A lot has been made about all he's given to the team in the second half of this season, how important he has been to the Brewers' unexpected late-season surge into the playoffs.  Still, I feel his contributions have been ignored, if not belittled.

It's time we show some love to the man we affectionately call "C.C."

Craig.

Counsell.

Counsell is nothing more than a low-end reserve for the Brewers and the deepest of NL-only leagues at this point in his career. Don't use him in the final Fantasy Week 26 (Sept. 22-28). --- CBS Sportsline

At first glance, his stats don't jump out at you.  But dig a little deeper...and they're still pretty bad.  If you dig REALLY deep, though, you can see and appreciate the total awesomeness that is Craig Counsell.

* July OBP: .286, 4 BBs in 14 games

* August OBP: .333, 10 BBs in 22 games

* September OBP: .450, 16 BBs in 20 games

In the 12 games since we were deYosted!, Craiggers has walked 10 times.  It's like he's pushing the ball out of the strike zone with his mind.

New Brewers manager Dale Sveum has made Ray Durham and Craig Counsell regulars since taking over. Durham ended up having a nice series against the Cubs, but Counsell went 2-for-12 with no RBI and one run scored. He has an absurd total of 12 RBI in 233 at-bats this season. That'd be hideous even if he were hitting leadoff, but less than one-quarter of his at-bats have come with him batting behind the pitcher. We're all for not playing Bill Hall, but if the Brewers were going to make a switch, it should have been to Mike Lamb, who at least has some upside. --- Rotoworld

You may look at his season OBP of .355 and still not be overly impressed.  Nonsense, I say.

* In the playoff-clinching win, who knocked in the tying run with a bases-loaded walk?  Craig Counsell --- right after Corey Hart struck out on three pitches, I might add.

* Who was on base when Ryan Braun blasted his 10th inning grand slam against the Pirates?  Yup --- Counsell.

* Who scored the tying run in the series-opening win against the Pirates?  CC, of course.

* The go-ahead run to salvage a much-needed win against the Reds on the 21st, keeping our playoff hopes alive? You know it, dawg.

"That moment is perfect for him," Hardy said. "It's just awesome. You can't say enough about him or about CC. What those guys did today, it's downright ridiculous. It's the most fun I've ever had." --- JJ Hardy

He's a big-game walker, and I daresay as valuable to the team as the "other" CC.  He may not get the $150 million free agent bonanza next season, he may be overlooked when we start playing around with the 2009 lineups, and his fansite may not have been updated in almost 2 years, but when you need someone to keep the inning alive without risking a broken bat, Craig's your guy.  When passing around the accolades and high-fives, don't forget the player from Whitefish Bay whose walk got the pitcher out of the way the inning before to set up the late-game heroics.  He's just doing his job.

Craig Counsell...thank you.