The discussion gets dumber when you consider that the Brewers know that Counsell is actually good at his job. If there was some doubt about that I think you could better make an argument for moving on, but it's universally accepted that he's great.
Like I said, if all CC wants to do is reset the managerial payscale, just do it and move on.
The Brewers can't compete with big markets when it comes to paying players. If a guy wants $300 million or $30 million a year, it's not going to happen. It could be half those amounts and the Brewers are going to be outbid.
The only level playing ground the Brewers can operate on is management and organizational hires, and that's probably not going to be the case much longer either. Milwaukee just happens to have a really, really good home grown guy who may be willing to spend his career in the town, and all it will take is paying the going rate. This shouldn't be any kind of hard decision.
How about doing both? Pay the manager, and pay the players.
The Brewers aren't going to lose a player over an extra $3 million a year unless they're not actually interested in getting said player.
Why? Who cares if it's $7 million or $10? It's not our money. There's no managerial salary cap to consider. If the place where the Brewers can gain or keep a competitive advantage is with (relatively cheap) management, then just do it.
If Counsell is actually giving the Brewers the option of keeping him, pay the guy and say thank you.
It's incredibly silly if CC is let go over any amount of money. $3 million is an accounting error for MA. It's an average middle reliever.
If the report is true, that CC is back if the Brewers make him highest paid, it's the easiest decision Antanasio has had to make yet.