You know the old saying, “All good things must come to an end…?”
On Monday afternoon, every Milwaukee Brewers fan felt that – as longtime manager Craig Counsell darted the Brew City and headed 90 minutes south to join the hated Chicago Cubs.
The reaction to this move? About what you would expect. Some anger, some sadness, and most of all, leaving everyone asking the question, “Why Chicago?”
For me, and I have talked about it before, Craig did everything he could here. He raised the expectations in Milwaukee. He changed the game – literally – MLB had to change rules because of the things he did.
He was innovative. He was creative. He was a leader, but at the end of the day, he did everything he could to win in Milwaukee; there was only so much he could do in his efforts to bring home a World Series to his city.
Everyone knows Milwaukee is a small market, and the fight they are up against is an uphill battle in major league baseball, a struggle that has yet to be fair since day one.
I, personally, can’t blame Craig for leaving for “green”er pastures. Yes, it hurts, yes, it sucks, but to me, this was strictly on ownership in failing to keep him in Milwaukee.
The opportunity for years to retain him and pay him was always something that should have been taken more seriously.
Giving him the tools to get the job done, the proper tools, was something that should have been done.
For years now, the Brewers had a championship window with the league’s best manager, and instead of capitalizing off it, the window came crashing down, as did any hopes of Brewers fans for years to come.