The Brewers lost to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, thus ending their miraculous 14-game winning streak which all but put away the NL Central in the process. Entering their five-game series against the Cubs on Monday, the Brewers hold an eight-game lead. Chicago is 4-4 against the Brewers this season – a respectable showing given the standings – but anything less than a full five-game sweep will get in the way of the Cubs' regular-season goal, which is winning the division. A more likely outcome is to solidify their spot atop the NL Wild Card.
As for manager Craig Counsell, Monday's series in Milwaukee offers another homecoming for the once-Brewers manager who betrayed an entire fanbase to take a record-breaking contract from their division rival. Counsell will be routinely booed and chastized everywhere he goes during this five-game stretch, and even he knows what to expect at this point. However, Counsell got chippy with the media this weekend when he was asked about the Brewers success.
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Craig Counsell is tired of taking media questions about the Brewers
Counsell was asked about the streaking Brewers on Saturday, to be exact. Specifically, the Chicago Tribune asked Counsell if he could appreciate how 'great' Milwaukee's streak had been. Even I must admit that was a poor choice of words. To Counsell, the Brewers winning streak has been anything but a good thing. They're eight games back after all.
“What’s so great about it? I mean, they’re playing good. They’re playing great. They haven’t lost since we played them," Counsell said.
The scrum then asked Counsell if he was annoyed with the Brewers given, uh, his tone.
“Well, the job is to try to win the division,” Counsell replied. “That’s the ultimate goal, and they’re really making that difficult. So from that perspective, yeah. We only get 13 chances to affect it though, right?”
Craig Counsell brought a media firestorm upon himself
Counsell sounds like he wants nothing to do with questions about the state of Wisconsin. However, he brought much of this upon himself when he left Milwaukee in the first place. That was his home, and seemingly where he was meant to spend most of his managerial career. Had Counsell been fired, that would be one thing. But to voluntarily leave the Brewers franchise for their arch rival is a non-starter for a fanbase that once loved him.
I am not suggesting Counsell made the wrong choice. The Cubs are willing to push financial boundaries in a way the Brewers simply are not. Chicago is a larger city and an iconic franchise. There are positives to taking on such a role. But it's also become clear over the past two seasons that whatever the Brewers built goes beyond Counsell and David Stearns.
Counsell will have to prove himself with the Cubs, or his legacy could take a hit as a result of the Brewers success story. That's enough to make anyone overthink.