Yardbarker: Casey Blake

NL West in Review: 3rd Basemen

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:43 -0500

by David Zalubowski - AP Atkins could soon be a teammate of the pitcher he just hit a home run off of in this picture: Cole Hamels. Maybe going to a hitter's park away could help his career the Rockies. View full size photo » You want to know where the Rockies lost the division in 2009? Don't look at Jorge de la Rosa's groin (please don't). Don't blame Clint Hurdle. Don'...

Blake Breaks Out

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:56:51 -0500

Casey Blake collects his first hit of the series, a two out, RBI single that puts the Dodgers up 4-2. Manny Ramirez scores from second after reaching on an error by Feliz, so the run is unearned. Update: That’s all the Dodgers get as Wolf flies out to end the inning, but he now has [...]

Torre Plays Small Ball, Dodgers Don’t

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:49:28 -0500

When Casey Blake reaches second on a single and error leading off the bottom of the seventh, Joe Torre has first baseman James Loney sacrifice to set up Blake to score in a 0-0 tie. Belliard pinch hits and gets an infield single to drive in Blake. Torre got his one-run, but the Dodgers [...]

Manny Ramirez / Casey Blake Golden Sombrero edition

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:42:40 -0500

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP Manny has lost his luster with four more strikeouts tonight and six in a row. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas) Browse more photos » While watching the fireworks light up the sky at Chavez Ravine it is a sad ending to a night I'd hoped to be a once in a lifetime event for me. This will probably be the only chance I would have had to witness a post season celebration but the Dodgers were unable to provide their own fireworks so they will have another g...

Vin Scully, on Speaking in Tongues

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Vin Scully, from yesterday's telecast: No score, James Loney will start it off. Last night, in the ninth inning, following a walk to Casey Blake, James hit one into the crowd atop the wall in deep right center field, his twelfth home run of the year. All twelve on the road, tying people like Jose Cruz, Eddie Yost, Sam Mele. All twelve on the road. Kenny Keltner, who played third base for the Cleveland Indians, Kenny Keltner had thirteen home runs one year, all on the road. That was i...

In Defense Of Casey Blake

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:30:00 -0500

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 UpFor those that don't know, Blake was a huge fish in a small...

At-Game Recap: Cardinals 3 Dodgers 2

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:00:00 -0500

Really? Did we really lose that game? Ugh. Well, I actually had to head out after the 7th inning because of work issues. But at least got to see the two homeruns by Ethier and Blake. We arrived really early in order to secure a Matt Kemp bobblehead. I really like Matt and think he will be an All Star next year and wanted to support him. I have briefly met him a couple of times as well and he was always really nice. Plus this was my first bobblehead game ever. We arrived before the gates to t...

Post-Game 99 Thread: Out of Order

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:01:00 -0500

CARDINALS 6, DODGERS 1 It was a game until the seventh inning, when the Cardinals took advantage of the Dodger bullpen and a Casey Blake error to score four runs and put it away. Again, two-out madness prevailed, with the Cards scoring five of their six runs with two out. The Dodger offense was doing everything out of order, with 11 hits (same as the Cards), 11 left on base and four double plays. If a few balls fall instead of getting run down by Ryan Ludwick, this could have been a very dif...

Web Gem

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:54:00 -0500

Casey Blake in the second inning of tonight's game. His catch ended a bases-loaded threat by the Angels, and was his second spectacular defensive play (the first being a 5-6-3 double play he started).

Casey Blake Bobblehead Night

Thu, 21 May 2009 18:11:12 -0500

Last night, the Los Angeles Dodgers held their first bobblehead giveaway of the season. For whatever reason, they chose to honor third baseman Casey Blake. Don’t get me wrong, Blake is a decent enough ballplayer who puts up passable numbers, sets a good example for the youngsters, and just does his job right. However, he hasn’t [...]

Five Reasons Why The Braves Should Consider Casey Blake

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 19:00:24 -0500

Casey Blake is largely seen as a third-baseman.A However, he has played in the outfield before and with much success.A He got the bulk of his games in the outfield in 2005 where he was the Indian's starting Right Fielder and he played 138 games of +8 defense (that is, he made 8 more plays [...]

A Log For the Hot Stove: Casey Blake

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:51:20 -0500

Casey Blake's long and winding road through baseball might be coming full circle. According to a number of sources, the Twins are preparing an offer to Blake that would bring the veteran third baseman back the Metrodome, where he spent 29 games over the course of three seasons. Blake is reportedly ...

Could Blake Return to Minnesota?

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:35:23 -0500

Casey Blake played in Minnesota back in 2002, but it wasn’t until he left for Cleveland the next season that his career took off. Prior to the 2003 season when Blake debuted with the Indians, he had hit just three homeruns in a small sampling of four different seasons.

In 2003, Blake had his breakthrough season hitting 17 homeruns and driving in 67 runners. The trend has continued for Blake, and since that breakout year, he has hit a total of 125 homeruns and drove in 434 runners. Blake’s all-time batting average stands at just .264, but he has consistently hit in the high .270s over the past six seasons.

According to several reports yesterday, the Twins have sent the Blake camp ‘framework’ for a potential deal to return him to Minnesota.

With the need for an everyday third basemen, it isn’t a surprise that the team has interest. All along it has seemed as though the team would upgrade the position via trade, but now it looks like Blake is their primary target.

Last season Blake made just over $6 million. It’s hard to tell what the asking price will be, but rumors say that the length would need to be at least two years, and preferably three. Eight other teams have expressed interest, so the Twins sent proposal is just a beginning.

What would it mean? If the Twins sign Blake, it would no doubt be an upgrade to what the team had last season. Sure the third basemen combined drove in 91 runs in 2008, but it was a total of seven different players that contributed to that number. Blake would provide a consistent body at third, and a solid hitter as well.

Signing a third basemen rather than trading for one would mean something too. If the Twins do sign Blake, they must do a few things to ensure that it’s a good move:

** If they don’t need to use their extra outfielder or any prospects to fill the void at third, they need to use them to upgrade at shortstop.

** Do not sign Blake and then upgrade in the bullpen with one pitcher and call it an off-season. Blake is a good first move, but if the team sticks with an in-house option at short or if they sign Punto to do the job, it’ll be a failed off-season for the front office.

We should know more as we move into next week, but it looks more and more like the team will have a body at third before the Winter Meetings.