Craig Counsell has testy exchange with reporter

Feb 23, 2024; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell did not like one of the questions he got Sunday after the team’s extra innings win, and he made sure the reporter knew about it as well.

Counsell was asked by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers about the quality of the Cubs’ at-bats, citing third baseman Christopher Morel’s efforts on Sunday as an example. Rogers argued that with the tying run at second and two out in the seventh inning, Morel “looked like he was swinging for the lake” and asked Counsell if the manager viewed that as a problem. Counsell rolled his eyes immediately and got into a testy exchange with Rogers.

“Come on, Jesse. That’s your comment? I think that’s a bad take. He’s ‘swinging for the lake’? That’s a bad take,” Counsell said. “He’s having a good at bat trying to hit the ball hard. It didn’t work. The pitcher made a good pitch. He made an out.”

Rogers’ point seemed to be that Morel should try to focus on getting a base hit to try to drive in the tying run as opposed to, in his view, swinging for the fences in a spot that did not warrant it. There may certainly be a case to be made that Morel was being far too aggressive in that spot: according to Statcast data , after getting ahead in the count 2-0, Morel swung and missed at two pitches off the plate, then fouled off another before ultimately striking out. If the data is to be believed, the pitch Morel struck out on was the first strike he saw during the entire plate appearance.

On the other hand, Counsell is going to stick up for his players. Morel has 18 home runs on the season, even though he is hitting just .202 on the year. Perhaps the Cubs would like his approach to be a bit more conservative at times, but throwing him under the bus publicly is unlikely to accomplish that goal.

Ultimately, the Cubs came back and won 2-1 in extra innings. One hates to think what Counsell’s mood might have looked like if they had lost.

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