The Cubs are running out of time to be like the Craig Counsell teams of old (2024)

CLEVELAND – Walking into the manager’s office, it’s difficult to tell whether the Chicago Cubs just won or lost. Craig Counsell goes over the key moments from the game in a matter-of-fact tone. He doesn’t bury the third baseman who made an error or rip the umpire for missing a third strike. He credits the opponent for hitting good pitches. He follows a leading question about how at least the Cubs rallied and made the other team bring in its closer. The postgame media session is over in 2 minutes and 14 seconds.

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That Monday night scene at Progressive Field was typical. With Shota Imanaga on the mound and a chance to finally get back to .500, the Cubs scored eight runs and still lost a one-run game against the Cleveland Guardians. For months, Counsell has acknowledged that the Cubs put themselves in a difficult position with little margin for error, and maintained the same steady demeanor. Once the reporters leave the room, though, the manager must be stewing.

“Look, I try to do things that will help us the next day,” Counsell said. “So ‘stewing’ – I’m not sure that helps us the next day.”

Counsell chuckled to himself and continued.

“You got to move on from the results,” he said. “You move to the next day. Good or bad, that’s what the next thing to focus on is. That’s what’s going to help us moving forward. You take moments from the game that you hope you can use to teach with. But after that, it’s time to move on.

“When you let the chance slip away, it doesn’t feel good. But it doesn’t knock you down. You’re ready to go the next day.”

The Cubs will have to regroup after getting swept out of Cleveland with Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to a Guardians team that has an attacking offense, a dominating bullpen and a patchwork rotation. Chicago didn’t necessarily look outclassed or overmatched during this three-game series against the team with the American League’s best record (72-49). The Guardians won by one run twice and trailed in each game. But at this juncture, the eye test and positive takeaways don’t matter.

The Cubs are running out of time to be like the Craig Counsell teams of old (1)

Craig Counsell and the Chicago Cubs have 40 games remaining to prove they are better than their record. (Photo of Counsell: Jason Mowry / Getty Images)

“There’s not a ton of time,” Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon said after giving up four runs in six innings and taking the loss. “But it doesn’t really matter where we’re at. We have to give the same effort every single day. And everyone has to do their job. I’m aware of where we are, who’s in front of us, and what that means and the urgency. But I feel like most of us show up every day trying to get better, trying to prepare, trying to win a ballgame, urgent regardless of where we’re at. So, yeah, it’s time to make some noise.”

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With only 40 games remaining, the Cubs (59-63) need to stack up wins. “Tough losses, for sure,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “Nothing as far as lulls in energy or anything like that. We just didn’t come out on top.” They have not been above .500 since May 28. They do not hold a winning tiebreaker against any of the seven teams in front of them in the National League wild-card standings, so mentally add another game back. Their playoff odds are hovering around 5 percent.

Counsell’s contrarian point of view sees it differently.

“There’s been a theme to the questions lately that the season is approaching its end,” Counsell said. “The roller coaster’s still got a lot of up and down to go for the season. That’s just what still has to happen. There are ups and downs (coming). Whether it be on a nightly basis or a series basis, that’s how baseball seasons work. This group has got their head down, focused on trying to play good and get better and win a baseball game. I don’t think that’s changed at any point.”

Now would be a good time to finally start playing like the Milwaukee Brewers teams that repeatedly outfoxed the Cubs and helped turn Counsell into the sport’s highest-paid manager. Counsell’s experiences running that small-market team are a good example of competing until the final out. The 2018 Brewers forced a Game 163 at Wrigley Field and won the division after being five games out of first place on Labor Day weekend.

“Yeah,” Counsell said. “Maybe ’19, too.”

For Counsell, that sounded like a flex. Or maybe he didn’t remember the exact number off the top of his head. But, yeah, the 2019 Brewers were six games out of first place at the beginning of September and slightly above .500 before a strong finishing kick left them with 89 wins and a wild-card spot.

Beginning Friday, the Cubs are scheduled to play 18 consecutive games against teams that have losing records. The New York Yankees will visit Wrigley Field next month, and a road trip to Dodger Stadium and Coors Field will be challenging, but the rest of the September schedule appears relatively easy. If the Cubs really are better than what they’ve shown.

“Now we have to punch back,” Taillon said. “It feels like that’s kind of been the story of the season. Hopefully, we can punch back and not turn these three into something bigger.”

(Top photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

The Cubs are running out of time to be like the Craig Counsell teams of old (2)The Cubs are running out of time to be like the Craig Counsell teams of old (3)

Patrick Mooney is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. He spent eight seasons covering the Cubs across multiple platforms for NBC Sports Chicago/Comcast SportsNet, beginning in 2010. He has been a frequent contributor to MLB Network, Baseball America, MLB.com and the Chicago Sun-Times News Group. Follow Patrick on Twitter @PJ_Mooney

The Cubs are running out of time to be like the Craig Counsell teams of old (2024)

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