Colorado Rockies: The Psychology of the Day Off

While the Colorado Rockies’ season is still its infancy stages, the NBA playoffs will be gearing up this weekend. The end of the 82-game NBA regular season is in sight and the postseason is around the corner.

The San Antonio Spurs, as has been the case often in recent years, are among the NBA’s top teams and one of the favorites to win the NBA title (if they can get past the Golden State Warriors in what will be a brutal Western Conference postseason). As has been the case in recent seasons, San Antonio has rested its starters periodically during the regular season to ensure optimal performance in the postseason. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has been criticized, praised, and even fined for the move … but it has worked for an aging roster that has been in the NBA Finals two of the last three seasons.

So the Spurs have made it work in basketball … but does the theory of resting players hold any water when it comes to MLB? The days of players never having an off day are over. “Iron Man” Cal Ripken’s streak of 2,632 consecutive games played seems as if it will stand throughout time. After all, the longest current consecutive games played streak is 169 by Baltimore third baseman Manny Machado, who was the only MLB player to see action in every game in 2015 (after missing the last 44 games of the 2014 season) and the first seven games of this season. Only two currently active major league players have streaks of 500 or more consecutive games played on their resumes: Prince Fielder (547 from 2010-2014) and Alex Rodriguez (546 from 2000-2003).

Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss has seen how the game has changed and believes that resting players is a key part of today’s MLB strategy.

“We’ve been in tune with that for a long time,” Weiss said. “That’s been a big part of what I do as a manager. There have been a few exceptions, like with Nolan (Arenado) and (Charlie) Blackmon. They’ve probably played more than anybody. DJ (LeMahieu) can be in there as well. We’re in tune with that because of where we play and some of the challenges of altitude. Doogie (head athletic trainer Keith Dugger) and I talk about three times a day once the season starts about where guys are at and we try to stay out in front of those things and pick spots where we can give guys a day. With the younger guys, I run them out there pretty good. But resting and being in tune with the players and when they need rest is a part of what we do.”

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Sitting a star player like Arenado doesn’t sit well (forgive the pun) with fans who have paid to see him play that day or even with the player himself on occasion. While Weiss knows the rest is necessary, he also likes seeing the spirit in his players who don’t want an off day.

“Nolan is never going to admit to needing a day. Most of those guys aren’t, so I have to be proactive and I have to take it away from them because they’re not going to walk into my office and say anything like that,” Weiss explained. “That’s a good thing. That’s what you love about players as a manager. They’re always willing to go to their post. Our guys are that way. I have to be proactive with certain guys.”

Weiss said that, because of the way pinch hitters are often used in National League games, giving a player “a day off” may be more like giving him a few innings off.

“A day off gives them a mental break for at least a half a game,” Weiss said. “Chances are, especially in a National League game, they’re going to end up in the game at some point. Physically, the fact you’re getting them off their feet for a portion of the day at least is a good thing. But those guys still have to maintain their focus, especially when you get to the fifth or sixth inning and start moving pieces around. Those guys will more than likely be in play and they have to be ready. It’s not a total mental break by any stretch. They’re not sleeping in or doing laundry.”

Ryan Raburn, who came to the Colorado Rockies in the offseason after spending the first part of his career with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, sees a difference in the mentality of the bench in the American League and National League.

“With the National League, there’s more of the double switch than there is in the American League,” Raburn said. “I’ve pinch hit a lot in my career, mainly against left-handers. I’ve had to prepare every day, even if I’m not starting, because there’s a chance that I’m coming in the game.”

LeMahieu, the Rockies’ 27-year-old All-Star second baseman, says he is not a player who will lobby for an off day. In fact, if it were up to him, he’d be in the starting lineup every day.

“I don’t really think I ever need a day off,” LeMahieu said. “I’d rather, even if my body isn’t feeling good, have consistent at-bats. I think that’s more important. I’m young so it’s not like I need days off.”

Both Raburn and LeMahieu said that the mental aspect of the game from the bench changes as the game progresses.

“You see how the game is unfolding and what scenarios might happen and these things play out in your head,” Raburn said. “You have to so you’re not totally ambushed by a situation. There’s never a guarantee when you’re going in, so you have to be prepared mentally. You have to be ready. If they don’t call your name that day, you have to be ready the next day. It’s part of the job.”

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“I feel like I’m ready in the fifth. I’m ready to go,” LeMahieu added. “It’s like you have four innings off and then you start looking at how the starter is doing. You never really get a mental break. You could be called upon at any time and you don’t want to be so out of it mentally that you can’t be ready.

“Especially in the National League, you could pinch hit in the fifth or just come in and play defense. You never know what’s going to happen. In the National League, even if you have an off day, it’s not like you really have an off day.”