Craig Counsell is settling into his second season at the helm of the Cubs after leaving the rival Milwaukee Brewers.
Counsell, the highest-paid manager in Major League Baseball, said during a recent interview at spring training in Mesa, Arizona, that he is feeling much more comfortable. He said he is also embracing the championship expectations that come with the job.
"It's much easier just frankly walking in the building, like knowing everybody's name. You know, you try to learn that stuff fast, and you try to do it fast, and it's also just about relationships with everybody in the building and the clubhouse is important thing," Counsell said. "When you do jobs like this, that's the most important thing, and they take time, exactly, and then hopefully they get stronger as you go."
Counsell said growing into the role as manager of the Cubs also required him to adapt.
"It's like you tend to want to change everything, and then you say, 'Hold on a second, we're doing this pretty well. I think we can do this a little bit better,' and make the proper evaluations," he said. "I feel like we're in a better spot with that, or I'm in a better spot with that, and hopefully that means we can take some jumps this year."
The Cubs have added some veterans to the roster this year — including slugger and right-fielder Kyle Tucker and pitcher Ryan Pressly, both of whom came from the Houston Astros.
"The goal is to improve the roster, and it can be some big places and some little places, and I think we've done so," he said.
Counsell stopped short of comparing Tucker to slugger Cody Bellinger, who was traded to the New York Yankees in December.
"I mean, Kyle Tucker, you know, he's a tremendous hitter. Now he's not, if you kind of think of him replacing Bellinger — Bellinger's a pretty good player too. I don't want to sell Cody short. But Kyle is certainly in the prime of his career, and has been quietly really one of the best hitters in the game for the last five years," Counsell said. "Around that, we've tried to just add kind of areas that just really like bulletproof the team and try to be consistent, and really, over the long haul."
As it happens, Conusell surrendered his own jersey to Tucker, who has always worn jersey number 30. Counsell switched to a number 11 jersey.
Meanwhile, the annual preseason PECOTA projections said the Cubs are expected to win 90 games and the National League Central Division title this year. Counsell said such predictions should not be thought of as pie in the sky.
"Those are expectations that the Chicago Cubs should have every single year, so let's not run from those," he said. "Let's accept those, and let's go prove them right."
On Thursday, March 27, the Cubs will start their season in Tokyo with a two-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Counsell said the trip represents an "incredible opportunity."
"We get to go play the world champions right off the bat, and then create an environment to honor some of our Japanese teammates. Culturally, it's a great trip for us, and then it's a great team-building trip, to like start your season off with a journey… halfway around the world," said Counsell. "We spend a lot of time with each other in a different place. It's not without its challenges, but with an opportunity comes the challenges."
With a little dry wit, Conusell also said he enjoyed getting to spend time with Ryne Sandberg and other Cubs legends last month.
"Ryne and I are pretty good together. We can play off each other pretty well," Counsell said. "I had a lot of fun this week making fun of Sutcliffe. It's been a golden opportunity."
