Craig Counsell to Set Milwaukee Brewers Record for Games as Manager

In 2018, when he led the Brewers to the N.L. Championship Series, Counsell had a thin rotation and a deep bullpen; in one N.L.C.S. game, he pulled his starter after one batter. Now, he wins by relying on his ace right-handed starters — Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta — for as long as possible.

“It’s who we have, it’s what they’re good at, and you take advantage of it,” Counsell said.

Last year’s team led the N.L. Central on Aug. 5 but finished second with an 86-76 record, one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the final wild-card spot. Eliminated three years in a row in the playoffs by the eventual champions — the Washington Nationals in 2019, the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 and the Atlanta Braves in 2021 — the Brewers watched the Phillies romp to the pennant.

“There’s a little bit of a common theme there: If you want to go to the World Series, you play the Brewers,” Woodruff said. “But it feels like if we just keep on trucking along, our time is going to come. Last year stung — it was a punch in the gut, in a way — and coming into this year, Couns really set the tone for us.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/10/sports/baseball/craig-counsell-brewers.html