David Ross: A Justified Sacrificial Lamb

This season, the Chicago Cubs had a meltdown in September causing them to miss the postseason for the third consecutive year. Despite missing the postseason, the team said that incumbent manager David Ross would return next year. However, despite their initial plans, the opportunity to hire Craig Counsell was too good to resist. The team instead altered their plans and fired Ross to hire Counsell. Unfortunately for David Ross, the Cubs did the right thing by making him a sacrificial lamb.

This Isn’t the First Time the Cubs Have Sacrificed a Manager

This isn’t the first time the Cubs have made another manager a sacrificial lamb to hire a proven winner. Just before the 2015 season, Joe Maddon opted out of his contract with the Rays to become a surprising free agent. Meanwhile, then-manager Rick Renteria was just coming off his first season and Chicago was still rebuilding. However, the opportunity to hire a proven winner like Maddon at the time doesn’t come around every day. The Cubs acted and fired Renteria and hired Maddon. The Cubs would break their postseason drought that year and make it all the way to the NLCS. The following season, Chicago would win the World Series and break their 108-year-old curse.

David Ross Oversaw the Latest Rebuild and Was Initially a Part of the Future

After David Ross helped lead the Cubs to an NL Central title during the COVID-shortened year, he would spend most of his tenure overseeing a rebuild. During his time in the dugout, the team let key players leave including Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez. The Cubs would struggle and finish the next two seasons under .500. Despite the tough times, the team was planning on making David Ross a part of their future after they finished rebuilding.

The Cubs Wanted to Contend in 2023 but Fell Short

Prior to the 2023 season, the Cubs went on a spending spree. They went out and signed free agents Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, Michael Fulmer, Brad Boxberger, Jameson Taillon, Drew Smyly, and Tucker Barnhart. This significantly increased the Cubs’ payroll and signaled to their fans that they were ready to contend.

Despite stumbling through the first half of the season, Chicago quickly got hot after the All-Star break and was in a position to make the postseason and possibly win the division. However, injuries to key players like Adbert Alzolay, Marcus Stroman, and more hurt the Cubs badly. A 12-16 September would knock the Cubs out of the playoffs for the third year in a row. Despite the meltdown, the team maintained Rossy would return next season.

It’s Not Every Day a Manager like Craig Counsell Is Available

However, Brewers manager Craig Counsell was surprisingly a free agent. Counsell is a proven winner, he’s helped the low-budget Brewers go to the postseason five times in the past six seasons. Milwaukee also captured three NL Central division titles during that span. Like with Joe Maddon, the Cubs knew that this was too good of an opportunity to ignore. Despite competition from the Brewers, Mets, Guardians, and the team publicly committing to Ross; Chicago instead shockingly fired him to hire Craig Counsell. The Cubs would also make him the highest-paid manager in baseball by signing him to a five-year $40 million contract.

Tom Ricketts Puts Winning Over Loyalty

Unfortunately for David Ross, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts is impatient to bring another World Series championship to Chicago. Ricketts has shown over the years that he is the antithesis of Jerry Reinsdorf, he won’t let loyalty come before championship parades. If he sees someone who can bring the Cubs to a championship more quickly, he will hire that person. He did this once before when he fired Rick Renteria after just one season to hire Joe Maddon. Counsell is a proven winner while David Ross only won a division title during a shortened season. Given what Counsell’s Brewers teams were able to do on a limited budget, he’s a significant upgrade over David Ross. Many times, the manager overseeing the rebuild ultimately doesn’t get to be around for the good times. While the Cubs were very cruel in firing David Ross, it is ultimately a justified sacrifice they had to make to win again.

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