Rickie Weeks so far this season

[Gobias Industries]

I've never thought of Rickie as a leadoff hitter. He doesn't run as well as he once did (some of that could be the injury last season), but he's also bulked up more in the offseason. He'd be a good #5 hitter. As strange as it may seem, Corey Hart feels more comfortable in the #1 slot, and historically has performed well there.

Really disagree here. I hate him in a run producing spot because he strikes out wayyy too much, he's a poor situational hitter, and imo he's a major liability in clutch situations. A-ram for the most part has sucked, but I shudder to think if Melvin would have penciled Weeks in the cleanup spot like so many fans had done in threads around here. Right now, he belongs in the bottom of the order until he starts hitting again. When he's going good, he belongs #1 or #2.

 

About a week ago I wasn't too worried and thought we'd see a nice rebound because he was facing some weak starting pitching and guys he's had some past success against. But he looks worse with each bat. I wasn't able to watch the last few games so I don't know how long this has been going on, but I was just appalled with his lack of balance tonight. Honest to god, I don't think I've ever seen a guy with such strong, quick hands hit the ball so poorly. He rarely hits the ball hard, which is just absurd given the bat speed he generates. He missed a half dozen mistake pitches tonight that any competent mlb player hits hard somewhere.

 

Roenicke needs to wake the hell up and sit him for a game and then move him down in the order before this really derails the season. IIRC, he's started every game this season. Unbelievable.

[The stache]

Gobias, I looked at Rickie's AVG with RISP the last two seasons. I'm shocked at how awful the numbers are, and would have to agree with you.

 

Wherever he is moved to, his OBP just doesn't justify batting in the top two slots. We can see it. Why can't his manager?

 

He just hasn't been the same since the ankle injury last season. And that's too bad, because I really like Rickie Weeks. He's been a great player for us, but he's struggling mightily.

[dlk9s]

Granted, it's not a problem when he's hitting well, but I've always wondered if Rickie stands too far from home plate. He seems to have a lot of trouble with pitches on the outer half. He seems to lunge a lot. But who knows. Everything could be fine and it's just a miserable season-starting slump.

[longball04]

I watched intently again last night to re-verify my point on him lunging. He is so off-balance at the plate that he is almost falling down on every outside pitch. The only other guy that does that is Morgan, but he looks to push the ball the other way. Everyone else stays balanced in the box. I really think that Narron has to see this. They have to address this. I can't remember Rickie ever doing it this much in his career. And for the previous person stating that we are better off right now with Rickie out there, I have to disagree. I think he NEEDS a day off. Today would be a nice day for one. Let Green start. Give Rickie today an tomorrow off. He was 0-4 again last night with 2 more k's. Yes he did walk. But he is not making productive outs. Honestly, how can it not help him to give him a day off? Green takes a nice approach at the plate. One game is not going to kill Rickie. I realize he is the overall better option, but right now he is not producing. He has made 94 outs this year. 37 of them are k's. He's hitting .168 on the year. A day off is needed.

[Ennder]

I'm fine with Weeks having a day off and yeah he does seem to be lunging a lot. However he also hit a few balls really hard just foul so I'm think his timing is off as well.

[Dollarbill13]

Lucroy should absolutely not be moved up in the order. So far, he's the same hitter that he was last year, only more of his ground balls are making it through the infield. Once his BABIP comes down, he'll end up as a .260-.270 hitter with little plate discipline and decent pop.

[rluzinski]

 

I'll call you and raise you a Bill Hall, Casey McGehee and Adam Dunn.

There are exceptions to every rule. I make decisions in life based on the most likely explanation.

[theavrock]

Rickie's BABIP is .219 and he has a .304 OBP.

 

Once his BABIP goes up to normal range his numbers and AB's will look much better.

 

It is frustrating that he and Aram are both sucking right now, but I am not worried about either one of them.

[pitchleague]

this may have been discussed in a previous post, but how much of an effect does Rickie not having his best friend and neighbor, Prince Fielder, on the team have on him? I've gotta think that, albeit small, it could be part of the problem.

 

Rickie and Prince were teammates all through the minors and the majors, were good buddies and probably good influences on each other, keeping each others heads on straight. Without that influence this year, could it possibly be affecting Rickie at the plate, psychologically?

[Gobias Industries]

Rickie's BABIP is .219 and he has a .304 OBP.

 

Once his BABIP goes up to normal range his numbers and AB's will look much better.

The main reason his BABIP is .219 is because he's popped up 23% of the time and he's not hitting line drives/flyners. Also, his infield hit rate has also been cut in half (it's down from his avg of 10% to 5%). He's been out by a half a step quite a few times, and I think he beats out a lot of those in years past. He looks noticeably slower to me after the ankle injury, so that's something he's probably just gonna have to deal with going forward.

 

I don't think he's gotten unlucky at all.

[markedman5]

He is in the lineup again today. Why not give Green the start and give Rickie a couple of days to relax a little?

 

The time to give somebody a day off is when they are struggling not when they hot.

 

Come on Ron....be a manager.....sit him down even if he wants to play.

[brwrsfan]

Couldn't agree more. It was one thing when Izturis was the only other real 2b on the roster. I'd rather have Weeks struggle than watch Izturis have to bat. However, now with Conrad and Green available, it makes no sense to send him out there to go 0-4 every day. Especially with the day off tomrrow.

[Ennder]

I don't think he's gotten unlucky at all.

 

Hard to think his new level is going to be a .219 BABIP, even the slowest of catchers sits higher than that.

[longball04]

I don't think he's gotten unlucky at all.

 

Hard to think his new level is going to be a .219 BABIP, even the slowest of catchers sits higher than that.

I guess when I look at a guy, I don't look at what he HAS done in his career. I look at what he is doing NOW. As a manager I don't think I can sit there and play the "well he got on at ____ pace in 2011" card when the guy is hitting below .175 and striking out at a horrible pace. I think that deserves a day off, especially when that person is sitting in the #2 spot in the order, right in front of our best hitter. Teams aren't afraid of Rickie right now. They are going right at him. There is no reason God's green earth that I would throw anything other than offspeed/breaking balls away to Rickie and Corey right now. Neither of them are making contact on those balls.

 

I am just saying, why not give him an off day today, especially against Cueto. Let a leftie give a hack at. Worse case scenario is that Green goes 0-4, just like Rickie does. But maybe Taylor puts the ball in play all 4 times.

[markedman5]

When you watch Rickie it sure seems like he is taking strikes and swinging at balls.....sure signs of a guy who is pressing.

 

You can tell by his body language how bad he feels about how he is hitting.

 

Give the guy a break Ron....it can't hurt.

[dlk9s]

I don't think he's gotten unlucky at all.

 

Hard to think his new level is going to be a .219 BABIP, even the slowest of catchers sits higher than that.

 

I think the point is that there is a reason his BABIP is so terrible, and it's not bad luck. It's bad hitting. That's not to say he won't turn it around - we all know that he is a quality hitter. He's in a terrible slump right now, for whatever reason, and his BABIP reflects more on his poor at-bats than on bad luck.

[longball04]

Bad example of his struggles, but in his first at bat today, he saw 5 pitches and never took the bat off his shoulder. Strike 3 was literally, right down the middle. I just don't think it would be that bad of an idea to give him 1 day off. I hope he gets some hits today. I do. I just think one of those "don't even put your spikes on" days is necessary.

[Baldkin]

When you watch Rickie it sure seems like he is taking strikes and swinging at balls.....sure signs of a guy who is pressing.

 

That's not really true. He's swinging at fewer strikes (and flat out swinging less) this season, but he isn't swinging at more balls outside of the zone than any year previous.

[RockCoCougars]

I'm so tired of watching him take a called strike one on the first pitch. It seems like it happens every at bat and it's driving me nuts. I've noticed this with the whole team this season. I wonder if it's the effect of Narron or something. Perhaps Weeks should go up to the plate telling himself that he's going to see the ball and hit it rather than fooling around trying to 'work the count'.

 

I'm getting to the point where I'm agreeing with those that feel he needs to sit down for a couple of games.

[trwi7]

I don't think he's gotten unlucky at all.

 

Hard to think his new level is going to be a .219 BABIP, even the slowest of catchers sits higher than that.

 

When almost a quarter of his balls in play are infield flys and less than 12% are line drives, it's probably best to stop with the BABIP argument.

[phnxcrew]

Agreed on weeks sitting. Last year it looked like he had finally developed the type of approach that he absolutely needed to have. Only when he's seeing the ball extremely well does it appear that he can hit an off speed pitch so he needs to always attack the fastball. Now he's watching... waiting... for what I don't know. Give the guy a few days off Ron. Rickie is once again the most frustrating player to watch on our team. All the talent in the world but the hands are apparently too quick for the eyes, or something of that nature.

[theavrock]

I don't think he's gotten unlucky at all.

 

Hard to think his new level is going to be a .219 BABIP, even the slowest of catchers sits higher than that.

 

When almost a quarter of his balls in play are infield flys and less than 12% are line drives, it's probably best to stop with the BABIP argument.

 

No its not. His other peripherals don't look even average. I get that. I was just using his BABIP to say its unlikely going to be his new norm.

 

He has sucked, but these kind of cold streaks happen. There are a million reasons why this is a bad time for this to happen but it is what it is and I am sure it will turn around.

[Dollarbill13]

 

When almost a quarter of his balls in play are infield flys and less than 12% are line drives, it's probably best to stop with the BABIP argument.

 

 

I'm guessing you are getting his ball in play statistics from fangraphs. If so, you are reading them wrong. His 23.3% IFFB rate is a percentage of his total fly balls, not total balls in play. He has hit 7 infield flies this season. If you apply his last season rate of 12%, he "should" have hit 3.6.

 

Also, for what it's worth, he has hit 9 line drives out of 76 balls in play. Using his 16.6% rate from last season, he "should' have hit 12.6.

 

His K rate is also about 3% higher than last year which means that he's struck out about 5 times more than he otherwise "should" have.

 

This article shows the amount of plate appearances that it typically takes for various statistics to stabilize. We are getting close to the point where you can reasonably look at line drive rate but it would seem that we should still give him time on the rest. IFFB means basically nothing right now.

 

Even if you assume that his current rates will stand for the entire season, his xBABIP is .243 compared to his current BABIP of .219. If you assume that his IFFB rate will normalize to last year's 12% and everything else will remain the same, his BABIP would be .271. He probably won't put up the same numbers as he did last year, but a Rickie Weeks that hits .240 still has a lot of value given his ability to take walks and hit for power.

 

Ultimately, I think most folks are fine with him having a day off, although I'm skeptical of whether it would actually do any better than just letting him try to play through his slump.

[brettac1]

Ultimately, I think most folks are fine with him having a day off, although I'm skeptical of whether it would actually do any better than just letting him try to play through his slump.

Yeah, I don't think it serves much purpose to give him a day off, unless he has an injury. Otherwise, the odds are certainly better for him to do well than someone like Conrad. Just keep trotting him out there and wait for him to get hot.

[JohnBriggs12]

There are tons of examples of letting a guy sit for a couple days clears his head and helps him come out of his slump. There's also getting additional playing time for guys behind him, Green and Conrad, to keep them sharp too.

 

Roenicke doesn't see him as pressing. But shouldn't he be? It worries me more if he's not pressing. A "what me worry?" attitude when a guy who's supposed to be a leader is hitting under .170 in mid May doesn't cut it with me.

 

At least move him down in the order.