Phillies fans think they hate analytics but they really don’t

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY SportsThe Phillies’ search for a new manager kicked into gear this week with Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi and Dusty Baker all taking meetings with the team. One would imagine owner John Middleton was involved, as well as general manager Matt Klentak, who we’ve been told is “spearheading” the process.

Certainly this is a task Klentak would rather not have engaged in. He liked Gabe Kapler and said he was a “fan” of his at the news conference announcing his removal. If it were up to Klentak, Kapler would still be at the helm, an analytically-driven skipper receptive to the numbers and data that the Phillies have spent millions of dollars cultivating over the last two…