traded claims over ownership of Pope Leo XIV\u2019s fandom<\/a>.<\/p>\nCounsell\u2019s strategy, which meant Horton had one fewer matchup against the Mets\u2019 top three hitters \u2014 Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso \u2014 worked about as well as Counsell could\u2019ve asked.<\/p>\n
The Cubs gave Counsell a record five-year, $40 million deal to make big decisions like this. I asked then-general manager Jed Hoyer back in 2015 if managing the Cubs was the most difficult job in sports, back when they had yet to break \u201cthe curse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the last 107 years it has proven to be the most difficult, and I think it\u2019s a job that certainly is challenging,\u201d Hoyer said. \u201cYou\u2019re in a major market. You\u2019ve got a rabid fan base. But I certainly think it\u2019s a doable job. It\u2019s a job that\u2019s attainable. You have to have the best team and you have to get hot in October. I don\u2019t think there are inherent obstacles. Maybe there have been in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoyer may have been throwing shade at his predecessors and their lack of success getting the Cubs to October, but he obviously believes great managers can make a strong team better. And he definitely thought Counsell was a significant upgrade from David Ross, or he wouldn\u2019t have fired the former Cubs cult hero.<\/p>\n
We saw no immediate benefits from the switch in 2024, but now we\u2019ll see whether the Counsell effect is real. Will Pressly\u2019s leash be as long as the one Counsell gave to H\u00e9ctor Neris last season? Pressly was warming up in the seventh Sunday, but Counsell went with Keller in the bottom of the inning after the Cubs tied the game at 2-2.<\/p>\n
Counsell\u2019s handling of Horton will also be scrutinized the rest of the year, if Horton sticks, and the rookie\u2019s workload will be monitored after he came off shoulder issues that limited him to 29 innings at Iowa in \u201924.<\/p>\n
Horton\u2019s debut was comparable to Mark Prior\u2019s in 2002, at least in terms of memorable Cubs prospects. That doesn\u2019t say much for the development of Cubs pitching prospects over the last 23 years, but it is what it is.<\/p>\n
Prior threw 103 pitches in his debut, a 7-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 22, 2002, allowing two runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts over six innings. Coincidentally, Girardi was his catcher.<\/p>\n
Horton has the talent to become one of the better Cubs pitching prospects this century, which is why he\u2019ll be handled with care this season. Of players who primarily performed in the 21st century, the eight winningest pitchers while wearing a Cubs uniform are Carlos Zambrano (125 wins), Kyle Hendricks (97), Kerry Wood (80), Jon Lester (77), Jake Arrieta (73), Ryan Dempster (67), Jon Lieber (50) and Ted Lilly (47). Wood and Dempster, of course, were relievers at times in Chicago, which affected their win totals.<\/p>\n
Prior didn\u2019t last long due to injuries, and his 42 wins are tied for 71st on the Cubs\u2019 all-time wins list with Scott Sanderson. If he stays healthy, Horton should be able to eclipse Prior\u2019s career.<\/p>\n
Anxiety-ridden Cubs fans were left with the fact that the Cubs have lost two straight series heading into Monday\u2019s six-game homestand against the lowly Miami Marlins and White Sox.<\/p>\n
But at least they learned how to watch a game on Roku.<\/p>\n
Baby steps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There will come a day when asking \u201cWhat\u2019s Roku?\u201d sounds quaint. Sunday was not that day for some…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,9049,138,24,4245,576,161,4829,7644,4,61,889,9050,411],"class_list":{"0":"post-19476","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cage-horton","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-chicago-cubs","12":"tag-chicagocubs","13":"tag-craig-counsell","14":"tag-cubs","15":"tag-joe-girardi","16":"tag-mark-prior","17":"tag-mlb","18":"tag-new-york-mets","19":"tag-porter-hodge","20":"tag-roku","21":"tag-ryan-pressly"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114491299216204460","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CTC-Z-Cubs-Mets-Baseball_229109040.jpg\")
Chicago Cubs\u2019 Cade Horton pitches during the second inning against the New York Mets on Saturday, May 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II)<\/p>\n