Counsell extended to 2023

[KeithStone53151]

[MrTPlush]

There goes all our free cash, must be a split duty: Manager/3B

[stoutdude04]

There's the big move!

 

He deserved it. I feel like he finds ways to squeak out wins for the team. Most likely over performing expectations.

[KeithStone53151]

Counsell has clearly been improving his decision making over the last couple years as he learned on the job...at least in my opinion. Very happy to see him sticking around a while.

[Surhoff5]

 

Robert Murray was let go from the Athletic for some reason, but he still breaks more news than any other Brewer beat reporter. I really hope the Athletic finds someone new for the upcoming season.

[markedman5]

Great news.........Think he will be around as long as he wants to manage.

[markedman5]

Adam McCalvy

@AdamMcCalvy

·

37s

Craig Counsell on shedding "lame duck" status with a three-year extension: "I don't look at it like that. I look at it like I get to keep working for a franchise that means a lot to me. ... The work gets to continue."

[bigredrobbo]

That's ruined several BF.net posters' morning!

[KeithStone53151]

 

Robert Murray was let go from the Athletic for some reason, but he still breaks more news than any other Brewer beat reporter. I really hope the Athletic finds someone new for the upcoming season.

 

Agreed. I find it a bit odd. Even a few national level guys have defended him, saying it's crazy the Athletic couldn't hang onto him.

[patrickgpe]

This is good news, but lets me honest, I would be shocked to see him leave as a free agent and coach elsewhere. Nothing is impossible. He will be here as long as he wants to manage and that the brewers will keep him.

[liveforoctober]

This is good news, but lets me honest, I would be shocked to see him leave as a free agent and coach elsewhere. Nothing is impossible. He will be here as long as he wants to manage and that the brewers will keep him.

 

I think we just happened onto a rare situation here where we got one of the best at his craft and he won't want to go anywhere. Whitefish Bay is home. Milwaukee is home. Family is here. If the Yankees or Cubs or Dodgers or anyone wants to pry Craig away from, what is likely, his dream job right now ... the $$ number would have to be astronomical.

 

In a smaller but similar example.. Matt Erickson is the coach here in Appleton and the Brewers have tried to move him up the system but he has refused the bump because he grew up here. He was an Appleton West kid. He has said before he would 'coach anywheere in the state of Wisconsin".. (obviously referencing the big league club). Home is super meaningful to some. I think we have that in Craig.

 

I think he stays until he retires or until he is fired.

[torts]

love it. not only has he been getting better, but I love the fact that a local guy is managing the pro team, especially in the smallest market in baseball. the "story" around that is just so awesome. 2020 is our year! WERE WINNING IT ALL!

[3and2Fastball]

That’s the big move we’ve all been waiting for this winter!

[JimH5]

This seems like a good move both from a baseball perspective and a business one.

 

Counsell seems like a good or even great manager. The players respond to him, there have been no mutinies or other signs that he's getting tiresome for them.

 

And on a team that is close to the end with their franchise player and so much roster churn, Counsell serves very well as a connection to the fanbase.

[sobomp3]

The guy made the postseason 2 years in a row, and almost a third while *just* missing it during the last weekend of the season. He clearly knows how to manage a small market team, and I'm very proud to keep him around.

[MadScientist]

Good thing they extended him before he actually wins manager of the year and his price goes up.

 

(assuming the voters ever remove their craniums from their rectal regions)

[BrewFan130]

Super happy to see Counsell extended, well deserved.

[Austin Tatious]

Between Stearns, Matt Arnold and Craig, that’s three no-brainers. Let’s keep the band together. I wish Johnson were still here and that one stings. But, there’s a well thought long term strategy here and that makes me happy.

 

I don’t know how we will fare this year, but we have a strategy designed to leave us a ton of flexibility to be consistently competitive year in, year out. There could always be a year where everything goes wrong, but we can get back on course quickly with our brain trust.

 

As for our strategy this year, I don’t think it was a per se decision that we have to slash payroll. It was a move to avoid being saddled with tens of millions of obligations for aging players for four years, leaving us no margin for error or the ability to move on to younger talent while being weighed down by expensive contracts.

[ThisIsMyCrew]

Between Stearns, Matt Arnold and Craig, that’s three no-brainers. Let’s keep the band together. I wish Johnson were still here and that one stings. But, there’s a well thought long term strategy here and that makes me happy.

 

I don’t know how we will fare this year, but we have a strategy designed to leave us a ton of flexibility to be consistently competitive year in, year out. There could always be a year where everything goes wrong, but we can get back on course quickly with our brain trust.

 

As for our strategy this year, I don’t think it was a per se decision that we have to slash payroll. It was a move to avoid being saddled with tens of millions of obligations for aging players for four years, leaving us no margin for error or the ability to move on to younger talent while being weighed down by expensive contracts.

 

It’s kind of interesting as last year could be one of those “all things go wrong” type years. Yet we still were in position to win the wild card game.

No knebal

No Wahl

Burnes didn’t cut it

Shaw was horrific

Aguilar was a shell of himself

Cain injured all year

Moose missed time with injury

Arcia was worst hitter in the league

JJ was DFAd

Albers was our best reliever not named hader for a stretch

Spangenberg/Saladino were getting meaningful September at bats

Opening day started DFAd

 

Counsel is one of the best managers in all of MLB. Glad he’s on our team.

[clancyphile]

Between Stearns, Matt Arnold and Craig, that’s three no-brainers. Let’s keep the band together. I wish Johnson were still here and that one stings. But, there’s a well thought long term strategy here and that makes me happy.

 

I don’t know how we will fare this year, but we have a strategy designed to leave us a ton of flexibility to be consistently competitive year in, year out. There could always be a year where everything goes wrong, but we can get back on course quickly with our brain trust.

 

As for our strategy this year, I don’t think it was a per se decision that we have to slash payroll. It was a move to avoid being saddled with tens of millions of obligations for aging players for four years, leaving us no margin for error or the ability to move on to younger talent while being weighed down by expensive contracts.

 

It’s kind of interesting as last year could be one of those “all things go wrong” type years. Yet we still were in position to win the wild card game.

No knebal

No Wahl

Burnes didn’t cut it

Shaw was horrific

Aguilar was a shell of himself

Cain injured all year

Moose missed time with injury

Arcia was worst hitter in the league

JJ was DFAd

Albers was our best reliever not named hader for a stretch

Spangenberg/Saladino were getting meaningful September at bats

Opening day started DFAd

 

Counsel is one of the best managers in all of MLB. Glad he’s on our team.

 

This.

 

ALL of this.

 

One extremely smart decision. Keeps him through Yelich's option year.

[clancyphile]

Between Stearns, Matt Arnold and Craig, that’s three no-brainers. Let’s keep the band together. I wish Johnson were still here and that one stings. But, there’s a well thought long term strategy here and that makes me happy.

 

I don’t know how we will fare this year, but we have a strategy designed to leave us a ton of flexibility to be consistently competitive year in, year out. There could always be a year where everything goes wrong, but we can get back on course quickly with our brain trust.

 

As for our strategy this year, I don’t think it was a per se decision that we have to slash payroll. It was a move to avoid being saddled with tens of millions of obligations for aging players for four years, leaving us no margin for error or the ability to move on to younger talent while being weighed down by expensive contracts.

 

I think this is a part of it.

 

There are players coming up soon who seem likely to help - some of whom are dismissed for lack of being a top-X pick. Cooper Hummel, I think, could be a decent OF/1B/emergency C on the bench for the Crew - albeit, I think his constant improvement over the last three seasons makes it possible he could displace Smoak in 2021. Turang's OBP skills are impressive - even when he struggles with the bat as he did in Carolina. Feliciano looks like a potential all-star catcher, bumping Narvaez to 1B or the trading block.

 

Pitching-wise, I think Dylan File could be the next Woodruff - a TOR-type pitcher. And if the Crew needs bullpen help, we'll be reading that they have selected the contract of Drew Rasmussen, Clayton Andrews, Luke Barker, Quintin Torres-Costa, or Jon Olczak. Maybe all of them.

[TJseven7]

It’s kind of interesting as last year could be one of those “all things go wrong” type years. Yet we still were in position to win the wild card game.

No knebal

No Wahl

Burnes didn’t cut it

Shaw was horrific

Aguilar was a shell of himself

Cain injured all year

Moose missed time with injury

Arcia was worst hitter in the league

JJ was DFAd

Albers was our best reliever not named hader for a stretch

Spangenberg/Saladino were getting meaningful September at bats

Opening day started DFAd

 

Counsel is one of the best managers in all of MLB. Glad he’s on our team.

 

You forgot

Peralta didn't cut it

The AAA shuttle was an AAAA dumpster fire. You look at the guys they called up early in 2019. Every guy seems to be 6 era or worse. When Jay Jackson is a stabilizing force, sheesh.

 

I thought CC was a genius in 2018. I wasn't as impressed in 2019. I hope that was more due to lack of options stifling creativity than a return to more vanilla strategy.

[3and2Fastball]

I think Counsell is fine as the Brewers’ manager. There are valid reasons to be slightly concerned about his in game decisions, but I think those are magnified when you watch your favorite team play 160+ games and only see other teams’ managers a handful of times.

 

Counsell is certainly better than Roenicke & Macha, and arguably better than Yost. In general, the more talent a manager has to work with, the better they are going to look, so it is up to Stearns & Co to continue to build a great roster.

 

I get a little concerned with Counsell’s bullpen management. I think he burns out arms to a degree, by overusing/over pitching guys. That, to a degree, is partly due to only having so much talent to work with. And it is in part an aspect of an overall MLB trend.

[clancyphile]

I think Counsell is fine as the Brewers’ manager. There are valid reasons to be slightly concerned about his in game decisions, but I think those are magnified when you watch your favorite team play 160+ games and only see other teams’ managers a handful of times.

 

Counsell is certainly better than Roenicke & Macha, and arguably better than Yost. In general, the more talent a manager has to work with, the better they are going to look, so it is up to Stearns & Co to continue to build a great roster.

 

I get a little concerned with Counsell’s bullpen management. I think he burns out arms to a degree, by overusing/over pitching guys. That, to a degree, is partly due to only having so much talent to work with. And it is in part an aspect of an overall MLB trend.

 

I've followed the following managers really well:

Kuenn (1983ish)

Lachemann

Bamberger (2nd time around)

Trebelhorn

Garner

Lopes

Royster

Yost

Macha

Roenicke

Counsell

 

It's a good run of the Brewers over the last 35-40 years.

 

The three best managers the Crew has had over the time I have been a fan were Counsell, Yost, and Trebelhorn.

 

Trebelhorn with the late 80s-early 90s Crew did quite well, given the fact he had to patch together a supporting cast for Molitor-Yount, and for a large part saw Higuera on the DL.

 

Yost, I think is underappreciated. Yes, he drove us crazy, but after that 2002 season, he managed to take a team that had real downgrade at shortstop and improved its win total by double figures over Royster's performance. If anything, his enthusiasm for Milwaukee was the start of the on-field turnaround. He won me over when he said, "Milwaukee is it for me." Since 2003, there has been more success than not.

 

Counsell, I think, is almost a perfect fit. He's got the baseball smarts, he manages the team well. I don't think there have ever been times where players have been on bad terms with him or the organization, aside from Tyler Cravy. But most importantly, he loves Milwaukee. In a sense, he has that same enthusiasm for the Brewers Yost had. That makes a difference, especially for the players. That sort of attitude filters down.

 

My biggest problem with this is the same one I had with Stearns's extension: It's not long enough.

[Ennder]

Yost is by far the worst in game manager the Brewers have ever had, he was just awful. He is the Yuni B of managers. He was an ok clubhouse guy though.

 

The complaints about Counsell's bullpen usage is really a complaint about current day baseball. All of baseball is minimizing starting pitching and all of baseball is going heavy bullpen. There were 4 teams that used their bullpen more than the Brewers last year and 4 more that used it basically the same. There were 5 teams with fewer innings by their starters and 6 more in the same general range. The Brewers are in the upper end of usage but it isn't like they stand out. Roughly 1/3 of the league is in the same general area as the Brewers.

 

I really think the bullpen thing is more about lack of quality starters than it is about Counsell doing something wrong. I'm sure he wishes he had more than 1 pitcher who could make it through the order a 3rd time, he just hasn't really had that.