ARLINGTON, Texas — The pregame banter Sunday between Cubs manager Craig Counsell and media members drifted to the way some players, such as Pete Crow-Armstrong, draw attention anytime their name appears in a headline. Counsell noted he isn’t exactly clickbait.
“When they put my name in a headline on an article in ‘The Onion,’ then people read it,’’ he said. “One headline was, ‘Craig Counsell Proven to be Best Player of the Steroid Era.’ ’’
Counsell’s recollection of the headline is pretty accurate, especially since it was published by the satirical publication on Feb. 12, 2009.
Here’s the text of the story:
“After the records of players who used performance-enhancing drugs are carefully removed, statistics provided by the Elias Sports Bureau indicate that lifetime .255 hitter Craig Counsell was the best player of the past 15 years.
“If you judge them on the basis of pure physical ability, you’re left with Craig Counsell,” said ESB representative Patrick Wondolowski, adding that Counsell’s 35 career home runs narrowly beat out Quinton McCracken’s 21 and pitcher Glendon Rusch’s three.
“Upon hearing the news, broadcaster Bob Uecker lauded the Brewers utilityman as “one of the best I ever saw, if we’re talking about those who I can say without a doubt never took steroids. He came this close to stealing a base off of Ivan Rodriguez, and I swear I heard him foul tip a Roger Clemens fastball. The kid could flat-out steroid-free play.
“One time he was playing third base and he caught a Rafael Palmeiro line drive — just caught it, right in his mitt.” When asked about his Hall of Fame chances, Counsell dodged the question by asking if anyone had a few bucks so he could go buy a sandwich.’’
For the record, Counsell finished with a lifetime batting average of .255 with 42 career home runs. His single-season high was nine for the Diamondbacks in 2005. And, yes, Counsell said, he laughed when he read the story.
Bregman sits
Third baseman Alex Bregman, who in his last 10 games has just 6 hits in his last 38 at-bats (.158) and struck out five times in nine at-bats in the first two games here, was out of the starting lineup for just the second time this season, replaced by Matt Shaw.
“I think he’s been in a little bit of a rut the last four or five days,’’ Counsell said. “Chasing a little bit more than normal for sure.’’
Bregman’s .661 OPS so far this season ranks 14th among major league regular third baseman entering play Sunday. What’s striking are the number of notable third basemen also off to slow starts. Padres star Manny Machado is batting .197 and his OPS ranks just ahead of Bregman.
Austin Riley of the Braves, Matt Chapman of the Giants, Bo Bichette of the Mets, Alec Bohm of the Phillies, and Caleb Durbin, the former Brewer who replaced Bregman in Boston, all have a lower OPS. All are considered integral parts of their teams’ offense.
Ballesteros back
Moises Ballesteros was back in the starting lineup at DH after ceding his spot the previous two games to Michael Conforto. Ballesteros, who was batting .387 on April 27, has dropped 110 percentage points since during a stretch in which he has just two hits in 32 at-bats.
Carson Kelly started at catcher in all three games here, an indication that the Cubs aren’t looking at Ballesteros as an alternative yet behind the plate. Miguel Amaya reported a little back tightness Friday but is expected to be available shortly.
Fashion accessory
That multicolored belt worn by Ballesteros on occasion this season? It shows off the colors of the Venezuelan flag, a particular point of pride since Ballesteros’ native country won the World Baseball Classic this spring. He also has a bright red and electric blue belt, each inscribed with his nickname, “Bally.”
Brown stays in rotation
Counsell confirmed that Ben Brown will start Thursday in Atlanta. He made his first start of the season Friday and threw four hitless innings in the Cubs’ 7-1 victory against the Rangers. Brown has a 1.82 ERA in 13 appearances this season.
