Clear-cut NL Manager of the Year frontrunner is a Cubs fan's worst nightmare

When the Chicago Cubs gave Craig Counsell the biggest contract in baseball history, not only was the move viewed as an upgrade over David Ross, but a major blow to the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers, who have emerged as the toast of the National League Central in recent years.

Well, that's not how the 2024 season has played out. Counsell's Cubs are 5 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot in the NL and just climbed above .500 for the first time since Memorial Day, while the Brewers boast a 9 1/2 game lead in the division and are on cruise control, headed toward October.

That's led to a Manager of the Year race that's pretty much a worst-case scenario if you're a Cubs fan.

Murphy looks like a shoo-in for National League Manager of the Year in his first season at the helm in Milwaukee. For years under Counsell, the Brewers seemed to do more with less, which obviously made him an appealing candidate for the Cubs, whose front office and ownership group are obsessed with spending efficiently and finding value around the margins.

Cubs have been unable to replicate the Brewers' sustained success

One would hope that the team's performance both this year and last would change the Cubs' thinking. The team collapsed last September after outperforming expectations for much of the year and, after a strong start in 2024, went into a months-long tailspin that's put them in a hole they seem unlikely to climb out of.

That means Chicago will head into 2025 with zero postseason wins since 2017 - and their only division title or postseason appearance came in the shortened 2020 season. Meanwhile, the Brewers have three division titles (on the cusp of a fourth), an NLCS appearance and four postseason victories during that same span.

Losing Counsell was supposed to cripple Milwaukee. Instead, Murphy has stepped in and guided the Brewers masterfully, while his former boss' new team is desperately scratching and clawing just to remain relevant into September.