Craig Counsell might be a good MLB manager after all. Who would've thought?! While Chicago Cubs fans are some of the most passionate in the sport, they ought to cut their skipper some slack. Counsell makes tough decisions on a daily basis, and he tends to come out on the right end of those calls more often than not.
Yes, there will always be moments when Counsell makes a mistake – look no further than the Tokyo Series, when he pulled Shota Imanaga far too early. Heck, one could even argue Counsell's comments on Matt Shaw early in the season were a detriment to his confidence. In the grand scheme of things, though, these are merely blips on the radar.
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Craig Counsell managed brilliantly in Cubs win over Padres
If manager WAR were a stat, Counsell would routinely rank among the top in MLB. He is the highest-paid manager in baseball for a reason, and he proved his worth again on Tuesday night. In the bottom of the tenth inning in San Diego with the tying run at third base, Counsell opted to intentionally walk Fernando Tatis Jr., thus putting the winning run at first. Tatis Jr. is one of the best hitters in MLB, but behind him was back-to-back hitting champion Luis Arraez.
On the surface, Counsell's choice was puzzling, but there's a method to his madness.
As any Milwaukee Brewers fan in their right mind can tell you, Counsell can manage a bullpen better than most. Left-handed pitcher Caleb Thielbar was called upon to face Arraez after intentionally walking Tatis Jr., and he got the former batting champ to fly out, thus ending the game.
"It was awesome,” Thielbar said. “The guys that have been doing it all year did it again. Danny [Palencia] came up and had a huge inning for us. That was awesome to see. It was really fun to be a part of.”
Brewers know Craig Counsell's strength is bullpen management
The Cubs used six pitchers on Tuesday as Imanaga was pulled after the fifth inning. Counsell had to dial up the perfect combination of relief pitchers, and there was little margin for error.
"Everybody we put in there did a heck of a job,”Counsell said, putting it mildly.
Chicago's bullpen hasn't exactly been a strong suit so far this season. Per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, the Cubs have an "18.4% strikeout rate (third lowest in the Majors) with an 11.7% walk rate (tied for the sixth highest), while ranking 25th in ERA and 27th in strikeout-minus-walk rate (6.8%)."
Those numbers leave a lot to be desired, and don't give Counsell much to work with. Much like his Brewers teams, Counsell knows how to get the most of this Cubs group even when the resources are slim.