Milwaukee Brewers manager Ron Roenicke had been patiently waiting for second baseman Rickie Weeks to emerge from his season long batting slump. Weeks had been batting leadoff or second in the order all season but was hitting just .156 with four homers and seven RBIs through games of May 17th. He also had a whopping 49 strikeouts in 135 at bats. Six weeks into the season, Roenicke decided he had to try something to improve offensive production at the top of the order. On May 18th, Roenicke moved regular fifth place hitter Corey Hart up to leadoff, put Jonathan Lucroy in the fifth slot, and dropped Weeks to sixth.
I agree completely with this move. When a player is in a lengthy slump, a manager is faced with the question of how long to wait for the player to return to form before making a move. If anything, I feel Roenicke waited a little too long to make a change. Hart batted leadoff in 2011 when Weeks went on the disabled list in late July, and performed well. He's off to a good start in his return to the leadoff position, going two for five with a double and two runs scored in the Brewers' loss to the Minnesota Twins on May 18th.
Hart doesn't have the speed and base stealing ability of the ideal leadoff man, but he does have a solid enough on base percentage (.333 lifetime, .315 this season). Weeks is an important part of the Brewers offense who needs to emerge from his hitting slump. He was one for three with a walk and no strikeouts on May 18th in his first game in the six hole.
Aoki starting to hit consistently; Gomez may return May 20th
Norichika Aoki was two for four in the May 18th game, and that raised his batting average to an even .300. Aoki has been hot lately, with multiple hit games in his last four starts. He has been hitting first or second in the order, and is another possible option at leadoff if Roenicke wants to drop Hart back to fifth at some point.
Carlos Gomez is tentatively set to return from the disabled list on May 20th. Gomez has been hot and cold over his career in Milwaukee, but got off to a good start in 2012 and was hitting .280 when he went on the disabled list earlier in May.
Before his injury, Gomez and Nyjer Morgan were platooned in center field. Like Weeks, Morgan is in the midst of a season long slump. When Gomez returns, I'd like to see him platoon with Aoki instead of Morgan. Despite his good start this season, I'm not completely convinced yet that Gomez can hit right handed pitching well enough to be the full time center fielder, and I'd like to see Aoki get some more starts as long as he continues to hit well.
Mark Hudziak is a Featured Contributor in Sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. He has been a fan of the Brewers since they moved to Milwaukee in 1970.
Sources:
Diamond goes 3-0, Twins top Brewers 11-3
Milwaukee Brewers at Yahoo! Sports
More form this contributor:
Milwaukee Brewers Take Two of Three from Cubs, Escape Basement: Fan Reaction
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Carlos Gomez is Off to a Hot Start While Nyjer Morgan is Ice Cold: Milwaukee Brewers Fan's View
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