Cubs’ Jed Hoyer defends firing David Ross for Craig Counsell: ‘This is no knock on Rossy’

The day after his wonder dismissal of David Ross as supervisor and his much more shocking hiring of former Brewers skipper Craig Counsell to prevail him, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer fielded questions on the ones twin selections. 

The Cubs made the strikes on Monday, and it used to be surprising for two number one causes. First, Ross had led the Cubs out in their rebuild into wild-card competition this season with an 83-97 document. The strides have been such that proprietor chairman Tom Ricketts gave Ross a de-facto vote of confidence after the regular season ended. As neatly, Ross used to be beneath contract for 2024 with a membership possibility for 2025. Beyond that, the Cubs have been by no means part of the Counsell suite of rumors main as much as the verdict. Instead, he used to be assumed certain for the Mets or again to the Brewers and even to the Guardians, with whom he additionally interviewed. 

The Cubs-Counsell pairing thus got here in combination briefly and hastily, and consistent with Hoyer it used to be within the identify of bettering the crew. “My job is to figure out how to win as many games as we possibly can in the short term and the long term,” Hoyer informed journalists, including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, on Tuesday, “and there was nothing about this move that didn’t feel like met that criteria.”

Without query, Counsell is certainly on the best of his craft – tactically, when it comes to stable demeanor, and on the subject of operating a clubhouse. His popularity around the league speaks to this, as does his sustained document of luck with the small-budget Brewers. 

Still, implicit within the booting of Ross for Counsell is that Ross wasn’t the best have compatibility for the activity shifting ahead. On that subject, Hoyer said: 

“This is no knock on Rossy, who I think incredibly highly of, but Craig is at the very top of the game. It’s hard to rank managers but he’s at the very top of the game.”

The exchange used to be most likely awkward and uncomfortable in execution, however Hoyer possibly do not have given Counsell the most important managerial contract in MLB historical past had he no longer believed he would make the Cubs higher than Ross would. That’s a defensible stance, however it comes with force for that assumed improve to be borne out within the standings.