Who's that struggling to break through Door No. 12? Why, it's Rickie Weeks -- and, actually, if you could help Rickie out by opening that door, it'd be much appreciated -- we don't want him to hurt his wrists again ...
DISCLAIMER: The following statement has not been sanctioned by BCB, KL, SBN, NATO, or any other acronym:
Rickie Weeks is the single most important position player on the Brewers roster this season.
Before you shout me down, hear me out:
At this point, a little less than two weeks before Spring Training, we know that: Prince and Braun are more or less givens, and, to a lesser extent, so is Zaun; Alcides and CarGo should give you excellent defense, and any offense will be a bonus; and Hart, in all likelihood, will continue to drive us up the wall. The only real unknown, I think, is McGehee.
In my mind, if this team is going to contend, Rickie Weeks is going to have to make good on the promise he showed last season and make The Leap. If he can put it together (and, probably more importantly, keep it together), the top of that lineup -- Weeks, (whoever), Braun, Fielder -- looks awfully imposing. And I'll also be able to forgive myself for ruining last season by prematurely dubbing it The Summer of Rickie Weeks. (Again: sorry 'bout that.)
Here's your Rickie Weeks Nugget of Goodness: we spend so much time focusing on the things that Rickie can't do that we often forget what he's really good at -- letting the baseball hit him. Rick's already No. 2 on the Brewers all-time HBP list:
| PLAYER | HBP | GAMES PLAYED |
| Geoff Jenkins | 95 | 1234 |
| Rickie Weeks | 62 | 482 |
| Fernando Vina | 58 | 528 |
| Jim Gantner | 52 | 1801 |
| Brady Clark | 50 | 549 |