The late-night/early-morning spot for Cubs fans asks if Marlins starter Edward Cabrera is worth the price.
It’s Wednesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest gathering of night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and cool off with us. We’re always glad you stopped by. There’s no cover charge and the dress code is casual. 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 lost to the Twins, 4-2 tonight in a game that left me quite disheartened. The Cubs offense has seemingly already left for the All-Star Break. They should be better than this against a mediocre ballclub. That they aren’t disturbs me.
I know the Dodgers have lost six in a row. Good teams sometimes have bad stretches. I’m still upset by these past two games.
Last night I asked you who should fill in for the injured Jameson Taillon until he returns or a trade can be made. Fifty-four percent of you thought the Cubs should give Jordan Wicks the ball. In second place was Chris Flexen with 22 percent.
Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You can skip that if you want. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Tonight we’ve got a new song by vocalist Samara Joy. She sings half this song in Portuguese, which is impressive. (I can’t say how impressive her Portuguese is, however.) But it’s a bit of bossa nova called “Flor de Lis (Upside Down).” This was a hit for the legendary Brazilian singer Djavan in 1976. I mean a hit in Brazil, of course.
The New York Times has been doing a best movies of the 21st Century series. The Times invited fans to submit their own top ten of the 21st Century.
Obviously my tastes trend more towards 20th Century film and I didn’t make a list because there are so many critically-acclaimed films of the 21st Century that I just haven’t seen. But if I had, two films come to mind immediately. The first is Mad Max: Fury Road, which is an incredible film that came in at number 11 on the Times list. The second is David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. My wife and daughter are off visiting my mother-in-law this week, leaving me home alone. So I bought myself a 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Mulholland Drive to watch this weekend. Maybe I’ll tell you about it. Mulholland Drive was number two on the Times list.
Get Out is another film I’d put on my list, and it’s number eight on the Times list. I’m sure I’d put a Christopher Noland film on the list, but I’m stumped over Oppenheimer or Inception. Both of them are in the Times’ top 100, so maybe I could put both on. I’d also put a Wes Anderson film on it, with The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel as the primary candidates, although I’m a huge fan of Moonrise Kingdom as well. Tenenbaums and Budapest are on the Times 100 list.
The Coen Brothers deserve a film in my Top Ten. No Country for Old Men comes in at number six on the Times list and I’d be tempted to put it in my personal top ten. But I’m not sure I don’t like O Brother, Where Art Thou? better, which is 76th on the Times list. I guess Inside Llewyn Davis would be a Coen Brothers candidate as well.
Spirited Away was number nine on the Times list, and it’s definitely the best animated film of the 21st Century in my mind. I wish there were more great comedies this quarter-century. I suppose I could put Bridesmaids on the list, although I liked that more than I loved it. I think I actually liked the other Paul Feig-directed Melissa McCarthy film Spy better. Or at least I laughed harder at it. Maybe Sideways is the best comedy this century. It didn’t make the Times list.
I haven’t watched as many critically-acclaimed foreign films this century as I would have liked. I think I could definitely put Anatomy of a Fall in my top ten though.
Martin Scorsese is tough, because while he made some good films this century, all his masterpieces were in the 20th Century. His films this century are good, but they seem inferior to his earlier stuff. Is The Departed one of the best films this century? Maybe. Maybe not. Same goes for Killers of the Flower Moon.
Moneyball made the Times top 100. I could put that one in.
So here’s my list, which I totally will not defend because all the thought I’ve put into it is what I’ve shared with you here. I may completely change it tomorrow.
- Mulholland Drive
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- Get Out
- Inception
- Spirited Away
- Anatomy of a Fall
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
- Moneyball
- Oppenheimer
This is your chance to share with us your top ten films this century. The Times seems to be counting the year 2000 as “this century,” but anyone who can count should know that 2000 is in the 20th Century. You can if you want, but I refused. So Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is not on my list.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
We’ve already discussed Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara a couple of times around here and he had another bad start tonight, giving up six runs to the Reds over five innings. It’s looking more and more like the Marlins will have to hang on to Alcantara until next year because no one is going to give a lot to them for someone pitching as poorly as he has been, no matter what his pedigree is.
But there is another Marlins starting pitcher who could be on the market in Edward Cabrera, and he’s been pitching quite well. Cabrera is a 27-year-old hard-throwing right-hander who averages 96.7 miles per hour on his fastball. But he’s also got a good mid-nineties sinker, a low-90s changeup and an 83.6 mile per hour curve. Throw in an 88 mph slider, and he’s Cabrera has a true five-pitch arsenal.
Cabrera’s problem, up until this year, is that he simply doesn’t throw enough strikes. He walked too many batters.
But this year Cabrera has taken a real step forward in throwing strikes. His walk percentage is down to a career-low 9.2 percent this year. His strikeouts are a little down this year as well, probably because he’s throwing more pitches in the zone. But he’s also giving fewer “barrels” than he has at any point in his career.
Cabrera has a record of 3-3 with a 3.33 ERA this year. But the news is even better than that that because Cabrera had a lousy month of April. Since the calendar turned to May, Cabrera has an ERA of 2.11. He’s been pitching like an ace since the beginning of May.
On top of that, Cabrera is under team control through the 2028 season. He’s arb eligible after this season, but he can’t be a free agent for three more seasons after this one.
So why would the Marlins trade Cabrera? Well, they wouldn’t unless they get blown away with an offer. Then they’d probably consider it because he’s going to get expensive (by Marlins standards) in arbitration and the Marlins aren’t likely to be contending this year or next. So it might be better to replenish their farm system and shoot for contending in 2027 and 2028.
So to get Cabrera, I think the Cubs would have to give up a lot. But it might be worth it because Cabrera could be the ace the team is looking for.
So I’m thinking the Cubs could offer Owen Caissie and Jefferson Rojas in a deal for Cabrera. That hurts, but two Top 100 prospects are exactly what would get the Marlins attention. They’d probably have to throw in a third lottery ticket like pitcher Jostin Florentino or shortstop Ronny Cruz.
I really think the Marlins would take that offer, depending on what other teams offer for him. That seems a bit less than what the Red Sox gave up for Garrett Crochet this past winter, but I wouldn’t rank Cabrera as quite that good. On the other hand, Cabrera has several more years of control that Crochet had.
Remember, the Cubs wouldn’t just be trading for Cabrera this year. They’d get him for 2026, 2027 and 2028 as well.
So if it takes Cassie, Rojas and Florentino for Edward Cabrera, would you make the deal?
Thanks to everyone for stopping by. A special thank you to everyone who voted and commented this week. Especially on the movies or music. I like that. It makes me feel like I’m not just shouting into a void. But get home safely. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.