Craig Counsell says he is “having fun” and “feeling challenged” in his new role as Cubs manager. He had no regrets about picking Chicago, and why should he? He oversees a strong roster for a historic franchise and has a record deal worth $40 million over five years, which he and agent Barry Meister anticipated would raise the bar for managers.
The only drawback was upsetting two fan bases, most notably those in his homeland of Milwaukee, where fans would have accepted any outcome other than Counsell joining the dreaded Cubs. One nut even desecrated the Craig Counsell Field sign.
He answered with levity to the normal logistical concern of whether he would drive nightly between his Whitefish Bay, Wis., home and Wrigleyville. “I’m allowed to,” Counsell joked. “They let me to do it. “They still allowed me to cross the border.”
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Counsell says it’s “all fine” and isn’t concerned about the bad reaction. “It’s nothing personal,” he replied. “It does not feel personal.
New York recovered from the disappointment of not acquiring one of baseball’s top managers more quickly than Milwaukee. There are no ill feelings between Counsell and Mets baseball executive David Stearns, Counsell’s former Brewers boss.
“We had dinner before we came out to spring training and we didn’t talk a word about baseball,” Counsell said. “That’s kind of how it is. And it’s all good. David and I and our families are friends. And will be friends. We went through negotiations and it didn’t work out.”
As it turned out, once the Cubs offered the record deal, Counsell didn’t even ask the Mets to counter. There was no interest in putting Stearns in a bad spot to lose a bidding war. (The Mets weren’t planning on paying $8M a year, anyway.)
