Chicago Cubs manager Craig Coun🥃sell went big picture in some comments yesterday, talking about where the Cubs are in relation to a Brewers team that cruised to another NL𒐪 Central crown.
“I think the message sent really is that, look, there’s a big gap,” Counsell said before Thursday’s game, . “I mean, [the Brewers are] ahead of us by a lot. It’s a talented team on and off the field. It’s a talented team, but there’s a big gap. And we got room to make up, there’s no question about it. Frankly, that makes it daunting. They’ve been good, man. I mean, I’d 🏅say that about the other [NL Central] teams too, right? They’ve created a gap the last two years in the division. So, yeah, we got room to go, man. Like, we’ve got work to do, for sure.”
In a follow-up, Counsell got even more specific about ꦡwhere the Cubs need to be.
“We’ve got to get better, man,” . “The team we’re chasing is [11] games ahead of us. We got to get better. And we should try to be building 90-win teams here. ♚That’s what you have to do; that’s the playoff standard. That’s what you got to get to be safely in the playoffs, right? [To be] safely in the tournament. From that perspective, we got a ways to go.”
I think it’s worthwhile to see some of the clips of Counsell delivering the remarks, because you can see the atypical-for-him urgency/passion/exasperation(?) with which he delivered them (especially the second one):
Craig Counsell is, of course, right about all of that. And you know he wants to see the team get better ASAP. I wouldn’t quite call that a message to the front office – Counsell participates pretty directly in team-construction – but it is certainly going to be taken as a public record of what needs to happen going forward.
Counsell came to the Cubs because they offered him a boatload of money, sure, but that’s not the only reason. This is a guy who left his hometown team, after years and years and years of success, to join their rival. He did not do that just so he could languish and cash checks. I think he wants to win and prove that he was an instrumental part of the Brewers’ success, and that he can bring that value to the Cubs – not for ego reasons, but for the same reason any of us wants to believe we are good at what we do and help in the success of those around us.
Suffice to say, this season didn’t do much in service of that goal, given how things went for the two clubs. If we feel like crap in front of closed doors as we observe what happened, how must these guys talk about it behind closed doors? They’re mad! I would bet my bottom dollar that they’re mad!
The question, of course, is how much any of this will ma🔯tter this offseason.
This front office, under this ownership group, has made crystal clear their approach to team and organization building. It is a careful, cautious, methodical effort to construct things from the ground up, using financial advantages more behind the scenes than solely on big league payroll. If Jed Hoyer returns, which he is expected to do, I simply do not see a fundamental shift in the way the Cubs construct a 2025 team … at least not in the way many fans would hope.
To the extent there are significant changes, I expect them to be more in line with surprising trades like the Paredes or Busch deals (and/or behind the scenes on the coaching staff or in the front office), and less just about dropping multiple $100 million contracts in free agency. The Cubs♛ are going to have the financial room to add significantly in free agency, but I just do not think that they are going to transform the team that way this offseason.
To which I say … whatever, man, but you have to do something. Free agency is the easiest and most expensive way to find impact, so I will be pushing for certain signings. But if that’s not the way, fine; you better make the other ways WORK.
