If others find him difficult to work with in his quest to win, 'that's cool' with new Cubs manager Craig Counsell

(670 The Score) As new Cubs manager Craig Counsell remembers it, it was “really early” in his interview with president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer that Hoyer brought up the notion that Counsell can be difficult to work with at times.

For his part, Counsell agreed with that characterization, noting that he can be “argumentative.” So, with Counsell and Hoyer having been co-workers for nearly five months now, have they had that type of tension yet?

“I don’t really take it like that,” Counsell said on the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Thursday. “I think tension is like just pushing each other. Do we have disagreements? Yeah, we absolutely have and should. That’s how you get to a better place. Have we disagreed already? Yeah, for sure. And that’s a good thing. You plan on that happening. That’s part of our working relationship.

“He did throw that at me like really early in our conversation, maybe the first thing he said to me. I guess that means people have said I’m difficult to work with. Which, that’s cool. You got to be yourself. I think the most important thing for me is to be myself through this process. If it means it’s going to be a little harder for those around me, that’s how it’s going to be.”

Counsell will make his regular-season debut in the Cubs dugout when Chicago plays at Texas in its opener Thursday evening. After becoming a managerial free agent at the end of the 2023 season, Counsell left the Brewers to take over the Cubs, who fired David Ross as they pulled a stunner and installed Counsell. Across nine seasons managing in Milwaukee, Counsell led the Brewers to a 707-625 record (.531 winning percentage), five playoff appearances and three NL Central crowns.

The Cubs are coming off an 83-79 season and have set their sights on winning the division this season.

“We’re ready,” Counsell said of the regular season starting.

“You flip the switch to a really different game.”