0-2 Count on Rickie Weeks

[AJAY]

Not really a rant, but just an observation. There seems to a somewhat predictable pattern for Rickie Weeks.

 

Pitch 1: Rickie Weeks tries to show patience and takes a strike right down the middle.

Pitch 2: Rickie Weeks swings at a breaking pitch out of the strike zone. He's already behind in the count 0-2

Pitch 3: He lays off another breaking ball in the dirt knowing the pitcher is trying to get him to chase. The count is now 1-2

Pitch 4: Strikeout swinging or strikeout called on the inside corner.

 

Anyway, the point is that Rickie Weeks rarely seems to be ahead in the count when batting. Is there some way he can mix it up? Maybe be more agressive on the first pitch if it's good?. How about learning to shorten his stroke and poke it the other way with two strikes?

 

When Weeks was drafted, I heard so much about his all-time highest NCAA batting average. I was expecting a lot more. I really don't even care about his power. I also wish he would go back to his college stroke where he didn't waggle the bat and just had a short sweet swing.

 

Joe Dillon makes it look so easy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Brewer Fever]

I also wish he would go back to his college stroke where he didn't waggle the bat and just had a short sweet swing.

I wasn't aware of this. It almost seems ridiculous that he hasn't at least attempted to revert back to his college swing. Do Skaalen or Yost know this. It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if some Brewer coach taught him the waggle.

[jazzytrav]

Pitch 1: Rickie Weeks tries to show patience and takes a strike right down the middle.

Pitch 1: (Enter Brewer player) tries to show patience and takes a strike right down the middle.

 

Sometimes it almost seems like they're all under orders to take the 1st pitch. It also seems like the pitchers know this so they lay a meatball right down the middle to everyone.

[Gobias Industries]

It's a timing mechanism.

 

And yes Weeks could stand to swing early in the count more. You can really see where his at-bat is gonna go with the first pitch of his at-bat. I said this in Spring Training and no one said anything. He's a patient hitter. He's been one in college, the minors, and now in the big leagues. He's not "trying to show patience". But he needs to start to become a patient-aggressive hitter, which scouts talk about. The book is out that Weeks takes the first pitch. He needs to adjust. When he's sitting dead red he's very good.

 

Guys that walk a ton like Pujols and Manny have started swinging on the first pitch and 1-0. Every hitter, no matter how bad or good has to make adjustments after being in the big leagues for awhile.

[Roscoe Chill]

I notice JJ Hardy watching pitches to groove on the first pitch all the time. I'm all for patience in some situations, but it's maddening to me when the best pitch to hit is one that someone has no intention of even trying to hit.

[sbrylski]

It's a timing mechanism.

 

Its not working.

[Brewer Fever]

It's a timing mechanism.

I'm aware it's a timing mechanism. My point is that it doesn't appear to be working.

[Gobias Industries]

It's a timing mechanism.

 

Its not working.

Indeed. It wouldn't kill me to see it stopped.

[Weirdos19]

Guys, we are not even 10% of the way through the season. Relax.

 

Whatever Rickie is doing is fine with me. He's leading the league in runs scored and Braun and Prince aren't even hitting yet. When they get going, the offense will be fine.

 

Remember, Rickie was sent to the minors last year. He may just be a slow starter.

[jazzytrav]

Guys, we are not even 10% of the way through the season. Relax.

So when should they wait to fix it? I guess it just seems obvious to me that he's letting them throw strike 1 right down the middle. Maybe I'm wrong.

[TooLiveBrew]

Taking the first pitch is a very good calculated risk, along with making the pitcher throw at least one more pitch.

 

Also, Weeks's pitch recognition looked really good tonight -- he seemed to learn from mistakes at the plate as the game progressed. I am shocked at the number of reactionary threads on BF.net, the anti-small sample site!

[treego]

10% of the season is not a small sample.

[TooLiveBrew]

Yes it absolutely is. Especially when it's being used as some sort of predictive tool

[Gobias Industries]

Taking the first pitch is a very good calculated risk, along with making the pitcher throw at least one more pitch.

 

Also, Weeks's pitch recognition looked really good tonight -- he seemed to learn from mistakes at the plate as the game progressed. I am shocked at the number of reactionary threads on BF.net, the anti-small sample site!

 

 

Agreed for the most part. When he's leading off the game I have no problem with him taking pitches early in the count. (I was shocked what he did to Lilly on the first pitch.) But when he's up with runners on, or RISP he consistently gets behind because he's taking the first pitch. A lot of the time that first pitch that goes by is a pitch he could do a lot with.

 

I agree with the reactionary threads. I'm such a huge Weeks fan that I feel the need to post in all his threads, but its getting pretty nuts. I've been staying away from the IGT because of all the negativity. For the most part he's ran into somewhat bad luck at the plate. In the past week, he has 1200 feet worth of outs in 3 at bats. And at least the guy has other ways to get on when his hits aren't falling in. It's as if he never finished the year really strong with all the heat that's on him not only here, but with any Brewer fan. From my experiences, the casual fan doesn't appreciate or even hates Weeks.

[Fatter than Joey]

Guys, we are not even 10% of the way through the season. Relax.

 

I'm pretty sure that unless you are in Frankie Goes to Hollywood, you probably shouldn't be telling people to relax.

[TooLiveBrew]

But when he's up with runners on, or RISP he consistently gets behind because he's taking the first pitch.

Based on what, 10-15 ABs this season? That's my problem here -- you can't point at something like this and accurately say, 'Well, this is how it's going to be from now on...'

[Fear The Chorizo]

I seem to recall that he hit the first pitch from Ted Lilly, and that ball still hasn't landed yet. All of the Brewers need to lay off the breaking ball in the dirt/low and outside of the strike zone - those pitches are killing them right now.

 

The offense is definitely in a rough stretch, but they'll hit their way out of it. If we can get a win tomorrow, we'll be 3-2 this most recent time through the rotation. Three games over .500 after the stretch of pitchers we've faced so far this year is pretty good, IMO, especially when you're 2nd best starter isn't pitching yet.

[Gobias Industries]

No. I'm basing it off of his pro career so far. I've seen every Weeks at-bat outside ~5 AB's since he got called up. Getting behind in the count with RISP has been a problem. In 372 career Plate Appearances he's put up a .215 .329 .337 line with 74 strikeouts. It wouldn't kill him to attack the first pitch fastball in those situations every once in awhile.

[TooLiveBrew]

I've seen every Weeks at-bat outside ~5 AB's since he got called up.

 

Me too, save every game [this season] up to tonight when I finally added Extra Innings. Those numbers you posted aren't very far off his overall career numbers to this point. Rickie's been injured basically every game up until last August. I have no idea how you are convinced that this identifies the 'problem' in his game. The knee jerks around here lately are mind-boggling.

 

 

EDIT: Bracketed insertion

[jazzytrav]

I don't really think this is a reactionary thread, though. Or maybe I'm just taking it the wrong way. I guess I'm just going on a gut feeling that I've had about a lot of Brewers at-bats since last year, and it seems like every time I look up it's a first pitch fastball right down the middle. Not just this year, but last year as well. It just seems more pronounced this year, which would make sense if they were doing it last year and other teams caught on to it. This is just the first thread that I've seen on it, and Rickie is the guy that usually takes a lot of pitches.

 

I realize that it's a good thing to take a lot of pitches, but it would just be nice if these guys could go up there and possibly think about swinging at that first pitch. Most of the time, if they saw that pitch with any other count, they would rip it. So why not go up there and see that first pitch as if it's any other pitch in the count? But since it's the first pitch, there seems to be some kind of law that says "let it go by". If I'm a pitcher, I would see that and see an easy way to get ahead in the count.

 

Maybe this is a little bit of a knee-jerk because it's mostly gut reaction since I don't know how to find out any stats on it, but this feeling has been growing for me for over a year now about some of these guys. It's almost like there are certain at-bats (a lot of them) where they're mechanically going up there thinking, "No matter what, I'm not swinging at the first pitch." It even seems like Braun is doing it now, too. Geez, I realize the guy is trying to draw more walks, but it's obviously not working very well and I imagine he would be much better at belting 45 homers if he knocks that 1st meat pitch.

 

Come on TLB, it's the beginning of the season...let me freak out about something http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[dadofandrew]

Considering Rickie's walk totals, I wish more of the team batted exactly like him.

[TooLiveBrew]

But since it's the first pitch, there seems to be some kind of law that says "let it go by"

 

I think the team's approach was great in the 4th inning last night, just as an example of why going after a first pitch isn't always a great idea. They finally started to work Wainwright as a team -- first Braun's two-out single, then great ABs from Fielder, Hall, & Hart (up to Corey not taking his final pitch towards RC... I still think he could've put that one in the gap).

[jhart05]

I am shocked at the number of reactionary threads on BF.net, the anti-small sample site!

I'm not.

I'm not saying I agree with the topic of this thread. I don't.

Ricky is one behind the league leader in runs, is taking his walks, is being aggressive on the bases, and is hitting the ball hard so the hits will start to fall in there.

 

[rluzinski]

I don't have swing/take data for Weeks on first pitches but he's gotten on base on 97 of his career 1412 PAs on the first pitch. It resulted in this:

 

.345/.387/.540/.927

 

I don't know if he should swing more often on the first pitch but it looks to me like he's found some decent pitches to hit when he does.

[Tbadder]

Now, correct me if I'm wrong. But I seem to remember a Bill James article on the success of swinging at the first pitch. It was ugly, super low chance of success.

 

And what's more frustrating than an a bat that goes:

 

first pitch: swing, grounder to second, one out. et al.