NASHVILLE – Among the rows of computers occupied by the Cubs research and development department, general manager Carter Hawkins spotted a bespectacled man wearing a hat and sneakers.
“I was like, ‘who’s our new R&D guy?’” he said. “And it was [new manager Craig Counsell] on the computer, sitting next to our analyst. Fit in perfectly.”
Counsell was in the Cubs offices last Friday, wasting no time giving his input on a wide range of topics. Sitting at the computer, he critiqued the interface on a specific program.
“I’m the outside eyes,” Counsell said Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. “... I have opinions, and I’m going to share them. And I think that’s healthy.”
Hoyer smiled when asked about the interaction.
“All these Red Sox/Cubs people think the same way,” he joked. “It’s nice to get some people that think a different way and have had different experiences. And we can definitely learn from that. And one aspect to Craig, he’s not afraid to tell us when it’s that way.”
Counsell’s first month as Cubs manager has been busy. He’s been putting together his coaching staff, familiarizing himself with his roster, talking to a few – “not a lot” – free agents, and meeting tons of new people.
Asked what the most challenging part has been, he said: “Probably Monday when I walked into the room and there were 30 new faces, and I had to introduce myself to everybody.”
He also has been energized by that aspect of joining a new organization after previously holding the distinction of the longest-tenured National League manager with Milwaukee. He has more introductions to come.
“As a manager on the other side, you have a pretty good sense of the core of the big-league team,” he said. “And so moving yourself past the core of the big-league team to get to understand important prospects on the team, that’s probably been the part that you spent some time learning.”
Counsell is still in the research phase of that process. At the same time, he’s been finalizing his coaching staff and is close to putting the finishing touches on the group. He has yet to name a bullpen coach, but he took a significant step when he chose Ryan Flaherty as his bench coach.
“I didn’t know Ryan well going into this search,” Counsell said. “But I’ve always had great respect for him. He’s done really good things quickly in his coaching career. He’s earned an excellent reputation. And he’s been very good with players. … It’s really hard as you start coaching to separate yourself as a coach and still be great with players. And I think Ryan’s has done an excellent job of that.”
It’s a different dynamic from the one Counsell had with Pat Murphy, who was his bench coach in Milwaukee and replaced him as manager there. Counsell and Murphy have known each other for decades. Murphy coached Counsell at Notre Dame.
“Part of this is about change,” Counsell said, touching on a theme that extended back to his introductory news conference. “... I’m looking forward to a new, fresh set of eyes there to help me see different things.”
The rest of the coaching staff has remained largely intact since Counsell took over, other than the departures of former bench coach Andy Green, who joined the Mets front office, and assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington, who left for the Angels’ hitting coach job.
“There’s some really good tools there that I think we can use, and hopefully make better, and in the end just to help players,” he said. “That’s what our job is as coaches.”