Counsell ready for ‘fun series’ in Milwaukee

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Craig Counsell does not often get overly caught up in sentimentality. The Cubs' manager tends to view things at a more pragmatic level, which has served him well when it comes to solving situations and making decisions throughout his decade as a Major League skipper.

It also explains how Counsell has handled questions about the Brewers as the days have ticked down to Monday, when he will manage the Cubs in Milwaukee for the first time. On a recent morning at Wrigley Field, the manager was asked how it would feel to walk to the visitors’ clubhouse at American Family Field.

“Longer. It's just a longer walk,” Counsell said amid some laughter. “That's the biggest thing, really,”

Counsell understands that this series between the Cubs and Brewers has been circled by a lot of fans. His decision in November to leave Milwaukee after nine years at the helm came as a shock to the Brewers faithful, and really to the entire baseball landscape. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer made a “shot in the dark” call, and they swiftly sealed a five-year deal.

The shock for Brewers fans went beyond Counsell heading to the rival Cubs. This was a native son leaving home.

Counsell is a native of Whitefish Bay, Wis., which is about five miles north of downtown Milwaukee. Counsell played for the Brewers in six of his 16 MLB seasons. He played in 10 playoff games for Milwaukee, then led the Crew to five postseasons as manager. Counsell is the winningest manager in Brewers history, won three division titles there and came within one win of taking the club to the World Series in 2018.

“First, I’d say ‘we,’” Counsell said of his list of accomplishments. “But look, I think you want to have success, and you want the fans to enjoy success and have memories coming to the ballpark. You want to develop players and have them have great careers and great experiences. I think over the course of the time there, I think we did a lot of that. You fall short of the one thing.

“There’s the thing you want to do that you didn’t accomplish. I’m still pretty happy with how things went there and what we accomplished in terms of those things I just talked about. A lot of players did some pretty special things. I think we gave some pretty darned good experiences to our fans. And they’re doing it again. They’re still doing it.”

If it was not the Cubs who signed the 53-year-old Counsell, there is a chance he still would have been managing elsewhere this season. He has explained that he was ready for a new challenge, and Chicago was intriguing between its larger market, greater resources, promising farm system and MLB team reaching a win-now phase.

“You want challenges,” Counsell said. “If you're competitive, you're doing it for challenges. Every Major League manager’s job is a challenge -- no question about it. But it was a different one. And the different part of it is energizing, no question.”

Counsell has certainly been presented with his share of challenges so far with the Cubs.

No facet of the roster has been immune from injuries, including seeing several key players miss extended periods of time. The lineup was one of baseball’s best in April, but has struggled in May. Kyle Hendricks, the last piece to the 2016 World Series team, has been moved to the bullpen due to his performance so far. There has been a steady stream of movement between the Triple-A Iowa and Chicago.

Through it all, the Cubs (27-26) have hovered in second place in the National League Central, trailing Counsell’s old club (30-22). Their proximity in the standings should add another layer to this series in Milwaukee, where fans will have their first chance to react to Counsell’s presence in a Cubs uniform.

“I mean, I am looking forward to Monday,” Counsell said. “I'm looking forward to having a fun series. I'm looking forward to playing them. I'm looking forward to a good atmosphere in the ballpark. That's what I'm looking forward to.”

And what type of welcome does Counsell expect to receive?

“It's probably gonna be the same reaction it is normally in that stadium,” Counsell said. “There's gonna be a lot of Cubs fans there, and there's gonna be a lot of Brewers fans there. So, there will be some good and some bad.”