Brewers manager not discouraged over amount of Cubs fans at Miller Park
MILWAUKEE — Try as they might, the Milwaukee Brewers aren't going to keep Cubs fans out of Miller Park.
There was still a strong contingent of Cubs fans at Miller Park Friday night, and Brewers manager Craig Counsell said it's just a numbers game.
“There's always excitement for these games,” Counsell said before the game. “On the Cubs fan thing, it's just a math thing. It's a numbers thing. It's hard with the numbers. They just don't add up in the Brewers' fans' favor. That's just the way it goes. I don't spend too much time worrying about it.
“Our fans have been wonderful. We're very thankful. We know that on weeknights in April that the building is going to be largely full. That's as much as we can ask for from our fans. There's a lot else going on. We get 30,000 in April on weekdays. How can you ask for anything more than that?”
The Brewers chased down the Cubs last September and won the National League Central by beating the Cubs in Game 163 of the regular season at Wrigley Field.
Getting Edwards right:
Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he wasn't too worried about beleaguered relief pitcher Carl Edwards Jr., who entered Friday with an ERA of 45.00 and a WHIP of 7.00. Edwards had given up 2 hits and 5 runs in 1 inning pitched while walking five.
“The guy's done so much great work in the past,” Maddon said. “I know at the end of last season it was a little reflective of what's going on right now. He's well. It's just about, and we all know this, it's no big secret, it's about being more consistent with strike throwing when he needs to be.
“Once he gets himself under better control, which he will, because he's done it before, that's when you're going to see the CJ that we've seen in the past.”
Making the rounds:
With the Cubs having entered Friday on a five-game losing streak, Joe Maddon was asked what he'd like to see from the team's veteran players.
“Veterans right now are normally circulating,” he said. “They're there for when a young guy like Carl (Edwards) has a hard time and (reliever Steve) Cishek might have had a hard time the other day. They go up to each other and they relate to them, probably, situations that happened to them, too. 'Listen, just stay with it. Everything's going to be fine. You're going to come out of it relatively quickly,' which I totally believe to be true.
“The real good ones circulate, and they're there for their teammates more than they're there for themselves. In that moment, I think that's the true essence of leadership.”