Brewers owner has the worst response to losing Craig Counsell

The dominoes of the managerial carousel fell in succession on Monday afternoon. The Cleveland Guardians announced they were hiring former catcher Stephen Vogt as their next manager, becoming the first domino to fall. Then, reports indicated the New York Mets were hiring Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza as their new skipper. With that, it looked as though Craig Counsell, who was heavily linked to the Mets, would be returning to the Milwaukee Brewers. Then, the swerve of all swerves occurred.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Counsell agreed to terms with the Chicago Cubs to be their next manager. This came even though David Ross was still employed by the team but was let go shortly after the news broke. It stings for the Brewers to lose Counsell. It hurts even more that he left for a division rival. Let's say that Brewers owner Mark Attanasio didn't take it well.

While speaking with reporters on Monday evening, Attanasio voiced his displeasure over Counsell choosing to leave for a division rival. That is when he dropped the quote of all quotes. A quote that sounded like a jilted lover who was just dumped through a text message.

"We've lost Craig, but I've reflected on this -- Craig lost us and lost our community."

Brewers owner says Craig Counsell lost team and community after leaving for rival Cubs

See? Not taking the news well.

For those who were curious if the quote was taken out of context, here is how Attanasio opened up his press conference, courtesy of Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Now the big question is, who will the Brewers hire to fill the void in the dugout left by Counsell?

Well, Attanasio revealed during the press conference that the remainder of the coaching staff will stay intact for the 2024 season while they look for a new manager.

As for what Attanasio is looking for in their next skipper, the owner of the team says he is looking for "a manager who can continue having a terrific clubhouse culture and help us keep winning and hopefully get over the hump in the playoffs. Attanasio says that general manager Matt Arnold has done background work on candidates if Counsell were to leave for another team.

As for Counsell, he is now set to take over a Cubs team that was one game back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL Wild Card spot. While Chicago is relatively close to Milwaukee compared to New York, the Cubs did one thing that others wouldn't -- make him the highest-paid manager in baseball.

According to Rosenthal, the Cubs are signing Counsell to a five-year, $40 million contract. That makes him the highest-paid manager in both total money and annual salary.

Counsell has moved on from the Brewers, and Attanasio let the baseball world know that they have moved on from him too, and that he's making a mistake leaving the community of Milwaukee.