The term "load management" has been a hotly debated topic in sports, more specifically in the National Basketball Association, but it seems like that philosophy is creeping into baseball as well.
Count former New York Mets manager Buck Showalter into the camp that is not a fan of how organizations are limiting playing time.
"I love when those guys come in about their load management," he said on "Foul Territory" when asked about the topic.
He went into a more specific example about players who performed well in the previous game are mentioned as those who need some rest because they ran around the bases a lot.
"So what do you want me to tell him, 'Don't get any hits, so you can play the next day?' I didn’t quite understand that one," Showalter said.
The divide between "old school" baseball people and the new age analytics groups has been discussed at nauseam for decades.
And while many people might classify the former Mets skipper as someone who is in that "old school" camp, he was also quick to remind people that he's always been open to the analytical side of the game as well.
"I'm receptive ... We used to do analytics, sabermetrics for dummies in Spring in Baltimore to make sure we made people unafraid of it. Understand what it told us, what it didn't tell us," he added.
It's also important to remember that Showalter didn't work with the new president of baseball operations David Stearns who came in and let the legendary manager go from his position this offseason.
Much of his frustration he's mentioning was aimed at the previous regime he worked under.
Analytics are clearly here to stay in the game of baseball.
But it also should be pointed out that managers are in place to understand what their players are feeling while playing the game. They know how their guys are going to react physically and emotionally during certain moments.
The Texas Rangers just won a World Series with an "old school" skipper in Bruce Bochy, proving there is a way to win that isn't just beholden to a spreadsheet.
Showalter would clearly likely the aspect of "managerial feel" to stay in the game of baseball as well.
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