierrot le Fou.<\/em><\/p>\n

Edwards plays Claude, a good-looking but nihilistic young man from Ohio who applies for a job as a paid assassin to afford his dream house. Although Claude has no experience as a killer at that point, he quickly proves to be very good at the job. That earns him a trip to Los Angeles where he\u2019s given an almost impossible hit to carry out\u2014the former girlfriend (Caprice Toriel) of a mob boss who is planning to testify in court against her former lover. Billie is surrounded by armed guards 24\/7 and Claude has to figure out how to get to her.<\/p>\n

Murder by Contract<\/em> is unusual for a crime film in that there isn\u2019t a lot of action. Director Lerner is much more concerned about the planning of the hit than the hit itself. Edwards, as Claude, spends a lot of time in this movie just thinking.<\/em> He leads his two handlers Marc (Phillip Pine) and George (Herschel Bernardi) all around Los Angeles sightseeing\u2014just because he really needs time to think. (He also just likes jerking his handlers around.) It\u2019s really remarkable how Lerner and top noir<\/em> cinematographer Lucien Ballard manage to just capture Claude doing nothing but thinking<\/em> and make it interesting. Edwards deserves credit for that too.<\/p>\n

Edwards has an Elvis Presley-hairstyle in this film and even wears a leather jacket once. His Claude is perhaps the original cool hit man. He doesn\u2019t show a lot of emotion in the film as his character really doesn\u2019t get upset about much. He occasionally gets angry at his handlers, but even there Edwards keeps the character\u2019s expressions in check. In many ways, Edwards\u2019 performance is one that Clint Eastwood could have turned in a few years later. He even sounds a little bit like Eastwood.<\/p>\n

Ballard\u2019s camerawork isn\u2019t flashy here\u2014but it\u2019s the kind of thing that allows you to focus on the mundane parts of the story. It captures the idea that most of the life of the hired killer is doing nothing but waiting around. The jazzy soundtrack is quite unobtrusive, only occasionally punctuating a plot twist. And there are several plot twists as Claude finds carrying out the mission to be quite difficult.<\/p>\n

You can see why Scorsese likes the film so much. He wanted to put a clip of it into Mean Streets<\/em>, but it ended up getting cut for time. There\u2019s a lot of Goodfellas<\/em> here too, about what life as a career criminal does to a man\u2019s soul. Scorsese has even said that Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver<\/em> is inspired by Claude. I don\u2019t really see that, but I\u2019m not going to argue with Scorsese about where he gets his own ideas. Scorsese would go on to hire Murder by Contract\u2019s<\/em> director Irving Lerner as an editor and dedicated New York, New York<\/em> to Lerner after he died in 1976.<\/p>\n

Again, Murder by Contract<\/em> is cool and sparse\u2014like Breathless<\/em> would be two years later\u2014and like Miles Davis, it pays as much attention to the rests as it does to the notes. It\u2019s a slow burn, but that makes it stand out from so many other noirs<\/em> made in this time period.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the trailer for Murder by Contract<\/em>. There are several copies of the film floating around on YouTube and other sites for free.<\/p>\n

\n

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.<\/p>\n

Some news from our neighbors to the north.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

The Milwaukee Brewers declined closer Devin Williams’ club option for $10.5 million, source tells ESPN. He’ll receive a $250,000 buyout. Williams remains with the Brewers, will be in his final year of arbitration and is expected to make $8-9 million. He’s a trade candidate, too.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 3, 2024<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

In fact, there\u2019s a strong belief that the Brewers will trade Williams. They don\u2019t want to pay his salary and former Cub Trevor Megill filled in admirably as the Brewers\u2019 closer over the first four months of the season when Williams was out with a stress fracture in his back.<\/p>\n

So, do you think the Cubs should try to trade for Devin Williams? On the plus side, Williams is only 29 years old and has been an excellent closer over the past three years. Before that, he was an excellent set-up man for Josh Hader. In fact, over his career, Williams has a record of 27-10 with 68 saves and a miniscule 1.83 ERA. He\u2019s struck out a whopping 14.3 batters per nine innings over his career. Last season, after he returned, he saved 14 games and had a 1.25 ERA over 22 games. There\u2019s no question that Williams is an elite closer. On top of that, he\u2019s obviously quite familiar and comfortable with Cubs manager Craig Counsell from their days together in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

On the downside, he did miss two-thirds of last season with an injury, although his injury history throughout his career is pretty good. He missed the minimum ten days in 2021 with elbow discomfort and missed the final week of that season and the playoffs with a fractured hand. The injury itself is not concerning, but how he got it\u2014punching a wall\u2014is a little. But that\u2019s the entirety of Williams\u2019 major league injury history.<\/p>\n

The other downside is that Williams is a free agent after this season. Whether or not he\u2019s determined to test free agency, I couldn\u2019t say, but it would certainly be a risk if the Cubs traded for him that they\u2019d only have him for one season.<\/p>\n

Finally, Williams isn\u2019t a free agent and the Cubs would have to give something up to get him. I can\u2019t tell you what the Brewers would want in return for one year of Williams, but I don\u2019t think a top five prospect from the Cubs system such as Owen Caissie or Kevin Alc\u00e1ntara is unreasonable. Of course, if you\u2019re convinced the Cubs need to trade one of those two, then maybe that\u2019s not a downside.<\/p>\n

So what do you think? Should the Cubs try to trade for Devin Williams?<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Poll<\/h3>\n

Should the Cubs try to trade for Devin Williams?<\/h4>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

You can interpret \u201cMeh\u201d as meaning that you\u2019d love to have him but you don\u2019t want to give up what it would take to get him if you want. Of course, that could be a \u201cNay!\u201d vote too. Let\u2019s just say \u201cNay!\u201d is a more emphatic version of not wanting to pay the costs. Or just that you don\u2019t like Williams. That works too.<\/p>\n

Thank you all for stopping by tonight and this week. We\u2019re so glad to host you three times a week. Please tell your friends about us. Get home safely. Tip your waitstaff. And join Sara Sanchez here tomorrow night for her version of BCB After Dark.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The late-night\/early-morning spot for Cubs fans asks if the Cubs should try to trade for Brewers closer Devin WIlliams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBCB After Dark: Should the Cubs trade for a closer from the North? - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BCB After Dark: Should the Cubs trade for a closer from the North? - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The late-night\/early-morning spot for Cubs fans asks if the Cubs should try to trade for Brewers closer Devin WIlliams.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-14T09:59:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-31-8.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158\",\"name\":\"BCB After Dark: Should the Cubs trade for a closer from the North? - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-31-8.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-14T09:59:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-14T09:59:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-31-8.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-31-8.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BCB After Dark: Should the Cubs trade for a closer from the North?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec\",\"name\":\"MrThanh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrThanh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BCB After Dark: Should the Cubs trade for a closer from the North? - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BCB After Dark: Should the Cubs trade for a closer from the North? - NEWS USA","og_description":"The late-night\/early-morning spot for Cubs fans asks if the Cubs should try to trade for Brewers closer Devin WIlliams.","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2024-11-14T09:59:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-31-8.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrThanh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrThanh","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158","name":"BCB After Dark: Should the Cubs trade for a closer from the North? - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-31-8.jpg","datePublished":"2024-11-14T09:59:23+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-14T09:59:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-31-8.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-31-8.jpg","width":900,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=8158#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BCB After Dark: Should the Cubs trade for a closer from the North?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec","name":"MrThanh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrThanh"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8160,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8158\/revisions\/8160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}