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The dust has settled and Craig Counsell is officially the Chicago Cubs manager.
It likely won't become real until Counsell dons a Cubs' uniform for the first time when he is presumably introduced at Wrigley Field next week.
In the meantime, the General Manager meetings are taking place this week in Arizona, and Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer met with reporters to talk about the major hire.
Hoyer, continued: “It was a really hard decision and obviously some very hard conversations that went in with that, but I felt like it was just the right thing to do.”
— Andy Martínez (@amartinez_11) November 7, 2023
The right thing can be the cruel thing at times and that is certainly true in the world of professional sports. Did David Ross deserve an opportunity to manage the Cubs in 2024? Yes. Is Craig Counsell a better manager than David Ross? Yes. Was Ross slighted in the Cubs' pursuit and consequent hiring of Counsell? Yes. Did the Cubs make the right decision? Yes. All those things can be true and are a large part of the reason why Counsell is now manager of the Cubs. It's a situation that the Cubs have been in before and they were proven right in their course of action.
Hoyer also addressed the idea that the Cubs' decision to hire Counsell should be viewed as the start of an extravagant off-season.
Hoyer: "I like our position & if there are moves, even big moves, that will help us continue that trajectory we'll definitely do it. But I don't think it's a signal that somehow we're going to have the biggest and boldest offseason. If we do it's because things lined up for us."
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) November 7, 2023
One thing that Hoyer has proven in his tenure as the Cubs' president of baseball operation is that he is comfortable in making the hard decision or going against popular belief. There is no doubt that the popular choice among those within the Cubs' organization may have been to bring Ross back for the 2024 season but Hoyer, as he has done in the past, was objective in his assessment of the decision. All that to say the hiring of Counsell likely won't deter Hoyer from his original plan but does state that he expects the team to be contenders regardless of what other moves are made this off-season.
The Cubs new manager, Counsell, also spoke about the decision on Tuesday.
Craig Counsell on what lies ahead with the Cubs: pic.twitter.com/eOaEA965fK
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) November 7, 2023
Counsell's first comments on becoming the Cubs' manager certainly fall in line with the belief that money wasn't the only factor in this decision. Counsell will likely expand upon that mindset next week during his introductory press conference.