Delusional Cubs fans treat Brewers loss like a Craig Counsell World Series victory

The Milwaukee Brewers were officially eliminated from the postseason in classic Milwaukee Brewers fashion on Thursday night, with a blown lead and an all-out celebration in the opposing locker room. The New York Mets were held scoreless through eight innings, but a go-ahead, three-run bomb from Pete Alonso spurred the Mets to victory in the ninth.

Now it's back to the drawing board for Pat Murphy and the Brewers, who continue to fall short in October despite a stable presence atop the NL Central. The path won't get easier moving forward, as the Chicago Cubs will look to improve in Craig Counsell's second campaign and the Cincinnati Reds are really going for it, hiring legendary manager Terry Francona to lead this next chapter.

Milwaukee faces another offseason of change. After trading Corbin Burnes last winter, the expectation is that Willy Adames will leave in free agency this time around. The Brewers are weaker than most contenders on the pitching front and this offense might not hold water much longer.

So, it's only natural for enemies of the state — in this instance, Cubs fans — to get a little pep in their step when Milwaukee gets eliminated. Watching the Brewers cruise past Chicago in the standings was a tough pill to swallow after the celebration that followed Counsell's decision to sign with the Cubs, but for some fans, this is vindication. Something is the universe shifted tonight and all is right.

I am here to advise a pumping of the breaks, Chicago. It's fun to celebrate a rival's demise, but let's not skip steps here.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Cubs still have a long way to go before topping Brewers in NL Central

Counsell's first campaign in Chicago was marred by frustration in the fanbase. He just did not live up to his billing as the highest-paid manager of all time. In Milwaukee, Counsell garnered acclaim for his analytical mind and penchant for working matchups. In Chicago, Counsell coached one of the least reliable bullpens in baseball and consistently caught grief for his strange lineup choices. If the Cubs ever pinch hit Patrick Wisdom for Michael Busch again, the setting for Joker 3 might be Wrigley Field.

Chicago has the talent on paper, but we said the same thing about last season's squad under David Ross. Until the Cubs can build a more stable back-end of the rotation and put a more threatening lineup together, names like Cody Bellinger and Shota Imanaga won't do much to convince the skeptics.

Milwaukee could lose valuable talent this winter, but Pat Murphy did an incredible job of maintaining the Brewers' culture in Counsell's absence and doing all the things Counsell was once famous for — maximizing disparate parts and walking managerial tightropes with unmatched precision. He was one of the best coaches in the game this season and he deserves a ton of credit for captaining Milwaukee to the top of the division. Again.

The Cubs just have more to prove. A productive offseason from Jed Hoyer would go a long way toward building more confidence in this team, but Hoyer's track record is mixed at best. The Cubs don't typically spend as much as fans would like, and Hoyer's biggest move of this past season — dumping Christopher Morel for Isaac Paredes at the trade deadline — has aged like milk in a broken fridge. Not great.

So, celebrate the Brewers demise all you want, Cubs fans. Just know that there's a good chance Milwaukee comes back and does it all again next season while the Chicago toils in second place.