Five Hundred and Forty Seven
This has not been a livejournal which has consistently praised Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks. No, not at all. This has been a livejournal that repeatedly demanded his benching in 2008 (at times in favor of the underrated Ray Durham), and this year was no different - the I dreaded the prospect of another year where the Brewers leadoff hitter had a line of .234ba/.342obp/.398slg, with 66 walks and a whopping 115 strikeouts (and that doesn't even begin to address his flawed defense). And although I know Yost, Sveum, Melvin et al are regular readers of my livejournal, they didn't make that move. "Ricky scores runs", they'd say. Well, yeah - Abe Vigoda scores runs, too, if Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are batting after him!
Instead, they picked up the great baseball managers Ken Macha and Willie Randolph, unduly cast aside by the A's and the Mets, respectively, for perceived flaws and missteps which were really just excuses to activate the old maxim: "managers are hired to be fired".
So, here we are. Willie Randolph and Dale Sveum took Weeks under their coaching wings, and turned the undisciplined young prospect into the future all-star second basemen we all knew he MIGHT be... COULD be... but didn't SEEM to be. Coaching matters. Managers make a difference. Rickie, in 2009, had impressed me, and the rest of all you Brewers faithful. He was well and truly on his way! Rickie Weeks had made a believer out of me.
And now this. Season ending wrist injury.
It's a cruel, cruel world. The dark baseball gods strike back, with a vengeance.
Ken Macha, if you're reading, here are your new starting lineups:
VS RHP
1. Corey Hart rf
2. Craig Counsell 2b
3. Ryan Braun lf
4. Prince Fielder 1b
5. Mike Cameron cf
6. Mat Gamel 3b
7. JJ Hardy ss
8. Jason Kendall/Mike Rivera c
9. (pitcher)
VS LHP
1. Corey Hart rf
2. Craig Counsell 2b
3. Ryan Braun lf
4. Prince Fielder 1b
5. Mike Cameron cf
6. JJ Hardy ss
7. Bill Hall 3b
8. Jason Kendall/Mike Rivera c
9. (pitcher)
And for interleague play, obviously we'll have Mat Gamel DH, and Bill Hall can play at third base every day.
Hey, isn't Ray Durham a free agent this year? He's "underrated", according to one baseball livejournal I just wrote. Go get him!
Instead, they picked up the great baseball managers Ken Macha and Willie Randolph, unduly cast aside by the A's and the Mets, respectively, for perceived flaws and missteps which were really just excuses to activate the old maxim: "managers are hired to be fired".
So, here we are. Willie Randolph and Dale Sveum took Weeks under their coaching wings, and turned the undisciplined young prospect into the future all-star second basemen we all knew he MIGHT be... COULD be... but didn't SEEM to be. Coaching matters. Managers make a difference. Rickie, in 2009, had impressed me, and the rest of all you Brewers faithful. He was well and truly on his way! Rickie Weeks had made a believer out of me.
And now this. Season ending wrist injury.
It's a cruel, cruel world. The dark baseball gods strike back, with a vengeance.
Ken Macha, if you're reading, here are your new starting lineups:
VS RHP
1. Corey Hart rf
2. Craig Counsell 2b
3. Ryan Braun lf
4. Prince Fielder 1b
5. Mike Cameron cf
6. Mat Gamel 3b
7. JJ Hardy ss
8. Jason Kendall/Mike Rivera c
9. (pitcher)
VS LHP
1. Corey Hart rf
2. Craig Counsell 2b
3. Ryan Braun lf
4. Prince Fielder 1b
5. Mike Cameron cf
6. JJ Hardy ss
7. Bill Hall 3b
8. Jason Kendall/Mike Rivera c
9. (pitcher)
And for interleague play, obviously we'll have Mat Gamel DH, and Bill Hall can play at third base every day.
Hey, isn't Ray Durham a free agent this year? He's "underrated", according to one baseball livejournal I just wrote. Go get him!