Craig Counsell said he’s “having fun” and “feeling challenged” in his new job as Cubs manager. He has no regrets about choosing Chicago, and why would he? He manages a solid roster with a historic franchise and has a record deal for $40 million over five years, one he and agent Barry Meister hoped could raise the bar for managers.
The one negative was upsetting two fan bases — most notably the one in his hometown of Milwaukee, where fans would have more easily accepted any outcome besides Counsell going to the hated Cubs. One nut even desecrated the sign at Craig Counsell Field.
He responded with humor to the routine logistical question of whether he was going to drive nightly between his Whitefish Bay, Wis., residence and Wrigleyville. “I’m allowed to,” Counsell quipped. “They let me do it. They still let me cross the border.”
Counsell says it’s “all fine” and isn’t bothered by the negative reaction. “It’s nothing personal,” he said. “It doesn’t feel personal.”
New York moved on from the disappointment of not getting one of baseball’s best managers more easily than Milwaukee. And there are no hard feelings between Counsell and Mets baseball president David Stearns, Counsell’s former Brewers boss.
“We had dinner before we came out to spring training and we didn’t talk a word about baseball,” Counsell said. “That’s kind of how it is. And it’s all good. David and I and our families are friends. And will be friends. We went through negotiations and it didn’t work out.”
As it turned out, once the Cubs offered the record deal, Counsell didn’t even ask the Mets to counter. There was no interest in putting Stearns in a bad spot to lose a bidding war. (The Mets weren’t planning on paying $8M a year, anyway.)
Counsell is looking forward to “city living” and feeling good about an improved roster. For this year anyway, the Cubs carry more hope than the Mets to win their division.
“I think we’re situated to be a solid baseball team. [But] we’ve got to figure out a way to win more games,” he said. “I think the talent is here to certainly put ourselves in the mix.”
