there are good ways to work the count and take pitches and bad ways. If you are averaging 4 pitches an AB because you are fouling off one pitch or seeing one ball before a K, then that is ineffective. If you are having a 7 pitch at bat and K'ng rather than popping out on the first pitch, I'd rather have the K, at least early in a game.
Hicks did not have a bad K there.