Rickie Weeks option declined, a farewell thread

[vegasbrewcrew1993]

It's the right move for the team but it makes me a little sad. Rickie has always been one of my favorites. Weeks, Hardy, Hart, Fielder, Hall... all gone now. It seems like just yesterday that "the young guns" were on their way and now they've all come and gone, except for Braun.

 

Any bets on Weeks to the Royals?

The Royals signed Infante to a four year deal last offseason. There is no way he plays for the Royals next season. My guess is either the Orioles or Blue Jays on a 2yr/$11M deal.

I think he's a strong candidate to end up with the A's. Beane might like his patient approach. Weeks' average last year wasn't that bad. About .270 something. Beane likes to take on reclamation projects too. It's not a bad gamble for them. He''ll be available for cheap and he's an upgrade over Alberto Callaspo and Eric Sogard.

[logan82]

Weeks is the last of the young players on the Brewers I really liked. I never warmed up top Braun or Gallardo. Not like I did with Hardy, Hart, and Weeks.

[Pugger]

Weeks is the last of the young players on the Brewers I really liked. I never warmed up top Braun or Gallardo. Not like I did with Hardy, Hart, and Weeks.

 

I liked Braun until he lied to the whole world. I'll cheer for him because he wears a Brewers jersey but if he were to be traded I wouldn't shed a tear.

[KCBrewerfan34]

What about Weeks hitting the GS off of Santana off the glass in LF, if my recollection is correct it was a mammoth shot, also the HR in St Louis into Big Mac land

[TooLiveBrew]

The one I'll always remember is the laser-beam HR he hit off the green wall behind the OF wall in left-center (basically the same general area where the HR in this video wound up). It was hit so hard that the ball bounced almost halfway back to the infield. I'll look for it this weekend, but if anyone can find & post that clip, it'd be appreciated! Seemed like the ball didn't get much higher than 50' or so.

Found it today! This ball & flightpath is the way I'll remember Weeks when he connected (& the kid's facial expression in the crowd at 0:13-0:14 pretty much summed up my reaction at the time) -- http://m.mlb.com/video/v16726143/cinmil-weeks-crushes-a-threerun-goahead-shot/?c_id=mlb

 

And here's the much-referenced shot off the NYCE Club in LF (I'd forgotten it was a back-to-back job with Prince!): http://m.mlb.com/video/v19734007/must-c-crushed-fielder-weeks-hit-backtoback-shots/?c_id=mlb

[logan82]

The one I'll always remember is the laser-beam HR he hit off the green wall behind the OF wall in left-center (basically the same general area where the HR in this video wound up). It was hit so hard that the ball bounced almost halfway back to the infield. I'll look for it this weekend, but if anyone can find & post that clip, it'd be appreciated! Seemed like the ball didn't get much higher than 50' or so.

Found it today! This ball & flightpath is the way I'll remember Weeks when he connected (& the kid's facial expression in the crowd at 0:13-0:14 pretty much summed up my reaction at the time) -- http://m.mlb.com/video/v16726143/cinmil-weeks-crushes-a-threerun-goahead-shot/?c_id=mlb

 

And here's the much-referenced shot off the NYCE Club in LF (I'd forgotten it was a back-to-back job with Prince!): http://m.mlb.com/video/v19734007/must-c-crushed-fielder-weeks-hit-backtoback-shots/?c_id=mlb

That first one was the one I was thinking of. I guess it was going down but it didn't look like a HR off the bat. Maybe a double in the gap.

[Nottso]

The best part of the second one is Fielder's reaction to Rickie's moonshot.

[homer]

 

And here's the much-referenced shot off the NYCE Club in LF (I'd forgotten it was a back-to-back job with Prince!): http://m.mlb.com/video/v19734007/must-c-crushed-fielder-weeks-hit-backtoback-shots/?c_id=mlb

 

That one is up there with the upper deck shot he had at St. Louis his rookie year. Joe Buck just said "This thing.....wow."

[TooLiveBrew]

The best part of the second one is Fielder's reaction to Rickie's moonshot.

Definitely. Hairston's reaction makes me chuckle, too.

[Baldkin]

I used to have all the play by play archives bookmarked, but apparently MLB took them down. Sad. I can't watch that 7/18/2005 shot by Rickie anymore.

 

MLB: The only major sport that DOESN'T WANT people to watch their highlights.

[gregmag]

It really does feel like the end of an era. I always rooted hard for Rickie. He was a terrific player at his best, and I think sometimes people let his limitations overshadow his contributions. Then the injuries hit, and the limitations mostly swallowed the contributions. As others have said, he always worked hard and never complained. I just really, really liked the guy. 2b's tend to flame out early with injuries, but I'd love to see him find another burst of success elsewhere.

[Point Beer Is Best]

The day he got called up to the big leagues is the day the franchise started it's turn around from being awful. Thanks for helping Milwaukee care about the Brewers again.

 

That was a definite "remember where you were" moment for me. The Spivey trade to Washington for Ohka with Weeks being called up to take his place was the dawn of a new era of Brewers baseball.

 

I'll miss the laser shot HR's, his 100% effort, and the endless "you know"'s from his early interviews.