Craig Counsell, Pat Murphy have ties that bind

Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy (right) talks with manager Craig Counsell in the dugout. Murphy was Counsell’s college coach at Notre Dame.New Brewers bench coach Pat Muphy talks with Arizona State University's Tommi Goodman, for the "Peanuts and Cracker Jack" blog, about his appreciation for Bruce Springsteen.

Phoenix – Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell talks often about the "25-year baseball conversation" he has carried on with Pat Murphy, who now serves as his bench coach.

"You're getting to the age where you don't really remember anything from college," said Counsell, 45. "I do know that we've been talking baseball ever since then."

That relationship began in 1989, when Counsell…