Top 20 North Side Baseball's Most-Viewed Articles in 2023: Part 2 (16-20)

In today's set of five oft-viewed articles from 2023, there are several interesting topics. Comparing David Ross and Craig Counsell. A majority of Matt's Top 10 Free Agents are still available. The Angels' strange late-season roster decisions. And, the debut of the Man/Cubs Cave series was really enjoyed .... Read on and at the end be sure to take a few minutes to note your thoughts on these topics. Maybe your opinion has changed over time. 

#20 So, What Exactly Makes Craig Counsell So Much Better than David Ross? 
by Matt Trueblood
Nov 7

Only weeks before hiring Craig Counsell, the Cubs leadership publicly supported David Ross as their 2024 manager. However, when Counsell became available, Jed Hoyer was aggressive in signing the former Brewers manager to the highest contract ever for a manager. That has to mean that Hoyer believes that Counsell gives the Cubs a far-better likelihood of winning, and that he believes Counsell is a much better manager. So in this article, Matt - not a big Ross supporter - discussed several ways that the Cubs are better off with Counsell at the helm. 

#19 Top 50 Fits for the Cubs in MLB Free Agency: Nos. 10-1 
by Matt Trueblood
Nov 20 

Matt ranked the 50 MLB free agents that fit the Cubs needs heading into 2024. It wasn’t simply ranking the players like others, but specific to the Cubs. In this final part of the five-part series, there are 10 very exciting names, players that all have garnered interest from several teams. To date, just three of the players have signed. At least three of those players have been linked in some way to the Cubs during the offseason. It is definitely fun to look back at this list and with three exceptions, know that it’s still quite timely. 

#18  The Cubs Should Claim Every Angels Player on Waivers, but One is the Prize 
by Matt Trueblood
Aug 30

In a move that had never been done so openly and abrasively, the Angels placed six veteran players on waivers. At the early August deadline, the Angels were a long-shot, but instead of trading Ohtani and bringing back talent, they chose to be buyers. Admirable? Sure. Smart? Probably not, and ultimately it went poorly in the short-term (that Angels continued to sink in the standings, Ohtani hurt his elbow, and then was shut down early) and in the long-term (have you heard about his deal with the Dodgers?). So, with 48 hours before the calendar switched to September, the Angels made pitchers Lucas Giolito, Dominic Leone, Reynaldo Lopez, and Matt Moore; and outfielders Randal Grichuk and Hunter Renfroe available. Teams could claim those players and they would be eligible for the playoffs. Matt made the case that the Cubs should place a claim on all of the players, but that adding Giolito would have a big impact on their pitching staff. Ultimately, Cleveland claimed Giolito, Lopez and Moore, and only Grichuk even got to the Cubs spot. 

#17 The Cubs Decision to Retain David Ross will Set the Franchise Back 
by Brandon Glick
Oct 8 

As mentioned above, at the conclusion of the Cubs season, Jed Hoyer confirmed to the media that David Ross would return as the Cubs manager in 2024. You’ve read t he article’s title. I’m guessing that you have a pretty good idea from only the title how Brandon felt about retaining Ross as manager. While there is a paragraph in the article that discusses Ross’s strength as a manager and a leader and such, the next paragraph points out a few in-game decisions when the results went poorly for the Cubs. Where do you stand on this decision but also just on what makes a good manager. Most of what makes a good manager can’t be seen by fans or media or measured statistically. And every team’s fan base thinks their manager makes a lot of in-game and lineup decisions that hurt their favorite team. 

#16 Friday Fan Feature: Cubs Fan Cave of the Week: Jay Herrman 
by Jeff Ragauskis
Nov 3  

This was the first of what is a really cool feature that hopefully we will be able to continue through the offseason. Jeff chatted with Jay Herrman who also shared some great pictures of his recently-completed Cubs Cave! The pictures are great. But so are the stories that Jay shared for the article, especially the emotional story behind his search for a Cubs pinball machine. Like I said, hopefully others will want to share their Cubs Cave here. If you would, please reach out and let us know. Who knows? Maybe this will give others some ideas for creation of their own Cubs Cave.

More to come tomorrow, but if you missed a previous edition: 

Part 1 (21-25)
Part 2 (16-20)
Part 3 (11-15) - Coming Tomorrow!