The most common way fans and the media evaluate a manager is by their in-game tactics. It’s ultimately the one element that’s easiest to observe. There is obviously more to a manager’s job and it’s clear Jed Hoyer values the importance of Craig Counsell’s ability to impact the organization in a variety of ways.
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Not every bit of information on why decisions are made is always available to the public. But breaking down and debating in-game moves can be fun. It may take a while for Cubs fans and Chicago media to really get to know how Counsell operates, but he did give some hints on his philosophy on various aspects of the game.
Let’s take a look at some of those ideas and consider how they may relate to what we’ve seen with the Cubs over the last year.
How he’s grown as a manager
“The courage to be yourself is the first thing you learn about managing,” Counsell said. “It’s really the first thing you need to learn about it. It’s not the strategy of the game. It’s not when to take a starter out. It’s, ‘Do you have the courage to be yourself throughout this process?’ It’s what you learn first. Early in your career there’s a fearlessness in how you do things, which is a good thing. Young, crazy, there’s that fearlessness that we all used to have, some of you still have hopefully. As you get older you experience in reps of events in managing — whether that be conversations with players, game situations, front office interactions — and they start to guide you a little bit more. Those reps really help you form those decisions.
“That’s how I think you improve. You try to have this blend of don’t lose that fearlessness but your gut is better because of all the reps that you’ve had. That’s what I think makes you a little better at the job, it keeps you growing.”
Counsell talked about how he believed the in-game tactics are “learnable for everybody” who puts in the time and is willing to adjust. That’s part of why Hoyer and Theo Epstein hired David Ross. They felt he had the other aspects — handling a clubhouse, working well with the front office and engaging positively with the media — down. And he had a curiosity and willingness to take his lumps in-game and continue to grow into the role.
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Counsell is much further along in the process. That fearlessness he talks about is integral to success. He can’t be scared to try a rookie out when a veteran is clearly out of gas. Getting criticized after a game by Hoyer or the media or fans shouldn’t be a reason to not make a decision. If a player is upset with him for being pulled, it can’t matter. None of those should impact the ultimate goal: winning.
Don’t screw up the simple stuff
It sounds easy enough, but there are some basics that a manager can’t allow to happen. Most will know it when they see it. But the reality is that the decisions that most people get upset about are often toss-ups. Counsell understands that.
“You’re deciding on some small percentage differences that cut really small,” Counsell said. “As long as you’re making your tough decisions on those and the easy ones – you gotta get those ones right. When you’re at 52-48 percentages, you’re not going to get all those right. You gotta make your layups.”
Counsell realizes that the results aren’t always going to go his way. But as long as the choices he makes aren’t egregiously wrong, then he can’t let it eat at him. It probably still will, but that’s just the reality of being incredibly competitive and having a high-pressure job at the highest level of the sport. And as difficult as those decisions are, Counsell has shown he has a knack for getting them right more than many. Those are the little edges Hoyer is seeking with this hire.
Handling the bullpen
Counsell had a reputation for utilizing his bullpen quite brilliantly during his nine seasons in Milwaukee. But he also recognized he had a lot of talent.
“Great relievers are great friends to managers at the back end of the game,” Counsell said. “Nobody asks me about putting Devin Williams in a game ever or Josh Hader. You don’t get questions about that. So I understand that. But I think teams are composed differently and they’re made up differently. You take advantage of the strengths of your players. Find their strengths, understand their strengths and listen to their strengths.”
Josh Hader was an All-Star back-end bullpen piece for Craig Counsell’s Brewers from 2017 to 2022. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)There’s no one way to do this. Just like Carter Hawkins didn’t bring the secret sauce of how to develop pitching with him from Cleveland, Counsell doesn’t have a magic potion to create a consistently great bullpen. But he has an understanding of how rapidly things change with what most know is a highly volatile unit.
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“It is different every single season,” Counsell said. “It changes from the first day to the 60th day of the season to the 120th day of the season. Probably just to understand that — that it’s always changing, that it’s never the same, that there is no one rule you can live by in your bullpen — I think is the best way to have a chance to do it successfully each year.”
Ross understood that too. He entered this past season having certain expectations for Michael Fulmer, Brad Boxberger, Keegan Thompson and Brandon Hughes. None of it went to plan. But he adjusted and leaned on Julian Merryweather, Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay when it became clear that those were his horses.
Where more experience — remember, Counsell says your gut is better because of all those reps — may have come in handy for Ross was in August and September. Maybe Counsell looks at the schedule and decides it’s time to stop pushing Merryweather and Alzolay, and is willing to take a loss in order to see what Daniel Palencia can do in a high-leverage role. Maybe when Luke Little is called up, he gives him a pocket of lefties in a big moment and gives Leiter a breather. And even if it doesn’t work once, maybe that “fearlessness” allows him to do it again to try and save a group that clearly had nothing left and was pretty banged up by season’s end.
How to hit in the clutch
Oh, the nerds are going to love this one. Asked by a reporter how to develop timely hitting, Counsell shot down the theory immediately.
“I don’t think you can develop timely hitting,” Counsell said. “You can have hitters that have skills, that put the ball in play a lot. Generally that’s going to give them a better chance, probably have a higher (chance) because the ball’s going to be in play more. But I think we’re pretty far down the line of proving there’s nothing to that.”
Counsell brings up a good point about putting the ball in play. Do that and sometimes crazy things will happen. The Cubs had one truly bad month — May — hitting with runners in scoring position. But some would tell you it was a weakness. In May, they struck out 28 percent of the time in those situations and had a .285 BABIP. In every other month, their BABIP was above .300 and their strikeout rate actually was better than in most other situations (it never got higher than 23.1 percent and generally hovered around 20 percent with runners in scoring position).
On the whole, the Cubs had the fifth-highest batting average in the game with runners in scoring position on the season. Their weakness was the lack of extra-base hits in those moments. It especially stung them late in the season. But timely hitting and power hitting are two different things. Surely if asked, Counsell would talk about the value of hitting home runs or putting one in the gap and how he’d like to have a couple more players who could do that more regularly on his roster.
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What it takes to win in the playoffs
If one wanted to ding Counsell, they’d probably say, “Well, what’s he actually won?” It was the same criticism some had for Joe Maddon when he was hired. One could assume Boston Red Sox fans said it about Terry Francona coming into the 2004 season. Bruce Bochy wasn’t much of a winner in San Diego. Nobody points to the 14 seasons managed and zero playoff wins Joe Torre had before he arrived in The Bronx.
You’re not a winner until you are. But Counsell admits there is something unique about managing in the playoffs.
“It’s different for sure,” Counsell said. “One hundred and sixty-two games is a marathon. Our game, the decisions you make are rewarded over the marathon. And players, frankly, are rewarded over the marathon. In short playoff series, we have luck in our game. You control less in really short stints in this game. It forces aggressiveness in managers, I think. The mindset you have to take into the playoffs is aggressiveness. You still have to trust your great players. But with an aggressive mindset.”
"There is momentum happening here."
Craig Counsell on the Cubs. pic.twitter.com/XWu5e05m4Z
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) November 13, 2023
There is absolutely a tremendous amount of luck in the game. Anyone who watches it regularly understands that. But throughout a season, one would hope it evens out. Hard-hit balls will get caught and soft grounders will find a hole. But keep doing one or the other and your luck will eventually change, for better or worse.
That changes in the playoffs. A few seeing-eye singles can change the course of an entire playoff run. Go back and watch the ninth inning of the Cubs’ amazing comeback against the San Francisco Giants in the 2016 National League Division Series. Outside of Ben Zobrist’s hard double, there were a trio of ground-ball singles through the infield that weren’t hit particularly hard, but were incredibly well-placed. That goes to Counsell’s point on the value of putting the ball in play with men on base as well.
When Counsell talks about aggressiveness, it could mean so many different things. Pulling a normally trusted starting pitcher early. Benching a regular who’s been lost for too long. Pushing it on the base paths. Leaning on a smaller group of relievers.
Despite having won just one playoff round, the postseason is why Counsell is here. With him at the helm, Hoyer believes it increases the team’s chances of making it to the playoffs. If that happens, maybe Counsell can show how much he’s grown in that area as well.
(Top photo of Counsell: Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)
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