Milwaukee Brewers 2011 - 25 in 25 - Rickie Weeks (2 of 25)

When the Brewers signed the Predator Monster 's little brother 2nd baseman Rickie Weeks (the Predator Monster himself Manny Ramirez signed with the Tampa Bay Rays) to a 4-5 year contract extension, I jumped for joy. And then when I realized that at any moment he could activate his cloaking device, turn invisible and seek and destroy me in the stands if I happened to make an unfavorable comment, I got a little worried. But then my mind was put to ease because I have never said anything negative about Rickie Weeks. The only thing that could be construed as negative was when I worried that he could never stay healthy, as evident by the fact that prior to the 2010 season, the most games he played in a year was 129 in 2008. In 2009 he was crushing the ball, which led him to a stat line of .272 AVG, 9 HRs and 24 RBIs before his season ended in mid May. While the majority of Brewers fans finally got a glimpse of the real Rickie Weeks, I believed that he could do it all along. I've been a big supporter of him since he debuted in 2003 and I was at the game when he hit his 1st major league career homerun off of Johan Santana in 2005. In 2010 when he stayed healthy on the field for an entire year and had what many people consider a "breakout" year, I made some room for all of the new Weeks fans on the bandwagon that I had been driving for the last 5 years.

In 2010 how could you not love Rickie Weeks? He was one of the most productive leadoff hitters in all baseball and posted a stat line of .269 AVG, .366 OBP, 29 HRs, 83 RBIs and 112 runs scored. Sure he still did commit too many errors (3rd most in the National League with 15 behind Dan Uggla's 18 and Skip Schumaker's 16) and had some poor throws turning double plays that don't technically count as errors, but when you have the offensive power that Weeks does you take the good with the bad. But Weeks is improving defensively and if you watch as much Brewers baseball as I do (which is impossible, but try to imagine that you could) you can see that he is putting forth the effort to get better. That is the one part of his game that I bet you he would say that he would most like to improve upon. When I met him at Brewers on Deck 2011 I was all giggly to be standing next to him. He's only like 5'10" on a good day, but he's fucking ripped. It's hard to see it in jeans and the loose jersey, but I could tell by his handshake that he could probably kill me if he wanted to. That and the dreadlocks, plus his killer instinct on the field are what makes him one of the elite killing machines in all of the universe. Had he gone toe to toe with Arnold in that movie I'm pretty sure that Dutch wouldn't have survived to become Douglas Quaid, Detective John Kimble, Howard Langston or the Governator of California. No one messes with Rickie Weeks and gets away with it.



Now that you got an idea of how big my man-crush is on Rickie, it's no surprise to you that I am predicting this kind of season for Rickie Weeks:

.275 AVG, .358 OBP, 27 HRs, 93 RBIs, 111 runs scored, millions of new fans (we're gonna need a bigger bandwagon) and no fan deaths despite the fact that he is a highly trained assassin.

Yuniesky Betancourt will be working alongside Weeks all season because he is the new starting shortstop and one third of the 4-6-3 and 6-4-3 double play combination on the field. The two most important defensive positions in the infield (in my opinion anyway) are 2nd base and shortstop because they need to work together to determine who will field the ball and who will cover 2nd base when a ball is hit up the middle. It has already been noted that Weeks is no defensive whiz, and Betancourt comes with a pretty poor rap sheet as well, averaging 19.66 errors over the last 6 seasons. Hopefully like Weeks his offense will make up for his poor defensive skills, But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Roll out the Barrel! We'll have a Barrel of Fun!

- pookon -

www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com

25 Brewers in 25 Days : Rickie Weeks

The leadoff man is incredibly important because he has the ability to set the pace for the entire game. 2nd baseman Rickie Weeks has been and will be the Brewers leadoff hitter if only by default (until Carlos Gomez or Alcides Escobar can prove they can get on base on a consistent basis). I would rather see him batting 5th or 6th because of his power and ability to drive in runs, but having him bat leadoff means so much more to the team than being a table setter. Because if he is batting leadoff that means that he is in the lineup, and having a healthy Weeks in the lineup dramatically changes the entire offense. Almost everyone will point a finger at the pitching staff for the team's failure in 2009, but for me the season started to spiral out of control on May 17, when Weeks suffered what would be a season ending wrist injury. The offense failed to click for a couple of weeks until Casey McGehee stepped in and stabilized it. By that time it was too late because the pitching staff fell apart and the offense couldn't overcome how terrible the pitching was. The one word that people always use when describing Rickie Weeks is potential. That's because he has plenty of it, but he has yet to get to the level that everyone believes he is capable of reaching. But time is running out for the oft-injured Weeks, and 2010 is once again a make or break year for him

Rickie Weeks was an amazing offense player in college at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His numbers in his senior year were off the charts. In 50 games he had a .500 batting average (seriously! I know math is tough but that's 1 hit every 2 at bats!) with 16 HRs, 67 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. He won the Golden Spikes award (given to the best amateur baseball player each year) that year as well as multiple other awards. The Brewers drafted him with the 2nd overall pick in the 2003 draft. Since arriving for good in the Major Leagues in 2005, he has had numerous injuries including torn tendons in both wrists, one that ended his season in 2006 and the already mentioned one that ended his 2009 season. The story on Weeks for his professional career was that he was a good offensive player, but his defense was for lack of a better word, abysmal. It sometimes looked like he had hands made of stone and that he was moving at the speed of light, and he sometimes would move too quickly and flub even the simplest of plays. But even though he has been a lightning rod for criticism, Rickie Weeks knows his flaws and he is one of the hardest working players I've ever seen.

I've been working at Miller Park since 2002, and we are required to be there when the gates open. I am an order taker on the Club Level. I can't take orders unless there are people in the seats, and anyone who is familiar with Brewers games know that tailgating is huge and that most people don't even settle into their seats until the National Anthem. And even then the stadium is only half full. In fact, for a sold out game all the seats aren't even occupied until at least the 3rd inning. The point is, without having customers to serve, I watch batting practice every single day. And I get to witness first hand the Coaches working with Rickie to slow down his approach defensively. When Willie Randolph was signed as the Bench Coach prior to the 2009 season I rejoiced, for I knew that he would be working one-on-one with Rickie and be able to turn him around. When I was down in Arizona for Spring Training that year, I went to Maryvale ballpark for pre-game workouts and saw the hands on approach that Willie used with Rickie. And I got incredibly excited for what Rickie could do in 2009.

The first Brewers jersey that I ever bought was Jeff Cirillo in the late 90's. The second was a personalized retro Iceman jersey. And the third was Rickie Weeks. My friends thought I was crazy. I have been Rickie Weeks' biggest supporter since he first got called up to the bigs in 2005. Which is why it has personally affected me to see him struggle so mightily and constantly be injured. Everyone from the National media to people calling into Sports Radio 1250's Brewers post-game show bashed him on a nightly basis, and I defended him to the bitter end. Rickie Weeks is a hustle kind of player that never gives up. He runs hard to first on every hit, be it a groundout or a single to center. His attitude and willingness to play hard every single minute on the field is inspiring. You can just see that he loves the game of baseball and will do whatever is necessary to better himself. When he finally started living up to that potential in 2009 (37 games, .272 avg, .340 obp, 9 HRs, 24 RBIs, 28 runs scored) I wore my Rickie Weeks jersey with pride with a big "I told you so" grin on my face. In the years past I was mocked for wearing it, but I did it anyway because I believed in him. I was loyal to a fault. People would say, "Iceman - Rickie Weeks? Really?" I am a Rickie Weeks fan. It was almost to the point where I was like a parent standing by my kid's side and cheering the loudest for him even when he screwed up. Then he would hit a homerun and I would yell out, "that's my boy!" Which is why it killed me so much when Weeks tore the tendon in his wrist when he got off to the best start of his career. I still believe that Weeks would have made the All-Star team, and I would have been so damn proud to wear that All-Star jersey.

But Rickie Weeks never made it further than May 17 in 2009. I previously talked about the importance of a leadoff hitter, so I feel that I should mention that Weeks isn't a prototypical one, so he has had to learn to be one at the Major League level. In fact, the majority of the learning that he has done has been at that level and under the watchful and ever criticizing eye of the public. It is my belief that Rickie Weeks will pick up where he left off last year and finally have that breakout year. Because if he doesn't, then unfortunately it may be time to find someone who can. Brett Lawrie (ranked in the top 100 of baseball's top prospects) was the Brewers #1 pick in 2008 and he is rising fast through the system. It's not too hard to believe that Lawrie could be starting in 2011, and by 2012 he should certainly be on the team. But Weeks won't have to worry about that if he puts up numbers like the ones I am predicting in 2010:

.280 batting avg, .345 on base percentage, 18 HRs, 61 RBIs, 101 runs scored, 29 stolen bases. He will also make the NL All-Star team. And because everyone is suspect of his defense, I am predicting that he has fewer than 13 errors.

Rickie Weeks is one of the two key pieces in the 2010 Brewers puzzle (with the other being Corey Hart) because he is the catalyst that ignites their explosive offense. Once again, pitching will dictate most everything, but I believe that if Weeks does well, the team overall will do well. And I sure hope that I am finally right because I'm tired of so many years of being wrong. I am going to keep on hyping Weeks and supporting him because after doing it for 5 years, what's one more? One can't be wrong for 6 years, can they?

Next I will be looking at the player who will be anchoring the middle infield defense along with Rickie Weeks - "The Wonderkid", shortstop Alcides Escobar. This highly touted defensive wizard has been talked about for years, and Milwaukee finally gets to see him for a full year after his anticipated debut last fall. But he's so good that the Brewers parted ways with fan favorite and core member of the Brewers youth movement JJ Hardy. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!

- pookon -

www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com