In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today you will see a 'MLB Beat' article which basically goes after the heads of second baseman Rickie Weeks and center fielder Mike Cameron, saying that their bats have been awful and they don't deserve their job. Tom Haurdricourt has been after these two guys for about two weeks now and is trying to force the hand of Ned Yost to basically get rid of both of them and let the subs come in and do some damage.
But that's bull shit. Why now Tom? Rickie has been struggling all season, but has been a constant OBP guy as far as this team is concerned. Let's look at the regulars on this team and see where Rickie matches up as far as OBP goes...
Prince Fielder .374
JJ Hardy .344
Ryan Braun .338
Rickie Weeks .332
Jason Kendall .330
Corey Hart .319
Mike Cameron .316
3B Platoon .305
And he goes after Rickie?! What the hell is wrong with this guy. First off all, Braun's OBP is pretty much all average. Kendall is actually slugging lower than his OBP and Corey Hart has Braun syndrome this year with an IsoP of a disgusting 39. But that's not what Tom sees. He sees Rickie make two bad plays on defense and nit picks on every single little blunder. He then thinks that he has enough pull to talk to Yost on behalf of the fans as if the fans deserve the change despite it not being warranted.
Don't get me wrong here though, I'm not a total idiot. Ray Durham's .378 OBP makes me a very happy man, and I think he should get some playing time down the road, but ONLY against tough righties. Durham does not bring speed to the base paths any more, and since this team is purely a homerun team, he's unlikely to advance to scoring position when reaching on a single or walk. This is a real problem because of the team's .254 average and .324 OBP. Rickie, on the other hand, often gives us the best opportunity to score runs as his 68 runs on 136 appearances on the base paths indicates. If you're wondering about Ray Durham this year he's at in 47 in 122 appearances. Mind you he was on the Giants for most of that time. Rickie's 16 SBs and heads up running often moves him into positions Durham is no longer capable of doing (I saw him tag from first a couple times this year. How about turning singles into doubles against the Astros?)
You play Durham against tough righties who rely on the soft stuff and that's it. So that basically gives Durham 2-3 games a week and Rickie 3-4, which I'm okay with. But don't go after a 26 year old kid, who, in terms of this team, isn't under achieving as much as people think.
My problem with Tom is that when he writes articles, he never offers up any argument to the other side. For instance, Yost called Rickie a 'late bloomer' this week referring to Rickie's second half tear. Tom simply shrugs it off and doesn't even offer up the numbers. Well here's Rickie's second half stats from last season...
58 G .251/.422/.481 with 11 HR, 17 RBI, 16 SB, 0 CS and 48 R
Guess what guys, There's 51 games left. In Rickie's last seven complete games he is hitting:
.333/.406/.556 with 3 RBI, 4 R, 1 SB and 1 CS
Why would Tom ever write that in his column? It's one thing to go after a guy, it's another when you fail to offer up all the facts. Tom tells the public in print only what he thinks and not what's actually going on. Please refer to the Angel Salome suspension in which Tom printed he took steroids, when in fact it was ADD medication that had a banned stimulant in it. Tom never retracted the article or the statement.
I should be back this week if you were all looking for me. I needed a break after going to four games in that horrendous homestand. I believe more in silence than going after the throat of a team that really didn't play a single game of solid baseball for my 100 bucks worth of ticket sales.
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4 comments:
Good to have ya back...Sometimes silence is the greatest remedy. I hear what you're saying about Haudricut or whatever...It's only natural that frustrated fans and apparently objective? writers pin the blame for a losing skid on one or two players.
The OB% chart you included in the post peaks volumes. This is a team that collectively struggles to have good at bats and execute with runners in scoring position.
It is a very exciting team at times because of the continuos long ball threat...but a team unable to compensate muscle with a plate discipline and sone small ball better do a little praying..
Maybe, as you mentioned Mr. H. over-reacted to Rickey's 2 errors...Yes, the y were costly to the immediate eye...but playing 2B and SS involves a heck of alot of other things that don't meet the eye so fast...I don't need to list those other things because you already know what I"m talking about.
The problem with Rickey Weeks is not Rickey Weeks. It's unrealistic expectations media and management paste onto his back. Rickey played colllege ball at Southern University, I think. He hit like 478 there...set an all time record....so the baseball world assumes he is the next hitting machine. Southern University or wherever he played is not a major conference...considerably inferior pitching...
Regardless...Rickey is fine in my book. He shows potential to have a superior eye at the plate and we all know about his speed...He is what he is which is an effective lead off hitter who could idally bang out a few more base hits and get that average consistently around .250.
But in the mean time, I like your suggestion.....a Durham start against tough righties..
I disagree with you here. I never read the article, but I am sick and tired of Weeks. This kid has tons of potential, but we rarely ever see it. It almost seems as if he has actually regressed this year in comparison to past seasons. The Brewers traded for Ray Durham, why not use him more? Since Yost continues to trot out Cameron, Hall, and Weeks, this team makes any no name pitcher look like a CY young winner.
The Brewers are supposedly in a win now mode. The team gave up one of their best prospects for CC and brought in Durham. Its time to forget about payrolls (Ned) and play the guys who can actually produce now.
Sorry, Rant over....
But don't get me wrong, I do not blame Weeks entirely for the meltdown in Milwaukee. But I think his error in game one set the tone for the rest of the series...
It's hard to say Rickie has regressed considering he only hit .235 last year, and was around .220 for most of the year last year as well.
He has progressed defensively and essentially hasn't changed a bit at the plate. It's hard to give up on a guy who had an IsoP of 139 just a year ago. Considering nobody on this team has patience, it's a breath of fresh air.
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