Steele shows first sign of Cubs fire in 2024

[Javy Is Still A Cub]

Steele getting angry was a month late - but is it too late? 

Needed its own thread for posterity's sake.

 

 

Need fire to make Steele

Can you imagine this limp rag-team in the playoffs, where players actually play pumped up? They'd get steamrolled.

Never too late to do the right thing: stop being lame.  

[Javy Is Still A Cub]

I love the fire, but desperately screaming "Wake the F-- up"" - seems like a sign that things have gone way, way too far in the unawake direction in the Cubs dugout.

And playing baseball in an unawake fashion is not going to lead to good results.

Who knew the Cubs needed more wokeism?

[LBiittner]

I wonder, has counsell lost his players? He should've been screaming "wake the f up" by early june. 

[Javy Is Still A Cub]

Is this just Counsell's demeanour - to not show fire? I don't really know his personality, but is he another stoic Wisconsin-type? Lots of cheese and booze to tamp down the emotions?

Has he gotten kicked out of more than 1 game this year? Where's Lou Pinella and Don Zimmer to fire up the roster?

 

[jersey cubs fan]

I’ve never associated stoicism with Wisconsin. The place is filled with sloppy drunk buffoons 

[LBiittner]

2 minutes ago, Javy Is Still A Cub said:

Is this just Counsell's demeanour - to not show fire? I don't really know his personality, but is he another stoic Wisconsin-type? Lots of cheese and booze to tamp down the emotions?

Has he gotten kicked out of more than 1 game this year? Where's Lou Pinella and Don Zimmer to fire up the roster?

 

Exactly on point.

Even rossy would blow a gasket now and then. Even a timely bird flip could be seen 

[Javy Is Still A Cub]

Maybe Counsell is just a stoic, or maybe he's just given too much rope and been too deferential as new bosses often are?

He's definitely not grabbed this castrated bull by the horns, or gone to another player and said: hey, you know these guys better than me, how can I get them to wake the f--- up?

There's a place for eggheadery in baseball, but it's still a sport - you have to get up for it and do some roughhousing. Like kicking dirt on home plate after getting ejected. Something.

[CubinNY]

57 minutes ago, Javy Is Still A Cub said:

Maybe Counsell is just a stoic, or maybe he's just given too much rope and been too deferential as new bosses often are?

He's definitely not grabbed this castrated bull by the horns, or gone to another player and said: hey, you know these guys better than me, how can I get them to wake the f--- up?

There's a place for eggheadery in baseball, but it's still a sport - you have to get up for it and do some roughhousing. Like kicking dirt on home plate after getting ejected. Something.

I think Counsell knows what the talent level is on this team so why get pissed. 

[Tryptamine]

Is this going to be another coach needs to be a red ass in order to be a good coach thing? You can still be an effective coach without screaming at people like a lunatic.

[Chicago Al]

I’m glad Steele said something. It’s probably a kick in the ass this team needs. The Mets held a team meeting a week or 2 back and now are back at .500 and have been playing a lot better. In San Diego, when Profar was HBP after he hit a home run the ump issued no warning even though it was an intentional HBP.  Schildt came charging out of the dugout screaming at the ump for Corbin to get tossed but he was tossed instead. Needless to say, that pumped the whole team up and the Padres have been on a tear lately 9-1 in their last 10 games. 

You can tell Steele’s been frustrated lately, rolling his eyes at errors, rolling his eyes at the ump when he knows his pitches are strikes but are called balls. Every player will say they care about the team wins as a whole but you can’t tell me he isn’t pissed that he hasn’t gotten a win in his starts this season. Team wins are important but his numbers need to show too for his own benefit especially since he’s pitching really well.

Edited June 30, 2024 by Chicago Al

[Derwood]

That fire seemed to be extinguished overnight

[Tryptamine]

1 hour ago, Derwood said:

That fire seemed to be extinguished overnight

Imagine that, getting yelled at doesn't make people more productive. I wonder how many of the people in support of the yelling would be more productive at their own job if the boss decided to lay into them in front of everyone.

[javy knows my name]

This is sweaty meatball nonsense

[LBiittner]

It's a different world.

Players will need therapy or some sort of composure days to return to work on the ball diamond. 

Do they still wear jocks for their nut packages 

[jersey cubs fan]

4 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

It's a different world.

Players will need therapy or some sort of composure days to return to work on the ball diamond. 

Do they still wear jocks for their nut packages 

Make athletes grovel again

[LBiittner]

1 minute ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Make athletes grovel again

LOL. 

Like I said, today's world is different.

Could you imagine if Ron cey was an up and coming thirdbaseman in 2024? And someone hung the moniker of  "penguin " as a nick?  OMG. 

[Wilson A2000]

10 hours ago, Javy Is Still A Cub said:

Is this just Counsell's demeanour - to not show fire? I don't really know his personality, but is he another stoic Wisconsin-type? Lots of cheese and booze to tamp down the emotions?

Has he gotten kicked out of more than 1 game this year? Where's Lou Pinella and Don Zimmer to fire up the roster?

 

Before yesterday's game a media member asked him if he needed to show more emotion and Counsell that he doesn’t need to and he’s not a cheerleader

[Tryptamine]

2 hours ago, LBiittner said:

It's a different world.

Players will need therapy or some sort of composure days to return to work on the ball diamond. 

Do they still wear jocks for their nut packages 

I mean, they don't even throw at the batter that often anymore, or slide outside the basepath to intentionally take people out or plow a catcher who isn't looking in their direction. Complete wuss ball am I right?

[LBiittner]

Definitely don't raise your voice and create trauma.

A little bit of Lee Elia in the clubhouse would be ever so entertaining 

Edited July 1, 2024 by LBiittner

[Stratos]

We don't know what happens in the clubhouse.  I'd be surprised if he's the only player to lose his cool.

I've seen visible frustration from several players over this stretch on the field, most often at themselves.  Swanson, Happ, Bellinger, Gomes etc.  Seiya is always hard on himself.  Pen guys as always when things go bad.

[Javy Is Still A Cub]

That sucks Counsell said that. Every good boss knows cheerleading the employees is a key part of the job, and people who don't ever admit their frustration are annoying. 

People who think sports should be devoid of emotion and that they control/predict/know things down to the thousandth of a percentage point are less annoying, because who can take such clueless, ivory tower stat-gamblers seriously?

If Steele is the only guy willing to show the team he's got fire definitely don't trade him. Boy, a team of 27 other milquetoasts... that sucks. Sure can't win a championship with them. 

[imb]

16 hours ago, javy knows my name said:

This is sweaty meatball nonsense

i dont think so. this isn't a job in the normal sense, and comparing it to your boss yelling at you because of a spreadsheet doesn't track for me. this is high-level competition, vibes and energy do matter (in my opinion) and sometimes you do need a guy you respect to yell at you for sucking. i dont think it's the difference between the team we see now and them becoming a 90-win playoff team, but i think it matters. 

[squally1313]

25 minutes ago, imb said:

i dont think so. this isn't a job in the normal sense, and comparing it to your boss yelling at you because of a spreadsheet doesn't track for me. this is high-level competition, vibes and energy do matter (in my opinion) and sometimes you do need a guy you respect to yell at you for sucking. i dont think it's the difference between the team we see now and them becoming a 90-win playoff team, but i think it matters. 

I have no problem with Steele doing what he did. Wanting Craig Counsell, the dorkiest baseball player of all time and someone who was ejected 3 times a year in Milwaukee, to channel Lou Piniella or whatever and thinking that will somehow magically help is dumb. 

Jokes about trauma and therapy and jock straps are especially dumb. 

[imb]

Just now, squally1313 said:

I have no problem with Steele doing what he did. Wanting Craig Counsell, the dorkiest baseball player of all time and someone who was ejected 3 times a year in Milwaukee, to channel Lou Piniella or whatever and thinking that will somehow magically help is dumb. 

Jokes about trauma and therapy and jock straps are especially dumb. 

i mean i dont care about whatever the hell that boomer is talking about. i just want to watch players who are ok with showing emotion when they feel like everyone else is half-assing it. 

[sneakypower]

it's certainly possible he was merely letting out all his pent-up rage/emotion from 2+ months of total team suckitude but also he needed to record like 6 outs that half-inning and that alone would fairly warrant any normal pitcher halfway losing his head like that