Cubs BCB After Dark: Will the Cubs land Tatsuya Imai?

It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. We’re so glad you decided to stop by. We’re waiving the cover charge. There are still a few good tables available. There’s a two-drink minimum, but it’s 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 night, I asked you about your confidence level in the Cubs bullpen, newly rebuilt for 2026. You were mostly pessimistic (but not unreasonably so) as 39 percent of you put your confidence as a “2” on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being no confidence at all. Only two percent of you put your confidence level at a one, however. Another 37 percent put your confidence level at a three.

Here’s the part where we talk movies and listen to music. I’m giving you some bonus movie content for a Tuesday evening in honor of the end of the year. But you’re free to skip ahead if you want. You won’t hurt my feelings.

Tonight we are joined by the SFJazz Collective in Tokyo earlier this month. The performers are Chris Potter on sax, David Sánchez also on sax, Mike Rodriguez on trumpet, Warren Wolf plays the vibraphone, Matt Brewer is the bassist and the drummer is Kendrick Scott.

This is “Unknow Know With What Is.”

I’ve seen a lot of people putting out their “Year-end best” lists and as a guy who apparently writes about movies now, I thought I owed it to you give you my ten-best films of the year. So here’s the ten films that I liked best from the year.

Notice I did not mention which year. That’s because my film tastes run towards classic movies and I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen ten film made in 2025. I did watch some movies from 2025, just not enough to make a year-end list.

So instead, I’m giving you my top ten films of 1945. Yeah, I’m about eighty years late, but cut me some slack. It’s not like I was around back then. So enjoy my countdown of my take on the best films of 1945.

10. Spellbound. Even second-rate Hitchcock is better than most of the stuff out there and nothing with Ingrid Bergman can be completely bad. It would have been better had David O. Selznick allowed Hitchcock to go nuts with the Salvador Dali dream sequence. 

9. The Clock. If you’re familiar with Before Sunrise, this is basically the same concept done fifty years earlier. Robert Walker is a soldier on 48-hour leave in New York before he gets shipped overseas to fight Nazis. That’s how long they have for him and Judy Garland to fall in love.

8. My Name is Julia Ross. Yep. Hitchcock didn’t make the best Hitchcock thriller of the year. Nina Foch plays a woman who is kidnapped and gaslighted into believing she’s had a mental breakdown and is really the wife of a rich country landowner. Foch should have been a bigger star. I guess she had a big career as a film and acting professor at USC. 

7. Christmas in Connecticut. This one has become a Christmas staple in recent years. Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan star in a pretty funny rom-com farce about a newspaper columnist who’s a fraud. Morgan is the war hero she’s supposed to host for Christmas dinner with her family at her farmhouse in Connecticut, despite her not being able to cook, not being married, not having kids and not having a farmhouse in Connecticut.

6. The Story of G.I. Joe. Burgess Meredith stars as Ernie Pyle, and much of the events and dialogue is taken directly from the famous war correspondent’s own words. It’s the story of World War II through the eyes of common soldiers. It’s also Robert Mitchum’s breakout role as one of the soldiers. 

5. Detour. I’ve mentioned my love of this classic low-budger noir before. The aptly-named Ann Savage plays perhaps the most terrifying femme fatale of all time. Tom Neal is the unfortunate sad sack who comes across her.

4. Leave Her to Heaven. The only color film in this list and the Technicolor is put to good use showing the beauty of Bass Lake and the Sierra Nevada, standing in for Bar Harbor, Maine. Gene Tierney stars as the OG jealous, possessive, psychotic and ultimately homicidal newlywed.

3. The Lost Weekend. Billy Wilder made this film about a raging alcoholic after working with Raymond Chandler on Double Indemnity.The Lost Weekend took home the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actor for Ray Milland. 

2. Mildred Pierce. Joan Crawford’s masterpiece. Mildred Pierce is an overwrought crime melodrama and Joan leaves no piece of scenery unchewed. But its over-the-top nature is a wild ride and you should just go with the flow. You’ll be rewarded. Also one of The Carol Burnett Show’s best movie parodies. 

1. Rome, Open City. An easy number one for me. A story of the Italian resistance during Nazi occupation, its very existence was a miracle as it was shot on stolen and discarded film stock just weeks after the Germans abandoned Rome. Using mostly amateur actors, Roberto Rossellini basically created Italian neorealism, which revolutionized filmmaking throughout the world. One of the few professional actors in the cast was the great Anna Magnani, who turns in a performance you’ll never forget. 

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.

Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai must sign with an MLB team by 5 pm Eastern on Friday or return to NPB for the 2026 season. Because he’ll need a physical exam before any signing becomes official, I expect that he’ll make his choice on Wednesday or Thursday. So it’s entirely possible that the word of which team he’ll sign with will leak by the time you read this.

I’ve read way too much about Imai and I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s no sure thing. He could end up being an ace, but there are enough red flags in his profile that has been giving teams pause. His fastball velocity is above average, but some are concerned that it’s too “flat” and doesn’t generate enough swings and misses in NPB, let alone what it might do in MLB. There’s worry that he walks too many batters, although his control is better the past two years, it’s still pretty high for a potential ace. He’s short by MLB right-handed starter standards. There are a few other nits to pick as well.

However, there are also a lot to like about Imai. His fastball velocity is good and the pitch does generate weak contact. His “wrong way” slider may be elite. There’s also a lot of feelings that working with a major league pitching department could fix a lot of those “nits” and make Imai a number-two starter in the majors.

Few teams have been connected to Imai more than the Cubs this winter. (Although the White Sox name popped up today.) The Cubs have been looking for another starting pitcher all winter and Imai would not cost either a draft pick or prospects in a trade. The Yankees have been rumored to be interested in Imai, although there are other reporters who cover the team who have thrown cold water on that idea. The Phillies, who are losing Ranger Suárez, are another possibility. The Giants have not had a Japanese player of note since Masanori Murakami in 1965 and could be involved here, although one would think the Giants have other priorities. The White Sox, as noted, have emerged as a surprise contender and there could be another “mystery team” out there.

So do you think the Cubs will be welcoming Imai to Chicago on Friday? Can Jed Hoyer seal the deal? Does he even want to seal the deal?

Thanks for stopping by tonight. Stay warm out there. Don’t forget your coat. Get home safely. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night as we ring out 2025 in a special New Year’s Eve edition of BCB After Dark.