How do we get the most from Rickie Weeks?

[joepepsi]

Twice this year I've seen Hart thrown out at 3rd stretching a double into a triple. Another time Prince was stopped at 3rd but Corey rounded 2nd and headed to third anyway, not watching Prince had been stopped. He was caught in a rundown, and iirc, made the 2nd out. I don't bring this up to criticize Hart who I think is a wonderful player; rather to show if you rely on anecdotal evidence to make your point you'll have a hard time convincing me of anything.

 

That said, and accepting batting average can be overrated, Rickie does indeed need to hit for a higher average. Too many players on this team have spent too much of the season hitting in the .220-.230 range. I feel this is the main reason they aren't in 1st place right now. If Rickie hit .270 everything else about him would be fine and he'd be considered one of the best young 2B in MLB.

[yount19.u]

The incident with Hart rounding 2nd and not seeing Prince held up at 3rd was a mistake and all players make them. His getting thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple is aggressive base running and I cannot fault him for that as long as it does not become a habit. He's also purposely been caught between 2nd and 3rd this year while allowing the runner to score on what would have been a close play. He basically baited the left fielder to throw him out instead of the man coming home. I believe it was Dale Sveum who said Corey Hart was the best baserunner he'd seen since Robin Yount. That says a little.

[joepepsi]

He's also purposely been caught between 2nd and 3rd this year while allowing the runner to score on what would have been a close play. He basically baited the left fielder to throw him out instead of the man coming home.

I remember that. It was only a week or so ago, wasn't it? Great, smart play by Corey.

 

[TooLiveBrew]

That said, and accepting batting average can be overrated, Rickie does indeed need to hit for a higher average. Too many players on this team have spent too much of the season hitting in the .220-.230 range. I feel this is the main reason they aren't in 1st place right now. If Rickie hit .270 everything else about him would be fine and he'd be considered one of the best young 2B in MLB

 

Great point. I think that sometimes in the SABR-influenced world of analysis, it can be relatively easy to overlook singles. Sure, they aren't much in & of themselves, but high BB rates are so prized right now when singles = OBP too. I'm not pointing any fingers, but just a general comment.

 

I love BBs, but toss 10-20 more singles (a .273/.286 BA range) into what Rickie's done so far, and we're probably not even discussing how he's so gawd-awful. In fact, we'd probably be loving it. That said, his BA has been rising steadily basically since mid-May. There were a few downturns in there, but mostly moving upwards.

 

And as a throw-in, 'just for fun' stat... Rickie's BABIP so far in August is .538!

[razzzorsharp]

A quote from Moneyball regarding Billy Beane (Considered very talented but a bust by most) that may be used in conjunction with Weeks....

 

"The guy believes in his talent. What he doesn't believe in is himself. He sees himself exclusively in his statistics. If his stats are bad, he has zero self worth. He has never developed a coping mechanism because he's never had anything to cope with."

 

I could see Weeks being this guy. A guy who is needs to see success in order to have success and when things don't go his way he has a hard time getting back on the horse. What these types of players need are 1) More seasoning in the minors where they can gain confidence with their great numbers and 2) A good manager that understands that they can't be pulled at the first sign of trouble and will work with them.

 

How do we get the most from Rickie? I think letting him work through his troubles till he gets to the point where he is confident that every at-bat will work out for him nor is it the end of the world if he makes an out. Though that may not be the best for the team in 2008 I really believe that Rickie will be an All-Star and it would be a shame for him to be that somewhere else.