Counsell will not be a Brewer in 2012

[JohnBriggs12]

I laugh every time a player who can't find a job as a player says he's retiring. They used to say of some guys that they won't retire "until the uniform is ripped off them". I think that applies here. I hope Counsell can be useful in the organization somewhere.

[Oldcity]

I have friends who have been in baseball 5+ years, are doing a great job and still taking minimum wage internships. It really bugs me when a player waltzes into a job like this with no FO experience.

[gregmag]

I'm really happy about this. He's a smart guy who got a lot of mileage out of limited physical gifts. People seem to have spoken very well of him wherever he went. Who really knows about these things, but my gut tells me he could do some real good in the organization.

[dlk9s]

I have friends who have been in baseball 5+ years, are doing a great job and still taking minimum wage internships. It really bugs me when a player waltzes into a job like this with no FO experience.

I know, I can't believe that decade and a half in the majors got him fast-tracked into a job as an assistant.

[brwrsfan]

I can understand the argument on both sides, but just because somebody PLAYED the game for 15 years, doesn't mean they are automatically going to be good at coaching, broadcasting, or in this case, the front office. Sure, some succeed, but I think training and education in those areas is really a lot more valuable than actually playing the game. That being said, I really don't think he's doing all that much. I just think it was a nice way for the Brewers to allow him to retire with some dignity and respect (though in fairness to Craig, he does have an accounting degree from Notre Dame, so that can't hurt).

[Invader3K]

From what I've heard, Counsell is regarded as being pretty smart, and there's been talk for a long time about him being a coach or front office person after his playing career finished up. Is there some favoritism here? Sure. But I don't think his hiring is without merit.

[RightFieldCoder]

On Brewers.com it mentions that he was offered the first base coaching job from Sveum. Thank you Craig for staying home and not joining the dark side.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, that would have been very bizarre to see Counsell in a Cubs uniform.

[Funketown]

On Brewers.com it mentions that he was offered the first base coaching job from Sveum. Thank you Craig for staying home and not joining the dark side.

The Cubs have been so horrible lately I don't even consider them the dark side. That would have certainly been weird though.

 

Depending on what Counsell is doing, it's really not unreasonable for him to get a FO job above somebody with more FO experience but without the baseball experience. I'm sure there are several positions in a front office where being an ex-gritty-gamer-veteran ballplayer really help out. But yeah, I know people who are trying to break into the business of professional sports, and it's absolutely brutal.

[TooLiveBrew]

Stumbled across this quote from Counsell:

 

"[The decision is] easier when you get more softball teams calling you than baseball teams. And the softball teams want to DH for you."

 

Hard to dislike this guy.

[brettac1]

Back in the day I remember Counsell being in the "thank you" section of the Baseball Prospectus annuals for a couple years. My guess is that he has been wanting to be in a front office for a while.

[1992casey]

He's wanted to be a GM since he was 19 years old.

Craig Counsell was a 19-year-old at the University of Notre Dame when he met then-Oakland A's general manager Sandy Alderson and set his sights on a future in the front office.

 

"For me, it was, 'That's what I want to do when I grow up. I want to be a GM,'" Counsell said. "Twenty years of playing got in the way. I'm happy that happened, but I thought back a couple of days ago that I'm finally doing what I thought I would be doing when I was 19 years old. That's pretty cool."

Counsell excited about new role in front office

[ilovebeer]

I am so glad that Craig is staying in the Brewer family, what does a special assistant to the gm do?

[RightFieldCoder]

I think this is basically a paid internship. He'll do whatever odd jobs Melvin asks of him, and he'll get to hover around DM and learn the business. This will also get him experience for when he applies for a vacant GM job.

[1992casey]

The job description of "Special Assistant to the General Manager" would vary from position to position and person to person. In Craig's case, Adam McCalvy says:

The plan calls for Counsell to be in uniform for the early weeks of Spring Training, but once games begin, he will watch with Melvin, assistant GM Gord Ash and other front office officials from their booth at Maryvale Baseball Park.

 

Counsell plans to work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Miller Park like any other front-office employee and will focus on a myriad of projects, from player evaluation to the First-Year Player Draft to the team's medical program.