Remember those E.F. Hutton commercials from years ago? ... "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen." Well, it seems Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks had his very own E.F. Hutton moment last season. Sort of. Unlike those ads on TV, everybody got quiet after hearing what Weeks had to say, not before. According to this article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from the start of spring training (link below), the Brewers' dugout became silent during a game early last season after Weeks ordered his teammates to quit their whining. It's great to see that the 27-year old Weeks, about to begin his 6th full season in MLB, has that much respect among his teammates. But you can't lead from the disabled list.
If I had three wishes in baseball, one of them would have to be for Weeks to remain healthy for the rest of his career. He has been on the DL so often the last five years that it seems like he has missed more games than he has played. Of all the injuries no doubt the cruelest came last year on May 17 -- a wrist injury that ended what looked like was going to be his big, breakout season. Weeks had 9 HR and 24 RBI in the first 36 games of the '09 season and was among the NL leaders in runs scored until that fateful check swing ruined all the fun.
Weeks, a mentally strong individual, has bounced back from his previous setbacks and is coming back strong from this last one too. He's back at full strength this spring, determined to make this his breakout year, hoping to help lead the Brewers into playoff contention. Please click on this Feb. 26 article for more on Weeks, a very talented player on the verge of something really good.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/85614927.html
I was already a big fan of Weeks long before he started growing dreads. I was probably more shocked than anyone when he showed up with dreads at spring training last year. But I'm certainly happy to see it. His starter dreads were a bit difficult to see last season, barely peeking out from under his cap. But as you can see from the photos above, you won't have any problem seeing them this year. Rickie's dreads are growing fast. Let's just hope we get to see them for a whole season this time.
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