Greenberg: Can Craig Counsell make difference as Cubs enter big stretch of division games? (2024)

CHICAGO — If the Chicago Cubs–Milwaukee Brewers “rivalry” — which goes all the way back to the halcyon days of 1998 — is known for anything, it’s the reverse commute Chicago fans make to pack American Family Field, aka Wrigley Field North.

But I-94 works both ways, so was Cubs manager Craig Counsell prepared for Brewers fans to possibly invade Wrigley Field this weekend to heckle him in his first regular-season game managing against his old team?

He laughed when I brought it up before the game, but if there was any anti-Counsell sentiment at Wrigley Field on Friday, it was from Cubs fans who were angry that he inserted struggling ex-closer Adbert Alzolay into the eighth inning of a close game.

It was Alzolay who got the boos as he walked off the mound after giving up a lead in a chaotic inning that led to the Cubs’ 3-1 loss.

“You feel for Adbert, for sure,” Counsell said. “He’s struggling right now. But we need Adbert. We need Adbert to be an effective member of the bullpen, and we need to keep giving him opportunities to do that.”

“You feel for the guy,” said starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski, whose 6 1/3-inning scoreless start was wasted in the loss. “It hurts me.”

You also feel for everyone who still remembers last year’s bullpen issues as the Cubs flopped down the stretch and missed the playoffs.

So why did Counsell, who was hired in part to run a bullpen, go with Alzolay with the Cubs nursing a 1-o lead?

“The situation we’re in, with who we have available today, you just can’t stay away from people in a stretch like this,” Counsell said. “We went with the guy best suited to that part of the lineup, that part of the game. It just didn’t work.”

“He’s struggling right now for sure, but we need Adbert.”

Craig Counsell on Adbert Alzolay. pic.twitter.com/EJ8NMihFgY

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 3, 2024

No, it didn’t. Alzolay gave up four singles and helped allow the Brewers to collect four stolen bases, leading to all three runs. Alzolay, who was demoted from the closer’s role, wasn’t hurt by the home run Friday, as he had been in March/April, but it was his fifth blown save of the season all the same.

“You just gotta keep going out there,” Alzolay said. “Hopefully, one day, it turns around.”

It’s tough to imagine him going into a high-leverage situation anytime soon, but Counsell, like any manager, is limited by his roster. And it’s not like the Cubs’ meek lineup is giving him much of a cushion right now.

Before the game, we had plenty of Milwaukee-based questions for Counsell, who isn’t exactly the type of guy to get all weepy and sentimental.

“This is a good team,” he said of the Brewers. “I think you spend most of your time trying to figure out how to beat the team. There are people there that I have really good relationships with, and look, you miss people, for sure. I miss the people over there, absolutely.”

He’ll have more time to reminisce when the Cubs visit American Family Field from May 27 to May 30. It’ll be the Milwaukee version of LeBron James coming back to Cleveland. Or something like that.

“It’ll be interesting,” Counsell said.

Counsell’s move south to Chicago was one of the shockers of a slow offseason, even if it made all the sense in the world. He was looking for a big paycheck, and he didn’t want to stray far from his lifelong home in suburban Milwaukee.

We just didn’t know Cubs president Jed Hoyer, who already had David Ross, was in the market for a manager. But credit Hoyer (and Tom Ricketts) for cutting him a big ol’ check and upgrading at the manager position.

One month in, it looks like a good move for everyone involved.

With Counsell in charge, the Cubs’ ship hasn’t capsized in rocky, injury-filled waters that have claimed several hitters and frontline pitchers. Every mistake gets magnified; every bullpen decision that goes awry gets circled. Meanwhile, the Brewers (20-11), operating with a lower budget, haven’t skipped a beat under Pat Murphy, Counsell’s old college coach and consigliere.

Back-to-back days with a home run for Christopher Morel! pic.twitter.com/EXOBZbswdc

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 3, 2024

Managers get credit and blame for results out of their direct control, but given how the Cubs have survived a half-season’s worth of issues in the first month, it probably speaks to why they broke the bank to hire Counsell. Maybe they should’ve invested a little more in the bullpen, though. We knew going into the season that the Cubs were short on relief pitching, so this isn’t a surprise, but with a big slate of games coming up, they need to find some solutions.

This series marks the first NL Central games for the Cubs (19-14). If you’re looking for any additional reasons to pay close attention to the Cubs before the heart of the season, the next six weeks could be critical when we assess what happened in the fall. Between now and June 16, the Cubs have 27 games against teams in the NL Central. That leaves just 19 more for the last 3 1/2 months, with just six coming in September.

And if there was one thing the Brewers were consistently good at under Counsell, it was winning in the division. That probably speaks more to the team’s scouting and the relative weakness of the division throughout his run, but from 2017 through 2023, the Brewers had winning records in the NL Central in every full season (not counting 2020), leading to five playoff berths (three division titles and two wild-card spots). One of those division titles was wrested from the Cubs in a tiebreaker game in 2018. Their middle-class success helped make Counsell a rich man in Chicago.

When Counsell took over the Brewers job in 2015, the Cubs were ascendant. And with their ability to dole out big contracts, you would’ve thought they’d have a lengthy reign atop the NL Central. But the mercurial nature of the game got in the way.

“It was a couple of different, almost, eras,” Counsell said. “The Cubs, they were kind of the class of the National League for a couple of years, and you were dealing with a really good team, and then that changed a little bit.”

If there’s a Counsell era in Chicago, it will start with the Cubs dominating their division again and winning these kinds of games against the Brewers.

“You’re trying to beat the other guy, and that’s what we’re here to do,” Counsell said. “And we have fun doing it. The competition is fun.”

He said that before the game, of course. After it was over, Counsell didn’t look like he was having too much fun.

(Photo of Craig Counsell talking with his players during a pitching change in the eighth inning: Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today)