Despite having bolted for the arch-rival Chicago Cubs after spending nearly a decade managing his hometown Milwaukee Brewers, Craig Counsell still factored into his former team’s third National League Central Division championship in the last four seasons.
It was a loss by Counsell’s Cubs Wednesday afternoon that officially handed Milwaukee its second straight division crown, hours before the Brewers took the field for what would eventually be a 2-1 walk-off victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at American Family Field.
Craig Counsell Acknowledges “Big Gap” Between Brewers and Cubs
On Thursday, Counsell acknowledged that there is a “big gap” between his new team and the one he had helmed since 2015, grew up rooting for and even played for during the last few seasons of his career.
“There is a big gap, they’re ahead of us by a lot,” Counsell said. “It’s a talented team on and off the field, but there’s a big gap and we’ve got room to make up, there’s no question about it. Frankly, that makes it daunting … they’ve been good.”
Craig Counsell says there is a “big gap” between his team and the Brewers.
“We’ve got room to make up. Frankly that makes it daunting…they’ve been good.”pic.twitter.com/LAWWYU4lKw
— Hunter Baumgardt (@hunterbonair) September 19, 2024
Counsell became the highest-paid manager in major league history when he agreed to take over the Cubs, and he was expected to lead Chicago into the postseason in 2024. It was his arrival that led many prognosticators to choose the Cubs as their pick to win the NL Central for the first time since 2020.
Instead, Counsell’s squad heads into the penultimate weekend of the regular season at 78-75, a full 10 games back of Milwaukee, which has been led by Counsell’s former longtime bench coach, Pat Murphy, who is the front-runner for the NL Manager of the Year Award. Murphy is in his first full year as a big league manager after an interim stint helming the San Diego Padres in 2015.
Photo Credit: © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
