Brewers manager Ron Roenicke indicated Saturday that he's likely to bat Rickie Weeks leadoff and Corey Hart fifth this season. It's the spots they were in for Saturday's intrasquad game. "I think I'll probably stay with this for a while to see that it's where we should be with it," Roenicke said. "It's not that I need to see how it works, because I saw it work last year. But I had a conversation with both Corey and Rickie, and I think these are the spots they want to be in, also." Weeks will score more runs in the No. 1 spot, but he hasn't been much of a basestealer the last two years, and that probably won't change since he's coming back from a significant ankle injury.

Rickie Weeks told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Thursday that his left ankle is at about 95 percent. Weeks severely sprained his left ankle last July and though he returned for the playoffs, it was clear he wasn't fully recovered. He's not 100 percent yet, but he's confident he'll get there by the end of spring training. The 29-year-old batted .269/.350/.468 with 20 homers, 49 RBI, nine stolen bases and an .818 OPS over 118 games last season and should be considered a top-10 second baseman in mixed fantasy leagues.

Rickie Weeks said he's still not 100 percent recovered from his ankle injury but is "very close." "I wouldn't say its 100% but it's very close," Weeks said. "I'm still doing rehab back home." The second baseman suffered a severe ankle sprain in late July, and although he returned late in the year, it was clear he wasn't healthy. It's a tad concerning that he's still not 100 percent, but it sounds like he's almost there. The Brewers will need his production this year without Prince Fielder and the likely absence of Ryan Braun for 50 games.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said that if Prince Fielder leaves via free agency and the team doesn't bring another big hitter in, Rickie Weeks is the most likely candidate to bat cleanup. Weeks batted .269/.350/.468 with 20 homers in 2011 despite being hobble by an ankle injury for most of the second half. He slugged .464 with 29 homers in 2010. Ideally, the Brewers would probably prefer to bat him second or fifth, but they could get by with Weeks as a No. 4 hitter.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said the struggling Rickie Weeks will continue to start at second base as long as his ankle allows him to do so. Weeks has batted just .067 (1-for-15) through four postseason games, which includes an 0-for-5 showing in Game 4 where he left six runners on base. Roenicke said Weeks' ankle is still an issue, but he should be able to play through it unless he has a setback. "You guys still see the ankle, it isn't right. We knew it wouldn't be," Roenicke said. "But we were hoping offensively that he would get locked in and be able to really hold down that fifth spot, which we've talked about all year."

Rickie Weeks went 0-for-5 in Wednesday's Game 4 NLDS loss to Arizona. He also stranded six base-runners. Weeks has one hit in 15 at-bats in the playoffs and is batting .053 in his limited postseason career.

Rickie Weeks struck out all three times he was up before being removed from Wednesday's game against the Brewers. The experiment of using Weeks as a No. 5 hitter isn't working at the moment. He has just five runs scored and eight RBI in 19 games there. He had 67 runs scored and 39 RBI in 93 games as a leadoff man.

Rickie Weeks admits that he'll have to deal with pain in his ankle for the rest of the year. He returned to the lineup Monday after sitting out a couple games due to ongoing soreness in the ankle. It was the first time since being activated from the DL that he played a full game. "It wasn't 100 percent," he said, "but I'm not going to be there for a while. I'm dealing with it." The second baseman is batting .231/.500/.308 in 13 at-bats since returning.

Rickie Weeks played his first full game Monday since returning from a severe ankle sprain. "He said he felt good after the game, so I think that's a good sign," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. Weeks went 0-for-3 with a walk, but he's getting healthier at the perfect time. He'll play a major role for first-place Milwaukee this October.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke didn't start Rickie Weeks Saturday after the second baseman admitted to soreness in his left ankle after playing Friday. Weeks has started four of eight games since being activated from the disabled list. Roenicke admitted that the soreness was a "bit of a red flag," but he's not worried. "He's OK," said Roenicke. "He wanted to play. I decided to give him off. It bothered him a little bit (Friday) night. Not a lot but a little bit. He tried to talk me into playing. I think it's going to be there for a while. You're playing in a game and you may do a certain thing to tweak it, and then the next day you're a little more sore than usual."