NL Central Discussion 2026

[gregmag]

The Cubs are closer in the standings to the Cardinals than to the Brewers. They’re also down to the second wild card. 

[Jopal78]

8 hours ago, MrTPlush said:

I think people would have embraced Counsell back a little bit had we not just dominated after he left and have an even brighter future without him. At the end of the day he never made a World Series here and his success isn’t that impressive when we don’t miss a beat when he leaves.

The fact fans said ‘F you’ and then he proceeded to be lil bro in 2nd place year after year really cemented in the ‘F you’ as being deserved.

Counsell’s odd comments now and then just come off as bitter. Funny thing is, he probably is. Gave up his hometown hero legacy to sell his soul to a large market thinking he was doing something. Now he looks dumb always having to look up to see his former team in the standings trying to avoid another double digit deficit.

 

 

Money talks. I’m sure Counsell has no regrets resetting the market for manager salary. 

[homer]

 

[gregmag]

3 hours ago, Jopal78 said:

Money talks. I’m sure Counsell has no regrets resetting the market for manager salary. 

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" -- Mark 8:36

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Never cared that Craig left. Funny watching us own him, but I didn't care. The only thing I thought was cringe was him pretending he did it for the Managers of Baseball Labor Union and not just because he simply likes having a lot of money, lol.

[RWeeksFan23]

6 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Never cared that Craig left. Funny watching us own him, but I didn't care. The only thing I thought was cringe was him pretending he did it for the Managers of Baseball Labor Union and not just because he simply likes having a lot of money, lol.

I believe the term you're looking for is cringe-worthy.

[Thurston Fluff]

7 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Never cared that Craig left. Funny watching us own him, but I didn't care. The only thing I thought was cringe was him pretending he did it for the Managers of Baseball Labor Union and not just because he simply likes having a lot of money, lol.

The only thing I didn't care for was him negotiating a job when there wasn't an opening there. It's bush league to take a job when a manager hasn't been fired, even more when said manager did a decent job and wasn't going to be fired if you didn't take the job. Way, way, way more bush league to do so while also talking about taking the job for the sake of managers everywhere.

I can fan hate someone because their my team's rival but still respect like them as a player/person. I lost some respect for him for how he went about getting the job. 

[tmwiese55]

Side note, its kind of surprising Ross hasn't popped back up as a manager somewhere. He did a perfectly fine job there. He was probably content collecting his free money for a year or two but you'd think his name would've been out there again by now.

[Playing Catch]

14 hours ago, tmwiese55 said:

Side note, its kind of surprising Ross hasn't popped back up as a manager somewhere. He did a perfectly fine job there. He was probably content collecting his free money for a year or two but you'd think his name would've been out there again by now.

David Ross made over $22M in his playing career.

Many former players don't have to work for money. Therefore, he can wait for the "right opportunity". Also, while win-loss record will get a manager fired, it won't always get you hired. Perhaps (no idea) word got out that he just was merely "fine" as a manager, and no one feels compelled to go get him.

[markedman5]

🫡 to Joey Votto

 

[liveforoctober]

9 hours ago, markedman5 said:

🫡 to Joey Votto

 

Dang, that's actually a must watch for most of us. That's cool to hear that perspective.

[Baldkin]

On 9/3/2026 at 5:49 PM, Thurston Fluff said:

The only thing I didn't care for was him negotiating a job when there wasn't an opening there. It's bush league to take a job when a manager hasn't been fired, even more when said manager did a decent job and wasn't going to be fired if you didn't take the job. Way, way, way more bush league to do so while also talking about taking the job for the sake of managers everywhere.

I can fan hate someone because their my team's rival but still respect like them as a player/person. I lost some respect for him for how he went about getting the job. 

A head Hunter calls me up and offers me 4x what I'm making now, I don't care if someone else has the job

[Thurston Fluff]

8 hours ago, Baldkin said:

A head Hunter calls me up and offers me 4x what I'm making now, I don't care if someone else has the job

I'd say the same thing about you if you claimed you were taking the job to make people like the person you took the job from more money.

[Jopal78]

On 9/4/2026 at 8:59 AM, Playing Catch said:

David Ross made over $22M in his playing career.

Many former players don't have to work for money. Therefore, he can wait for the "right opportunity". Also, while win-loss record will get a manager fired, it won't always get you hired. Perhaps (no idea) word got out that he just was merely "fine" as a manager, and no one feels compelled to go get him.

Ross is also back on ESPN where the money is probably better than being a manager and the work less time consuming.