This is a bummer in a couple ways from my perspective, though I’ll caveat it by saying we don’t REALLY know how any of this will play out.
The news:
So the Cubs won’t be getting long-time Craig Counsell bench coach Pat Murphy to join their staff, and the Brewers also get to perhaps have some continuity in how they operate. I don’t like either of those things.
First, there’s the relationship there with Murphy. I have absolutely no criticism to offer on current Cubs bench coach Andy Green, and it’s entirely possible he continues on in that role now with Counsell. We’ll see. But it’s just that, given how successful Counsell has been in Milwaukee, and given that Murphy was his right-hand man for that whole time, you want as much of the infrastructure as possible to be ported over. Maybe the Cubs can still poach another coach or two for their staff – guys Counsell works well with, and whom the Cubs can offer a “promotion” – but it’s probably not quite the same as having his long-time bench coach.
Second, there’s the reduction in disruption for the Brewers. I’m not saying the managerial job and bench coach job are the same, or that I know Murphy will be a great manager. I have no idea. But I know that he’s been there almost a decade, working side-by-side with Counsell, and probably has a really good sense of how things work best. I would like the loss of Counsell to really hurt the Brewers. This probably means it hurts them a little less now.
My guess is the Cubs have been waiting to proceed on their bench coach plans until they knew for sure whether Murphy was going to be available. So now it’s probably a pretty quick pivot to figuring out whether they want Green to continue in the role, or whether Counsell wants an opportunity to interview other candidates out there.
As Counsell said yesterday in the introductory press conference, things happened so fast over the last ten days that he wants to make sure to take his time on the coaching staff and get it right. Absolutely the right approach, though at some point you have to be careful not to be SO deliberate that you miss out on the best options.