{"id":159741,"date":"2026-03-04T16:22:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=159741"},"modified":"2026-03-04T16:22:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:22:29","slug":"cubs-shocker-in-mesa-craig-counsell-drops-a-stern-ultimatum-on-his-players-master-the-basics-or-youre-off-the-team-by-the-end-of-camp-sending-a-clear-message-that-no-ones-spot-is-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=159741","title":{"rendered":"CUBS SHOCKER IN MESA: Craig Counsell Drops a Stern Ultimatum on His Players \u2014 Master the Basics or You&#8217;re Off the Team by the End of Camp, Sending a Clear Message That No One&#8217;s Spot Is Safe This Spring!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"overflow-hidden\" data-lead-image=\"true\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full\" title=\"Craig Counsell\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_46,y_154,w_6969,h_3920\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_cubs\/01kjv4dbhtmteqrfm7k2.jpg\" alt=\"Craig Counsell\" width=\"6969\" height=\"3920\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-grey font-group-tiny\" data-lead-image=\"true\">Craig Counsell | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\">Cubs\u2019 manager Craig Counsell is a fairly reserved guy.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\">He\u2019s usually not one to yell, but that wasn\u2019t the case Monday morning in Mesa during the Cubs\u2019 less-than-satisfactory base running drills.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\">Between ESPN\u2019s Jesse Rogers\u2019 firsthand account that the team \u201cdeserved it,\u201d and the triple play the Giants turned against the team Feb. 22, the Cubs\u2019 struggles on the basepath are clear.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ve ever heard Craig Counsell raise his voice but he just gave it to his team during base running drills. (They deserved it)<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JesseRogersESPN\/status\/2028515422132400630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\">Counsell addresses the situation<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\"><em>The Score<\/em>\u2019s Bruce Levine spoke with Counsell Monday and the skipper explained.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\">\u201c[Raising his voice] happens, actually, more than you think,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cSometimes you just have to try to emphasize your points, make sure it&#8217;s understood enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\">Counsell explained how he uses his voice in an intentional way:<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\">\u201cThe point of it is a little bit too, is to put some pressure on when we do the drill, because we can&#8217;t operate everything in like a game, a real game, but sometimes my voice can apply some pressure to the situation,\u201d Counsell said.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_54,w_4343,h_2442\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_cubs\/01kjtywz71799cggkkyt.jpg\" alt=\"Craig Counsell\" \/><br \/>\nCraig Counsell | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\">Levine, who described it as a &#8220;hot moment&#8221; for Counsell, asked him about whether he actually told his players, &#8220;if you don\u2019t know how to run the bases by the time camp ends, you won\u2019t be on the team,&#8221; and the manager had an interesting response.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\">\u201cI didn\u2019t say that, I said \u2018you won\u2019t be on the team,\u2019\u201d Counsell said. \u201cIt&#8217;s very different\u2026 because \u2018you won&#8217;t make the team\u2019 is very different than\u2026 we have some people that are going to be on the team, some players that are going to be on even if they get doubled off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\">As for the Cubs\u2019 base running skills, Counsell wants to make sure his athletes know their responsibility \u2014 especially on second base, where there\u2019s no coach in their ear.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\">\u201cIf you want to be a good major league base runner, like we can [get you] there. We can teach you technique,\u201d Counsell explained. \u201cYou also have to understand the scoreboard, which is a huge part. The big difference is, since the scoreboard is about winning and losing, it&#8217;s about games, game state, and understanding your role as a base runner in particular game states.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_5206,h_2928\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_cubs\/01kjv5vvq1z2j6t66d0j.jpg\" alt=\"Craig Counsell\" \/><br \/>\nCraig Counsell | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-15\">Conforto settling in under Counsell<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\">Veteran outfielder Michael Conforto joined the Cubs on a minor league deal Feb. 23 and is with the team in Mesa. He shared his thoughts on Counsell and his new team with Levine.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\">\u201cI mean, we&#8217;re two weeks away, and one of the strengths of this team is\u2026 we\u2019re kind of toeing that fine line of aggressive and reckless,\u201d Conforto said. \u201cThere&#8217;s a sweet spot there that you don&#8217;t give outs away, but you take everything that the other team gives you. It&#8217;s good to be on the aggressive end. It&#8217;s harder to stay safe and then push guys forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\">As for what his new manager stresses?<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\">\u201cThe point [Counsell] keeps getting across is, \u2018hey, you know, we have to be smart too,\u2019\u201d Conforto said. \u201cSo let&#8217;s understand the game situation. And you know, think of all the things that we need to be aware of.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3752,h_2110\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_cubs\/01kjv56e56wq6rm58fkb.jpg\" alt=\"Michael Conforto\" \/><br \/>\nMichael Conforto | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-21\">Though his reaction to Monday\u2019s drill may have seemed extreme to some, Counsell explained that as much as fans and media don\u2019t see that side of him, there are also positives happening behind the scenes.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-22\">\u201cSometimes there\u2019s a little fun in it, too. You haven\u2019t caught that part,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cI think\u2026 I\u2019m not gonna explain it. Some things are best not explained.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Craig Counsell | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Cubs\u2019 manager Craig Counsell is a fairly reserved guy. He\u2019s usually not one to yell, but that wasn\u2019t the case Monday&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>CUBS SHOCKER IN MESA: Craig Counsell Drops a Stern Ultimatum on His Players \u2014 Master the Basics or You&#039;re Off the Team by the End of Camp, Sending a Clear Message That No One&#039;s Spot Is Safe This Spring! - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=159741\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CUBS SHOCKER IN MESA: Craig Counsell Drops a Stern Ultimatum on His Players \u2014 Master the Basics or You&#039;re Off the Team by the End of Camp, Sending a Clear Message That No One&#039;s Spot Is Safe This Spring! - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Craig Counsell | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Cubs\u2019 manager Craig Counsell is a fairly reserved guy. 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