Brewers fans are loving Cubs admitting defeat after offseason Craig Counsell theft

The 2024 MLB trade deadline is less than two weeks away with the Milwaukee Brewers primed to be buyers once again. Meanwhile, a different NL Central team may officially now be on the other end of the spectrum. And that is music to Brewers' fans ears, especially after what transpired in the offseason.

While the Brewers and Cardinals have been fighting for NL Central supremacy recently, the Cubs have continued their downward spiral. Yes, they're 6-4 in their last 10 games, but after resting up during the All-Star break they responded by dropping a three-game series at home against the Diamondbacks.

That series left the team with a 48-53 record, 10 games back of the Brewers in the division, and 3.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot in the National League. Though that final hurdle doesn't seem like that much to overcome, the overall picture is apparently enough for the Cubs to make a tough decision on the season and their future.

Much to the delight of Brewers fans, the Cubs apparently will be looking past this season with whatever trade deadline moves they make.

Jesse Rogers, who covers both Chicago baseball teams for ESPN, was able to speak to Cubs president Jed Hoyer on Monday. Among other things, the team's approach at this year's trade deadline was brought up.

Per Rogers, Hoyer stated that unless things start looking drastically more positive in the coming days, "anything the team does at the trade deadline will be to help them in future years." That's pretty much just another way of saying the team will be sellers.

Forgive Brewers fans if they don't shed a tear over this one. Already heightened tensions between the two fanbases rose even further last offseason when Chicago hired away Milwaukee's longtime, hometown manager in Craig Counsell, who also happens to be the winningest manager in franchise history.

Aside from that, though, the Cubs didn't do much to improve as one might have expected. They did make a big signing in international free agent Shota Imanaga, brought back Cody Bellinger (which isn't technically an improvement since he was already there), and acquired infielder Michael Busch, one of the Dodgers' top prospects, via trade. But besides that?

For a team that flamed out and missed a playoff spot last season, you'd think they would've done more to ensure they were competitive all the way to the bitter end. Instead, they apparently didn't even make it to the trade deadline before all but throwing in the towel. And that is just fine as far as Brewers fans are concerned.