5 Craig Counsell quotes that will have Cubs fans ready to run through a wall

Connecting with his players will be a top priority for Craig Counsell

"I have to be prepared. That’s first. I have to have the courage to be myself. Because when you put yourself out here in these situations — you mess up, you have flaws, you’re not going to be perfect. That’s OK. And then I have to connect with people because that brings out the best in them. And I think that’s specifically with players to put them in a position to succeed."

Craig Counsell

Counsell knows who he is - both as a person and a manager. Given the connections many of his former players have with David Ross, the man he's replacing, he'll have to spend this offseason and next spring forging his own connections with them. It's a task he's more than up for, and he seems to have already wrapped his mind around it.

One of the biggest knocks on Ross centered around his daily lineup construction and, sometimes, his bullpen usage. Counsell has long excelled in both of those areas, but to put his fingerprints on the team, it'll take a lot of one-on-one conversations with his players about the roles he expects them to play in 2024.

Chicago, frankly, comes with a different level of scrutiny than Milwaukee, where Counsell spent the last seven years as the manager of the division rival Brewers. And, now as the game's highest-paid manager, expectations will be pushed even higher. Counsell seems unfazed by the pressure that will be placed upon him by the city and its fans, and that's a good place to start.