The various pundits, kensai and me included, do a fair bit of railing against the moves made by the Dodgers. Hell, that is part of point of this site and its progenitor. That said, I was watching the FSN show "In My Own Words" on Casey Blake, and I found his story interesting. I decided to look deeper at his career, adding to what I already knew, and figured out that just about everyone has given him a raw deal.Coming Up
For those that don't know, Blake was a huge fish in a small pond in Iowa, where he was rated one of the ten best athletes in Iowa history. He then went to Wichita State and was a huge star. Despite this, he was twice drafted in the late rounds, out of high school and in his junior season of college, and the most money he was offered was $30,000. So he returned back to college for his senior year, finished up with a monster year, and was drafted in the 7th round by the Blue Jays. All Blake did during his time in the minors was kill baseballs.
Instead of bringing up a guy who could hit for power, get on base, and play all four corners, Blake didn't get to play full time in the majors until 2003, when he was 29 years old. This wasn't through any fault of his own, it just seems like no one saw him as the solution to anything. On the FSN show, Steve Lyons even mentioned that Mark Shapiro said from the very beginning of Blake's time in Cleveland that Blake wasn't the solution to anything. Yet all he did was play where his manager wanted him and produce an OPS somewhere around .800 or better.
Of Course The Trade Was Stupid
Yes, trading Carlos Santana was stupid. Even if Santana is a shitty defensive catcher, he had tons of value as a trade chip, and could have eventually replaced Manny in the outfield or even played some first. Jon Meloan has turned out to be a bust, so he was fine fodder for such a trade. That the Dodgers were so cheap as to trade a huge prospect like Santana just to get Blake's relatively paltry salary paid was incredibly stupid.
Again though, just like all the time he lost in the minors, this wasn't Blake's fault.
Was The Contract So Bad?
The big question with Blake in the off-season was whether he would sign with the Twins or re-up with the Dodgers. It apparently all came down to years, with the Dodgers breaking from tradition by offering an extra year with a lower average annual value, while the Twinkies were offering more annual cash but fewer years and thus less total money. Blake re-signed with the Dodgers in a move that was treated with mixed emotion. The money was fine, but the years was what most people thought were excessive, especially with Blake DeWitt's semi-breakout rookie season, and the fact that the final year of the contract will be Blake's age 37 season.
Well, all Blake has done is earn almost the whole contract this year. Even if Blake was cut from the team today, never to return, the Dodgers would have received nearly $15 million in value from him. Basically, the Dodgers will be playing on house money with this guy.
He Could Actually Be Getting Better
What you say? A now 36-year-old hitter with a power game is getting better? Well, if you look at his defense and his speed, he is. If you peek back at his Fan Graphs page, you will see that his speed score is the best of his career, fueled by three triples. On top of that, his UZR has been nothing short of excellent. Now, I am a frequent critic of the limitations of UZR, but Blake has passed the eye test this year, and has really cut down on the errors, having made only 9 miscues all year to this point. He isn't DeWitt down there, but he has gobbled up tons of potential doubles hit down the line, and his arm is really good.
He's Matt Kemp's Buddy
This alone could justify Blake's place on the team. Blake and Kemp have apparently forged a solid friendship that has really been a huge positive influence on The Bison. While the clubhouse chemistry thing is usually overrated (unless we're talking about a true piece of shit like Jeff Kent), I am all for having a guy like Blake take the team's best player (yes, better than Manny) under his wing.
This can be nothing but a good thing. Hell, just compare the difference in value to the team when Jeff Kent was the "veteran presence" in the dugout, calling out the "kids" in what were thinly veiled digs at Kemp. For all we know, Kemp probably said "hey, aren't you the guy who broke his wrist popping wheelies?" and Kent responded "I was washing my truck you ungrateful kid. You need to learn to be gritty."
Casey Blake Has Finally Found a Home
Despite doing everything he has been asked, Blake has never really been wanted at anywhere he's played. Well, that has changed here in Los Angeles, as he is an important cog in a team with a real chance at winning it all. He could fill the role of guys like Tim Wallach, Kent Hrbek and Tino Martinez.
