Cubs BCB After Dark: How does Alex Bregman look now?

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and join us. It's always good to see a friendly face. There's no cover charge. The dress code is casual. 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.

Last week I asked you if reliever Daniel Palencia should get sent down to Iowa. You folks were rough as 79 percent of you wanted to see Palencia go down to Des Moines.

Here's the part with the music and the movies. You can do with it what you will. We hope you enjoy it, however.

Sometimes you just got to play the hits. Here's guitarist George Benson, joined by guitarist Carlos Santana, jammin' Benson's hit "Breezin'" on the Midnight Special sometimes in the seventies. I believe this is 1978.

I'm running a bit behind tonight, so I just have a few words to say about Written on the Wind , the 1956 Douglas Sirk-directed melodrama starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

Douglas Sirk melodramas aren't really my thing, although I do appreciate some things about them. When I do watch them, it's almost always because of the lush Technicolor that pops off the screen. I get so tired of the kind of washed-out dark look that most films today have. The colors are all muddied and the brightness is turned down, even in scenes set outdoors. I've read several explanations for why films today look like that and my response to all of them is "Yes, but you could just not do that." But that would cost more money, I suppose.

Sirk's films are all bright with bold colors that pop. Written on the Wind is maybe the best-looking of Sirk's films. Do the colors look "natural"? Not really, but there's nothing about this soapy melodrama that is natural anyways. If I'm going to watch a film like this, I want to be taken for a ride in a dream. The look of Written on the Wind , as well as the music by Frank Skinner, does that.

The plot of Written on the Wind would be at home in any soap opera of the time. Stack plays Kyle, an insecure and alcoholic son of a rich Texas oil baron. His best friend since childhood is Mitch (Hudson), who is definitely not rich but is always willing to help out Kyle when he needs it.

In a rare period of sobriety, Kyle and Mitch take a trip to New York where they meet Lucy (Bacall), a secretary. Lucy is immediately attracted to Mitch, but it is Kyle who decides to woo her and Mitch, out of deference to his friend, steps away. Eventually Kyle's efforts win Lucy over and the two of them are married.

Meanwhile, Kyle has a sister Marylee (Malone), who is, and these are the films words not mine, a "tramp." We quickly find out that Marylee's wild party-girl persona is because she's been in love with Mitch since childhood and Mitch has no interest in her. Both Kyle and Marylee are spoiled rich kids who are full of anxiety and neuroses.

Eventually, Kyle realizes that his wife Lucy and Mitch are in love and his insecure and jealous nature takes over. On top of that, Marylee schemes and plots to hurt Mitch in the same way his lack of interest her has hurt her. If Lucy gets caught in the blast radius, all the better.

Stack, Hudson and Bacall are all fine actors who do a good job, but the star of this film is Malone and she has the Oscar to prove it. Her part is really about as big as Bacall's and that probably helped her in the Supporting Actress category. But she's also delightfully evil with emotions that go from 0 to 60 in 10 seconds in the way that you want from this kind of movie. If there's a reason to watch Written on the Wind other than how beautiful the colors look, it's Malone as Marylee. Stack also becomes a bit unhinged after he starts drinking again, which is nice, but he can't compare to his character's sister.

These Douglas Sirk melodramas were really just TV soap operas that have the plot tightened up, the production values taken to 11 and populated with actors who can really act. If that sounds like something that interests you, you couldn't do much better than Written on the Wind.

Here's the trailer for Written on the Wind . First, there are two great soap opera slaps in this one for those who are fans of that. Also, even in this short teaser, it's easy to see how Malone's character pops off the screen compared to the others.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

The Cubs big acquisition this past winter was the five-year, $175 million deal with third baseman Alex Bregman. The attitude around here towards that deal was mixed, as it locked up Bregman to the Cubs through his age 36 season at $35 million a year. (Yes, a small percentage of that money is deferred.) I don't think anyone around here complained about the Cubs spending money, but I think there was some complaining that the money could have been spent better elsewhere. Some thought the Cubs should have spent that money bringing back Kyle Tucker, or maybe Kyle Schwarber or Cody Bellinger.

The critics of the move gain some traction as Bregman struggled earlier in the year. Yes, his defense was great and the Cubs infield defense of Bregman, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch was second-to-none in the first half (and all season when Swanson was healthy). But going into the All-Star break, Bregman was hitting .241/.336/.359. That's not bad, but it's not what you pay $35 million a year for. In particular, Bregman struggled in June and it looked like he was getting worse as the season went on.

He did not get worse. In fact, since the All-Star Break, Bregman has hit .302/.378/.604 and has continued to provide strong defense. Had Bregman done that all season long, his contract would be considered a bargain.

But there is a little more than 4 years left on Bregman's deal. There's no guarantee that his second half will be the new normal going forward. After having seeing Bregman for almost 90 percent of a season, what grade would you give the Bregman contract now?

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We've enjoyed hosting you. Please get home safely. Call a ride if you need to. Recycle any cans and bottles. Don't forget any personal items. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.