Casey Blake

[LumberJack5]

Is this guy really going to play 2nd with Aaron Boone back? 28 HRs from a 2B that has to have a ton of value. What round should this guy be going in, in drafts? And will he be able to repeat his #s from last year?

[cmchampa2]

He certainly gains a little boast in value for the possibility of playing 2nd. I still wouldn't rush to grab him and would only consider him a back-up 3B and OF.

[The Cow]

Blake will NOT play 2B. He will play primarily OF, I can see him playing a little 1B or 3B though.

The Tribe has Belliard, Cora, Hernandez and Phillips ahead of Blake on the depth chart.

COW

[NZF]

Don't know why you guys thought Blake would play 2B. He'll play RF but will have to battle Jody Gerut for the starting spot in ST with
Juan Gonzalez in the mix as well.

Assuming Boone is healthy to start the season, Blake is not worth drafting in standard mixed leagues.

[kimchi_chigae]

Don't know why you guys thought Blake would play 2B. He'll play RF but will have to battle Jody Gerut for the starting spot in ST with
Juan Gonzalez in the mix as well.

Assuming Boone is healthy to start the season, Blake is not worth drafting in standard mixed leagues.

yep. the tribe will go with juan gone, crisp and blake in the OF. sizemore will likely end up in the minors again.

blake as a 2B would be nice, but it's not gonna happen.

[LumberJack5]

I read somewhere that Blake might play 2nd. One of the magazines I bought has him listed as a 3B/2B. Thanks for setting me straight. That would have been a disaster if I drafted him to play 2nd. Thanks again.

[MightyIan]

by the end of this season, blake could very well be eligible at every position besides catcher and ss. 2nd, OF, 3rd, and 1st are all up in the air as the tribe has guys who can play all of them, but they all carry their problems and doubts as well.

[ironman]

C - Victor Martinez
1B - Ben Broussard
2B - Ronnie Belliard
3B - Aaron Boone/Casey Blake
SS - Jhonny Peralta
LF - Coco Crisp
CF - Grady Sizemore
RF - Jody Gerut/Casey Blake
DH - Travis Hafner

I think Juan Gone is gonna have to step it up in ST to take over a starting job.

[GotowarMissAgnes]

Don't forget that Gerut tore his ACL and will be out for a month or two at the start of the season

[Amazinz]

I know most of the depth charts (like RotoTimes, RotoWorld) list Blake at RF but when the Indians GM was on MLB radio about a week or so ago he said the Blake was getting moved to LF. Anyone else here this?

EDIT: OK, also found a newspaper excerpt about it.

The Indians will love Blake even more if he proves he can handle the switch from third base to left field. When the Tribe signed third baseman Aaron Boone last season as a free agent, it became clear Blake, the Indians' third baseman the last two years, would have to move elsewhere in 2005.

Something did. The Indians signed Belliard, which bumped Blake to the outfield, probably right field.

"The day they re-signed Ronnie Belliard, (Manager) Eric Wedge called me and said, 'How's my new right fielder doing?' " said Blake.

A few weeks later, with the signing of free agent Juan Gonzalez, who will, if healthy, open in right field, Blake was bumped to left field. In his nine-year career as a professional, Blake has played exactly two games in the outfield. That came two years ago in Triple-A.

This season, he will be counted on to be an everyday outfielder at the major-league level.

So if Gonzo makes the team Blake is in LF else Blake is in RF?