The Milwaukee Brewers have done it. Despite going through plenty of changes both on an organizational-level and in the big-league roster this past offseason, the Brewers have secured the NL Central crown on Wednesday by virtue of a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies and a 5-3 loss for the Chicago Cubs. And this turn of events is very satisfying for the Brewers faithful. After all, seeing Craig Counsell, who left the team to manage the Cubs, fall short of the postseason feels very poetic.
Brewers fans wasted no time letting Counsell hear that he made the wrong decision in choosing the Cubs. They flocked in droves to X, formerly known as Twitter, and clowned the Brewers' former manager.
“Craig Counsell's Cubs losing 2 straight to the ATHLETICS!!! to hand the Brewers the Division? I mean, you can't write it any better than that,” X user @TrentScheids wrote.
“Counsell's Cubs losing to clinch the division title for the Brewers is some goddamn beautiful stuff,” @barryisthedon added.
“Cubs lost today to secure the Brewers winning the division. The Brewers followed that up by walking off the Phillies. Probably the most fun baseball season I’ve ever had. I wonder how dumb Counsell feels,” @Wiscodsin furthered.
Sometimes, when a door closes, a window of opportunity opens. Some Brewers fans are thankful for Counsell's decision to leave the team, as it paved the way for Pat Murphy to take over and keep the train rolling.
“If it wasn’t for Craig Counsell jumping ship to the Cubs for more money, Pat Murphy would’ve never had a full time managerial opportunity. First season managing the Brewers results in an NL Central division crown,” @Jason_Shetler wrote.
But perhaps in the most impressive turn of events for the Brewers, they have managed to do all of this despite all of the roster-building adversity they have had to overcome.
“Craig Counsell to Chicago Corbin Burnes traded to Baltimore Brutal injury luck for Christian Yelich Didn’t matter. The Brew Crew runs the NL Central,” @StoolBaseball wrote.
“David Stearns went to the Mets and Craig Counsell went to the Cubs and Corbin Burnes went to the Orioles and Christian Yelich is out for the season and Devin Williams missed four months and the Brewers won the NL Central anyway,” @PaulHembo added.
The Brewers will now be hoping that they manage to improve upon last year's exit in the NL Wild Card series. But for now, the vibes surrounding the team are as immaculate as it can get.
Why did Craig Counsell leave the Brewers for the Cubs in the first place?
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The Brewers have consistently been one of the best teams in the NL under Craig Counsell's watch. Since taking over prior to the start of the 2016 season, the Brewers have had six winning seasons with Counsell as the head decision-maker in the clubhouse — even winning the division thrice.
Of course, the Brewers haven't exactly gotten far in the playoffs, save for 2018, when they almost made it to the World Series. But Counsell has been one of the best managers in the MLB for the nearly the past decade, and yet he chose to bolt for a division rival in the Cubs despite being from Wisconsin and despite being a former player for the Brewers. For him, it all boiled down to taking on a new challenge.
“I think as I was going through this process, it became clear that I needed and wanted a new professional challenge,” Counsell said back in November 2023.
Indeed, managing the Cubs — and overcoming the Brewers in the next few years — will provide a challenge that Counsell must be ready to take on.
