Cubs hire Counsell

[Bobson Dugnutt]

8 minutes ago, JBears79 said:

No more bunting is the best part of this. Counsell hates bunting.

I believe his exact position is that “bunts lick butts.”

[Cubfanintheknow]

Pretty ruthless, considering Hoyer and Ricketts both gave Ross a "vote of confidence" prior to the end of the season. But if you want to win, sometimes you have to be ruthless.

Now go get him some players to manage!

[PeanutPunch33]

I’m dazed by happiness at this move 

[chibears55]

Wow, did not expect that and to hire Counsell.

I just hope this also means some very good players are coming too

[Tryptamine]

Hopefully this also makes the Cubs a more desirable location for any free agents they're looking at.

[chibears55]

7 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

I doubt it. I think this is a situation of opportunity. They didn't even ask the Brewers to interview him (instead waiting until he was officially a FA), and it doesn't seem like they had been conducting a widespread interview process. This feels very closed doors and very opportunistic. They had the chance for the man who is regarded as perhaps the best in the league at what he does, and they made the change.

If not for Counsell I suspect Ross would have been kept no issues.

Kinda like the Madden situation, a good manager became available and they jumped at him.

[Soul]

Holy moly.  WUT?

[Soul]

Does this mean all our iffy prospects will put together a miracle streak for half a season?  That should do it.

[Omar]

So David Ross is fired, right?

edit: yes, nvm. 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Omar

[CubinNY]

I can't imagine a situation where just a few weeks ago Hoyer and Tommy Boy were praising Ross. They knew Counsel was on an expiring contract. I wonder what changed from the end of the offseason to a few days ago.

It's crazy. I'd love to get the inside information on what happened. Because this is the biggest surprise since Theo was spotted at Starbucks. 

[abuck1220]

as i'm sure i said on here 100 times, it was absolutely wild to me that there was little to no talk of firing a guy with a losing record over four seasons and zero playoff wins. glad hoyer decided to stop running this team like the pirates.

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, Omar said:

So David Ross is fired, right?

Yes. The Cubs have released a statement relieving him of his duties and thanking him for his time.

[Petrey10]

2 minutes ago, Omar said:

So David Ross is fired, right?

Relieved of duty yep

[Tryptamine]

Ok, good first step. Now go out and trade Morel+ for Soto, Trade PCA+ for Logan Gilbert, sign Bellinger, Candelario and Yamamoto and go win 100 games.

[Cubfanintheknow]

I'm curious... how much did Jed Hoyer share about the Cubs' off-season plans? I can't imagine he'd share a whole lot... but maybe enough for Counsell to sign on? I mean, aside from the 40 million other reasons why he'd sign.

[Jason Ross]

5 minutes ago, abuck1220 said:

as i'm sure i said on here 100 times, it was absolutely wild to me that there was little to no talk of firing a guy with a losing record over four seasons and zero playoff wins. glad hoyer decided to stop running this team like the pirates.

I think this is a bit misleading and a bit misunderstanding of how the Cubs viewed Ross. First, I don't think anyone blames Ross for his losing record; 2021, and 2022 were teams that were created to lose. They weren't supposed to win. That's not on Ross, he was a caretaker. 

Secondly, I think the Cubs viewed him as an extension of themselves. I think what he did was largely, what the Cubs wanted him to do. I'm sure there were disagreements, but if they were truly upset at how he ran things, they'd have fired him 3 weeks ago. I also think the Cubs saw a better fit in Counsell and perhaps someone capable of bringing even better ideas and help to the table. 

That's not to say I think Ross is a rockstar, I think Ross is a fairly bog-standard manager, as most are. He's there, he did an alright job translating what the FO wanted, and whatever, he didn't make anyone's job actively worse most of the time. I think Counsell has the ability to be better then that, in a small group of managers who are likely capable of adding something to a team. Not a ton, but enough. I think the Cubs saw an opportunity to bring in Counsell (and I bet a few of his staff who are also really good at their jobs) to aid the Cubs in ways Ross couldn't.

Edited November 6, 2023 by 1908_Cubs

[Soul]

I have to believe Counsell would not agree to this without assurances from ownership that they're going to spend.  Would he?

Edited November 6, 2023 by Soul

[JD94]

LFG. The Cubs mean business this offseason. It’s about time they flex their muscles. Don’t let us down now. 

[champaignchris]

2 minutes ago, abuck1220 said:

as i'm sure i said on here 100 times, it was absolutely wild to me that there was little to no talk of firing a guy with a losing record over four seasons and zero playoff wins. glad hoyer decided to stop running this team like the pirates.

Right. A losing record over 4 seasons, 3 straight missed playoffs, fairly epic collapses before the trade deadline in 2021 and at the end of 2023.  Heading into the last year of his contract.  
 

They certainly weren’t going to extend him. 
 

Like I said in my last post, I’m way more surprised than I should be. 

[Soul]

3 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

I think this is a bit misleading and a bit misunderstanding of how the Cubs viewed Ross. First, I don't think anyone blames Ross for his losing record; 2021, and 2022 were teams that were created to lose. They weren't supposed to win. That's not on Ross, he was a caretaker. 

Secondly, I think the Cubs viewed him as an extension of themselves. I think what he did was largely, what the Cubs wanted him to do. I'm sure there were disagreements, but if they were truly upset at how he ran things, they'd have fired him 3 weeks ago. I also think the Cubs saw a better fit in Counsell and perhaps someone capable of bringing even better ideas and help to the table. 

That's not to say I think Ross is a rockstar, I think Ross is a fairly bog-standard manager, as most are. He's there, he did an alright job translating what the FO wanted, and whatever, he didn't make anyone's job actively worse most of the time. I think Counsell has the ability to be better then that, in a small group of managers who are likely capable of adding something to a team. Not a ton, but enough. I think the Cubs saw an opportunity to bring in Counsell (and I bet a few of his staff who are also really good at their jobs) to aid the Cubs in ways Ross couldn't.

The September collapse this year was epic.  That's on Ross.  Managers definitely get canned for that.

[abuck1220]

5 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

I think this is a bit misleading and a bit misunderstanding of how the Cubs viewed Ross. First, I don't think anyone blames Ross for his losing record; 2021, and 2022 were teams that were created to lose. They weren't supposed to win. That's not on Ross, he was a caretaker. 

Secondly, I think the Cubs viewed him as an extension of themselves. I think what he did was largely, what the Cubs wanted him to do. I'm sure there were disagreements, but if they were truly upset at how he ran things, they'd have fired him 3 weeks ago. I also think the Cubs saw a better fit in Counsell and perhaps someone capable of bringing even better ideas and help to the table. 

That's not to say I think Ross is a rockstar, I think Ross is a fairly bog-standard manager, as most are. He's there, he did an alright job translating what the FO wanted, and whatever, he didn't make anyone's job actively worse most of the time. I think Counsell has the ability to be better then that, in a small group of managers who are likely capable of adding something to a team. Not a ton, but enough. 

huh? the 2021 team was the defending division champion. the opening day lineup included happ, contreras, rizzo, bryant and baez. they were 100% "supposed to win" that season.

Edited November 6, 2023 by abuck1220

[WhyCantWeWin]

3 minutes ago, Soul said:

I have to believe Counsell would not agree to this without assurances from ownership that they're going to spend.  Would he?

40 mil is 40 mil, but like people are saying, you don't pay out the largest manager contract in the history of the sport to cheap out on payroll. 

[CubinNY]

Ross is such a red ass. I bet he is salty as horsefeathers at Hoyer. 

[Tryptamine]

7 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

40 mil is 40 mil, but like people are saying, you don't pay out the largest manager contract in the history of the sport to cheap out on payroll. 

I have a hard time believing Counsell would turn down the Mets offer of 7M a year, knowing that they have near endless resources, just for another million a year if he didn't have assurances from the Cubs that they were going to spend.

[Tryptamine]

7 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Ross is such a red ass. I bet he is salty as horsefeathers at Hoyer. 

I guess he wont be at the 10 year World Series reunion, oh well.