MILWAUKEE — Those weren’t “moos” the Dairylanders in the stands at American Family Field directed at Cubs manager Craig Counsell before and during Games 1 and 2 of the National League Division Series.
They definitely weren’t coos, either.
Look, you know where this is going.
Yes, yes, they were boos. Loud, lusty ones aimed at a guy who grew up here, played here, still lives here and, oh, by the way, won more games as skipper here than anyone in Brewers history.
The fans even booed Counsell in the first inning Monday when he left the dugout to check on Kyle Tucker, who was doubled over at home plate after appearing to foul a ball off his knee. They certainly cranked it up a few notches in the third when Counsell trudged to the mound to lift starter Shota Imanaga, who shrank on the big stage. How nice and neighborly of them, wouldn’t you say?
Thanks for the memories, “Counse,” and don’t let the door hit you on the way out as you head back to Wrigley Field for Game 3 on Wednesday.
“I hate it,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who was Counsell’s bench coach here from 2016 through 2023 — and his head coach at Notre Dame way back when — said about those boos.
“It’s none of my business, but I know this: They never boo a bum. You’re getting booed, you’re good at something. I hate it because I know how much he loves Milwaukee. I know how much he loves this city. He loves this state. . . . [But] fans will be fans. They’re fanatics, so they do what they do, and people pile on and that type of thing. I think he’s above that, and he knows they never boo a bum.”
Another thing both managers undoubtedly know: Though many here — from Brewers owner Mark Attanasio to the fans — didn’t appreciate Counsell leaving for the rival Cubs, no one is wasting time wishing he’d never left.
That’s not a knock on Counsell, who steered five Brewers teams into the postseason and has made a visible, if not extraordinary, impact over two seasons with the Cubs. It’s all about the 66-year-old Murphy, whose potent mix of personality and on-field success has made him one of the best stories in baseball since he ascended to the top step of the dugout.
Murphy won a division title and the NL Manager of the Year award in his first season. He got the better of Counsell in the division again this season — when the Brewers’ club-record 97 wins led all of baseball — and it’ll be a crime if he doesn’t repeat on the award count, too.
When the Cubs hired Counsell for five years at a then-record $8 million per year, there was supposed to be a new sheriff in the NL Central. Then the Reds lured Terry Francona, a future Hall of Famer, out of retirement. Meanwhile, Murphy — winning games almost as often as he wins the proverbial news conference — keeps outdoing both of them.
Some managers are wound tight at playoff time. Counsell — the furthest thing from a raconteur — hasn’t seemed stressed out, and might not be, but he’s hardly walking around like someone with time to waste.
Then there’s Murphy, who hijacked his own pregame news conference Monday by searching for faces he didn’t recognize and asking a dozen or more reporters and other media members about their jobs, their various outlets, their hopes, their dreams, etc., all of it keeping him from other, presumably more important things. Then he patiently, thoughtfully answered questions. And by the way, it was no one-off; he’s known for this sort of thing, as he is for nicknaming anyone and everyone, needling anyone and everyone and pulling “pocket pancakes” out of his baseball pants at the oddest times. Come to think of it, isn’t any time odd?
“It ain’t about me, let’s make it clear,” Murphy said. “Anything like that is just me being light and, I think, authentic.”
Counsell doesn’t have much of an appetite for discussing his feelings about returning to his old stomping grounds for a playoff series. His many years here, his relationship with the organization and the fans, his great, enduring friendship with Murphy — that stuff can wait. Right now, there are bigger fish to fry.
“We’re trying to advance to have a chance to play in the World Series,” he said. “That’s the job at hand right now, and that’s the focus right now. We’ve already done the other stuff.”
But he does see Murphy’s fingerprints all over this Brewers team, which is easily the scrappiest, most overachieving team in these playoffs.
“I see the Brewers play how Murph would want a team to play,” Counsell said.
It’s a team that never stops coming at an opponent, which the Cubs experienced in the form of seven two-out Brewers runs in Game 2. For the second straight game, the Brewers out-defended the Cubs, too. And when Murphy brought in rookie fireballer Jacob Misiorowski to begin the third inning of a tie game, it was a surprise move; most everyone else was expecting Quinn Priester. The manager rolled the dice on a struggling megatalent, and “The Miz” altered the look of the whole postseason with three lights-out innings.
Everything’s working as it should for the Brewers. It must be Murphy’s law.
The truth is, things have worked out well for both managers. Counsell wanted a new challenge with a major-market team and got it. Murphy wanted something bigger for himself, too.
“Was I itching to manage? Yeah, I wasn’t content,” he said. “I mean, I loved what we had going. We had a good run here. But I knew it was coming to an end at some point. We were going to do something different.”
For Counsell, it just happens to come with some boos from former friends. For now.
“It doesn’t affect the great ones,” Murphy said. “I think the fans will come around someday. I do. I do.”
