Brewers' Craig Counsell does not make cut among three finalists for NL manager of year

The Milwaukee Brewers' Craig Counsell did not make the cut Monday when the three finalists for 2017 National League manager of the year were announced by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

The three top vote-getters for NL manager of the year, in alphabetical order, were Colorado's Bud Black, Arizona's Torey Lovullo and Los Angeles' Dave Roberts, all of the West Division. Two BBWAA members in each NL city submitted three names on ballots at the end of the regular season. 

The top three vote-getters in each league for most valuable player, Cy Young Award winner, rookie of the year and manager of the year were announced on the MLB Network. The winners will be announced over a four-day period next week. 

Counsell, who was named manager of the year by The Sporting News, in balloting of big-league managers, piloted the surprising Brewers to an 86-76 record in the second full season of their rebuilding process, missing the second NL wild-card berth by one victory. It was an improvement of 13 victories from the team's 73-89 record in 2016.

Falling one game shy of the playoffs likely cost Counsell votes because Roberts, Lovullo and Black all guided their teams to the postseason. 

Roberts, the 2016 NL manager of the year, led the Dodgers to 104 victories, most in the major leagues this season. Los Angeles fell one victory shy of their first World Series title in 29 years, losing in seven games to the Houston Astros.

Lovullo had a huge impact on the Diamondbacks in his first season at the helm. Arizona was one of the most disappointing teams in the league in 2016 with a 69-93 record but under Lovullo they improved by 24 victories, finishing 93-69 to claim the No. 1 wild-card spot in the NL.

Black also was successful in his first year as the Rockies' manager. They improved by 12 victories from 2016 with an 87-75 record, edging the Brewers by one victory to claim the NL's second wild-card berth. Colorado lost to Arizona in that wild-card showdown. 

The three finalists for AL manager of the year also all made the playoffs: Cleveland's Terry Francona, Houston's A.J. Hinch and Minnesota's Paul Molitor.

The three MVP finalists in the NL are Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt, Miami's Giancarlo Stanton and Cincinnati's Joey Votto. The AL finalists are Houston's Jose Altuve, New York's Aaron Judge and Cleveland's Jose Ramirez. 

The three rookie of the year finalists in the NL are Los Angeles' Cody Bellinger, the prohibitive favorite, Pittsburgh's Josh Bell and St. Louis' Paul DeJong. The AL finalists are Judge, another prohibitive favorite, Boston's Andrew Benintendi and Baltimore's Trey Mancini.

The three Cy Young Award finalists in the NL are Washington's Max Scherzer, who won in 2016, teammate Stephen Strasburg and Los Angeles' Clayton Kershaw. The AL finalists are Cleveland's Corey Kluber, Boston's Chris Sale and New York's Luis Severino.

In other Brewers news, minor league pitcher Cristian Sierra was suspended for the first 72 games of next season for testing positive for Boldenone, a banned performance enhancing substance. Sierra, who signed this year and had yet to begin his pro career, was on the roster of the Dominican Summer League Brewers.