Cubs BCB After Dark: Hope for O’Hoppe?

It’s another week here at BCB After Dark: the coolest place on a hot night for night owls, early risers, young parents and Boys Fans abroad. Come on in. We still have a few tables available. The dress code is casual and the cover charge has been waived. Let us know if you need anything. There is a two drink minimum, but you must bring your own beverage.

BCB after dark is the place to talk about baseball, music, movies, or anything else you want to get off your chest, as long as it follows the site’s rules. The night owls are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in the next morning and afternoon.

Tonight the Cubs lost another one of those very frustrating games, 9-8 to the Guardians. I’m sure Al will break down all the ways the Cubs could have won this game in his recap later this morning. Honestly, it just put me in a bad mood.

Last week I asked you if you thought Pete Crow-Armstrong could break the major league record for most steals without being caught. Since I asked that question, “Hollywood Pete” has stolen another base and still not been caught. The record is 30, set just last season by Trea Turner. Crow-Armstrong now has 23 steals without being caught once.

Here’s the part where I talk about music and movies. You can skip right to the baseball at the end. You won’t hurt my feelings.

I found a brand new video by the Joshua Redman Group where they play “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” and “Stars Fell on Alabama/John Coltrane’s Alabama.” The first song is really relaxing jazz that will calm you down after tonight’s game. Or at least calm me down. The second will wake you right up.

Gabrielle Cavassa sings, Paul Cornish plays piano, Philip Norris plays bass and Nazir Ebo drums. Redman, of course, plays saxophone.

I have to admit that in my spare time, when I’m not watching baseball, I didn’t watch any old movies this past week, but I did watch the Olympics, so I don’t have an old movie to write about today. I don’t feel too bad about that, because I gave you two movie essays last week. I’ll try to watch something by Wednesday.

(OK. I saw Deadpool and Wolverine. I don’t have to tell you that. And I wouldn’t even know where to start.)

So I’m going to ask you one of the most controversial questions in film: What do you think of musicals? Do you love them or hate them? What’s your favorite musical?

When I was younger, I didn’t like musicals at all. I made a few exceptions, for example for My beautiful lady (which I always liked a lot), but for the most part I avoided them. (I think I liked The Wizard of Oz, but I was so young when I first saw it that I didn’t realize it was part of a genre called a musical.) Later I discovered that I didn’t like Rodgers and Hammerstein (mainly) because Oklahoma And South Pacific were two of the films that turned me off to musicals. (I should probably watch them again and see if I’ve changed my mind. But I don’t want to.)

I have already written here about my love for Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg—which is not a traditional musical—and Demy’s The young girls of Rocheforta more traditional musical. Hamilton is not a traditional musical and it is really good.

There are musicals I love and others I despise, but I’ve reached a point where I neither like nor shy away from a film just because it’s a musical.

That makes me a bit of an unusual person, I think. Because I have seen several trailers for the film version of Evil which will be released in November and none of them reveals to the audience that the film is a musical. Musical fans already know this, of course, but they obviously hope that people who say they don’t like musicals will give the musical a chance if they don’t know it’s a musical before buying tickets.

So what do you think about musicals? Are you a fan? Do you hate them? Are there any particular ones you really like? Let us know.

Welcome back to all those who avoid music and movies.

Sahadev Sharma wrote in The athlete over the weekend, when the Cubs actively pursued Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe (The athlete sub.req.) at the trade deadline. The Angels were willing to talk, but mostly said they would not trade O’Hoppe.

Yes, that makes sense. Although the Angels are miles away from being a contender right now, O’Hoppe is a good catcher. He’s excellent on defense as well as a good hitter – he has an on-base percentage of .320 and has already hit 16 home runs. He already has a bWAR of 2.3 this year. Fangraphs is a little less optimistic at 1.9 fWAR, but it’s clear that O’Hoppe is a quality player. Additionally, O’Hoppe isn’t arbitration-eligible until after next season. He can’t become a free agent until after the 2028 season.

So you can understand why the Angels didn’t want to trade him. Maybe they’re terrible now, but they certainly hope to be competitive before 2028.

But you can also understand why the Cubs want him. And Sharma writes that the Cubs could try to reopen talks in the winter to see if the Angels change their minds.

Make no mistake. The cost of signing O’Hoppe would hurt. The Cubs would have to part with some very promising talent. I think the package would have to start with Matt Shaw. The Cubs would have to add other top-five talent like Kevin Alcántara or Owen Caissie to the package. I would imagine the Angels would probably want a major league pitcher with several years of experience. Porter Hodge would be one possibility.

On the other hand, there have been some questions about where Caissie and Shaw will play. The Cubs’ infield seems to be secured for the next two years or so with Isaac Paredes, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch. And the outfield seems to be secured with Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki. Sure, those guys won’t be there forever, but the Cubs can’t keep all that talent in the minors forever either. Some of them are knocking on the door right now.

Additionally, O’Hoppe is quickly becoming a star. In two years, he could be the best catcher in the major leagues not named Adley Rutschman. He’s already a top-ten catcher and could even be a top-five. He’s a very good defender and can hit powerfully. You can argue that he strikes out too often, but his OBP is solid.

So tonight we’re playing the game of “Who says no?” I have an offer for Matt Shaw, Owen Caissie and Porter Hodge from the Angels for Logan O’Hoppe. Is that too much for the Cubs? Too little to tempt the Angels? Or do we have a deal?

Thank you to everyone who stopped by tonight. We hope we cheered you up. Please get home safe. Tell your friends and neighbors about us. Please recycle all cans and bottles. Tip your server. And come back tomorrow for more. BCB after dark.