When the Chicago Cubs threw a historic bag at Craig Counsell to poach him away from the rival Milwaukee Brewers, it was for moments like this: a best-of-three NL Wild Card matchup against the San Diego Padres, a must-have series for a team that's all in on making a title run this season. And for one game at least, it looked like money well-spent, as Counsell pressed all the right buttons while navigating four different pitching changes in a 3-1 victory.
On Wednesday, however, the script flipped. Counsell opted to use righty reliever Andrew Kittredge as an opener ahead of lefty Shota Imanaga in Game 2, an easy way to try and shield Imanaga from facing San Diego's big righty bats — particularly Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado — in the top of the first. Given Imanaga's struggles giving up the home run ball of late, it seemed like the wise decision ... until the game actually began.
The Padres got to Kittredge for a run in the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead into the top of the fifth. Then, with Machado and Co. due up, Counsell decided to stick with Imanaga, despite this being the exact situation he seemed to be trying to avoid. It didn't take long for that decision to backfire.
MANNY MACHADO BIG FLY! #POSTSEASON pic.twitter.com/Kk6OPbQrhO
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025
Machado's two-run homer staked the Padres to a three-run lead, and that was more than San Diego would need thanks to its flame-throwing bullpen. Now the series is tied at a game apiece, and Chicago's season will be over with a loss on Thursday in Game 3.
It was a sobering reminder that managing is more art than science. And that, while Counsell's salary and track record are impressive, he can sometimes be prone to getting a bit too cute.
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Craig Counsell got burned in Game 2 after dream Game 1
That penchant looked brilliant in Game 1 on Tuesday, when he pulled starter Matthew Boyd in the fifth in favor of his closer Daniel Palencia. Palencia looked better than he had in weeks, striking out a pair over 1.2 clean innings of work to silence the middle of San Diego's order. From there, Kittredge, Drew Pomeranz and Brad Keller took it home.
Counsell was back mixing and matching again on Wednesday, but this time, the baseball gods weren't quite so kind. Burning Kittredge early in the game meant that Chicago had one fewer reliable option as a bridge to Palencia, and that Counsell felt compelled to try and steal a couple more outs from Imanaga rather than put his team in the most favorable matchup.
Of course, it would help if Jed Hoyer had done a bit more to bolster this pitching staff for the stretch run. And it would really help if this Cubs lineup could start hitting like it did in the first half of the season. But this is a Padres team that's built to play with a lead in October, and Counsell decisions were all too happy to give them one on Wednesday.
This is the yin and yang of the Craig Counsell Experience
None of which is to say that Counsell is a bad manager, or even that he's not worth his record-setting contract. His track record speaks for itself; just about everywhere he goes, he wins, regardless of the talent he has at his disposal.
But he does have a particular philosophy, and the simple fact is that we've seen it backfire multiple times in October over the course of his managerial career. At the end of the day, it's as much on Hoyer to build a championship-caliber roster and Cubs players to actually play (and especially hit) up to their pedigrees. The postseason is won and lost on razor-thin margins, though, which magnifies every individual decision. Counsell is going to think and manage outside of the box, and when it doesn't work, it hurts a little extra.