If you had Craig Counsell, the Chicago Cubs manager, talking about the Milwaukee Brewers winning the NL Central in 2024 on your bingo card, you're probably a lucky person. When Counsell, widely regarded among the best managers in the sport, left Milwaukee at the expiration of his contract to join Chicago, it sent shockwaves through the league.
Along the same lines, the odds for the NL Central significantly shifted in the Cubs' favor. The Brewers were the darlings of the division while Counsell was in charge, winning it three times while reaching the postseason five times in nine seasons. Losing Counsell and trading ace pitcher Corbin Burnes swung the odds away from Milwaukee after they claimed the title last year.
As we enter the second-to-last weekend of the regular season, the Brewers have already celebrated clinching the division and thus a playoff berth. The Cubs meanwhile are a little over a week away from an offseason of reflection and hopefully improvement following a disappointing season.
Counsell didn’t mince words regarding his assessment of his team against his former club. He acknowledged it will be challenging to compete with the Brewers next season.
“There’s a big gap,” Counsell said, per The Athletic. “They’re ahead of us by a lot. It’s a talented team. On and off the field, that’s a talented team. There’s a big gap, and we got room to make up. There’s no question about it. Frankly, that makes it daunting.”
Counsell doesn’t seem to hold a grudge over his former team. There's no reason he should as his departure appeared mutual and the relationship post-employment has remained cordial. Given the Cubs' expectations entering the year, he has to feel some sort of angst.
Cubs left wondering what could have been
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It's always a hard pill to swallow when a team knows they were the favorite and ultimately fell short of expectations. The Cubs entered Spring Training undoubtedly thinking they'd make the playoffs. Baseball is a tough game though and the reality of a long season is hard to grasp sometimes.
Chicago was unable to get through its pitfalls and to much dismay wasn't in the division race after the first couple of months. The Cubs made things interesting in August with a winning stretch that brought them within a few games of a Wild Card spot. However, the gap was too much for them to overcome.
Chicago is set for a bright future with several franchise cornerstones. The complementary pieces have to mesh together and play well because the expectations won’t change in 2025. The Cubs want to be winners and want to compete in October. That's why they brought Craig Counsell in and made him the highest-paid manager in baseball.
