The Milwaukee Brewers have hit a late-season skid in August and fans are calling for manager Craig Counsel to be fired.
A simple Google or Twitter search provides evidence of fan vitriol for Craig Counsell. Some fans even have suggestions for who the new Milwaukee Brewers manager should be.
Wouldn’t it be something if the #brewers removed Craig Counsell for ned yost at this point? @TimAllenRants @SparkyRadio 😂 No, seriously, fire Counsell and get Joe Girardi #ThisIsMyCrew
— Prime (@OwnthefutureMKE) August 19, 2018
The outrage does not seem to be about the inconsistent offense. The Brewers team cannot seem to get all their bats going at the same time.
Most fans and journalists, however, feel satisfied with the team’s overall OPS.
Brewers fans mostly point at Counsell’s pitching decisions when ranting for his dismissal as manager.
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Milwaukee Brewers bullpen strong, Counsell misuses it
The Milwaukee Brewers bullpen boasts one of the best ERAs in the league. But, Brewers fans blame recent losses on manager Craig Counsell’s misuse of this strength for the team’s current skid.
On August 17, Brewers reliever Jordan Lyles gave up insurance runs to the division rival St. Louis Cardinals. Milwaukee went on to lose that game. This loss sparked many fans into catharsis on Twitter
Angry fans wondered why one of their relief aces such as Jeremy Jeffress or Josh Hader did not come in that game instead of Lyles. Most fans seem to site their managers’ bullpen decisions as a key to their favorite team’s skid.
Milwaukee has a recent history of blaming managers poor bullpen management for team losses. The Brewers fired manager Ned Yost with only 12 games left in the 2008 season due to a skid.
The Crew had a winning record at the time, but wanted to do something amidst fan outrage during a big September skid.
After losing his job in Milwaukee, Ned Yost quickly found a new job with the Kansas City Royals. Yost, with a handful of other ex-Brewers, went on to win two AL Pennants and a World Series Championship.
One would think that Brewers fans would have learned their lesson about blaming a manager for a sudden skid. However, here we are again.
Since that is the focus of most arguments on Twitter, it is worthy of some analysis.
Analysis shows Counsell not misusing Milwaukee Brewers bullpen arms
Counsell explained why he manages the pen the way he does.
Asked Craig Counsell whether he’s second-guessing his philosophy of not pitching Hader/Jeffress when the Brewers are trailing. Here is his response: pic.twitter.com/AygrWBIzcW
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) August 18, 2018
The Brewers began the season winning games due to their depth.
However, injuries and lack of innings pitched by the starting rotation caused Milwaukee relief pitchers to throw several high leverage innings during the beginning of 2018. Counsell says this trend was “unsustainable” and is glad Hader has gotten some time off recently.
Hader had nearly 60 innings pitched through mid-August. He was on-pace for over 100 innings pitched for a while. Milwaukee cannot ask for their young star to pitch that many innings out of the bullpen without risking a long-term injury.
Counsell clearly explained he tries to use Jeffress and Hader only when ahead. Fans can argue with his philosophy to keep those pitchers ready for bigger situations in games that have higher win percentages and to keep their arms fresh.
Counsell’s decisions sound logical.
However, one of the best parts of sports fandom is being an armchair quarterback. This call for Counsell’s head sounds like another instance of that. Counsell’s job should be safe.