Brewers fans are all too familiar with Craig Counsell's feisty response to rivalry drama

Everyone knows there's no love lost between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. That's why there's no surprise that the benches of both teams cleared after Willson Contreras exchanged words with Cubs pitcher Daniel Palencia after Thursday's game. Contreras was hit by a pitch thrown by Palenecia in the ninth inning and directed his displeasure toward Palencia, and it continued after the Cubs reliever secured the win.

After the game, Cubs manager Craig Counsell shared his thoughts on what he saw after the game that led to the benches clearing. Counsell offered a blunt response, which was "I didn't see it, I was giving high-fives" after the Cubs picked up the 3-0 win.

Counsell was focused on the win and not to whatever Contreras was yelling about while standing on first base.

Counsell is no stranger to experiencing benches clearing incidents involving the Cubs and Cardinals. After all, he was manager of the Milwaukee Brewers before he jumped ship to Chicago. He doesn't back down, and fans are familiar with it.

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Craig Counsell's response to Cubs-Cardinals drama is familiar for Brewers fans

There are a couple of examples in where Counsell experienced benches-clearing incidents.

During a Sept. 16, 2020 game between the Brewers and Cardinals, catcher Yadier Molina was struck in the hand by Ryan Braun's bat during a swing. As Molina was getting checked on, then-Cardinals manager Mike Shildt took exception to what was said in the Brewers dugout. That resulted in both benches clearing and heated words being exchanged. Both Counsell and Shildt were ejected.

After that game, Counsell was asked what was said that got Shildt angry. The then-Brewers manager said it was "miscommunication."

Then, in an Apr. 9, 2022 game between the Brewers and Cubs, where there were multiple batters hit by pitches in the series. In the eighth inning, then-Brewers outfielder Andrew McCutchen was hit in the left hip on a pitch thrown by Cubs relief pitcher Keegan Thompson. McCutchen was livid at Thompson, while Counsell pointed angrily towards WIllson Contreras, who was the Cubs' catcher at the time.

While Contreras and the Cubs pointed towards the catcher getting plunked a lot in a stretch of time by the Brewers, Counsell said there was no intent during that particular series. However, he did throw a bit of shade, saying, "I don’t think there was any intent on anybody’s hit by pitches today except for one."

Back to the Thursday game, Conteras did issue an apology for his reaction after getting hit by a pitch thrown by Palencia.

“My reaction was bad. I apologize to the Chicago Cubs for the way I reacted. … I don’t want to fight them," said Contreras, h/t Derrick Gold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Counsell is no stranger to throwing some snark when it comes to benches-clearing incidents. As for the one on Thursday, Counsell said he was too busy celebrating the win than focusing on what Contreras was arguing about.